Saorla Miller scores her first of the year but it’s not enough as Tides lose 2-1 to Vancouver Rise
After several slow starts, the Halifax Tides came out flying Wednesday night versus the Vancouver Rise but were unable to hold onto their inaugural lead, ultimately losing 2-1 at Swangard Stadium.. They return to the East Coast still searching for their first-ever win in club history.
But Wednesday’s matchup was always going to be a tall task: the Tides lost a close contest on the weekend at the Wanderers Grounds only to turnaround and fly to Vancouver — a breath-taking 6,000 kilometre away day— for Wednesday.
Tides head coach Lewis Page opted to rotate his squad for the match given the circumstances, sitting players like Marika Guay and Kiley Norkus with Anika Tóth swapping places with Erin McLeod in goal. Interestingly, Page decided to again start both Milly Clegg and Megumi Nakamura up front after they showed chemistry versus AFC Toronto earlier in the week.
But it was Saorla Miller who shined early as the Nova Scotian winger found some joy on the right side of the pitch. Early into the match, she dropped deep to collect the ball from right-back Eva Fremaux, who underlapped, and sprung the Frenchwoman with a lofted pass. Running into space, Fremaux whipped a ball into the box to a streaking Nakamura, who errantly sent it wide.
Miller was involved again as she drove deep on the right side of the pitch and sent in a cross but it failed to connect. Moments later, Sydney Kennedy collected the loose ball and dribbled deep, drawing in a Rise defender. Kennedy then cut back, sending the ball to Miller, who made no mistake and scored to give the Tides their first lead of the season.
Josh Healey
Their lead was short-lived, however, as the Rise survived the Tides pressure to reply with a goal of their own in the 39th minute. Vancouver attacker Lisa Pechersky found herself alone against Tóth and managed to knock the ball around the Tides keeper before depositing it into an unguarded net.
A few minutes later, Pechersky again proved dangerous as she dribbled down the right side of the pitch and squeezed a cross past Tides left-back Karima Lemire. Rise striker Mariah Lee arrived in the box unmarked and headed the ball in to give the home side a 2-1 lead. Ultimately, the Tides were unable to muster much in the second half as fatigue set in.
It's fair to say Halifax performed well given the circumstances, matching Vancouver for possession while increasing their shot totals from their last few matches. They also managed to score, something they’ve struggled with, but will feel like they let the match get away from them after they went up early.
The Tides now have a lengthy break between matches; their next tilt is against the Wild on June 5 in Calgary.
Cover Photo Credit: Halifax Tides FC
