New addition Latifah Abdu making an impact with Vancouver Rise

VANCOUVER — Latifah Abdu wasted no time making her presence felt with the Vancouver Rise.

The Canadian forward scored just 14 minutes into her first game with the Northern Super League club last week, then added another goal in the 52nd minute.

“They’ve welcomed me with wide open arms, and I just feel really good here,” Abdu said of her new team.

“It’s been a lot of information at once, because I had to learn, like, all the new tactics and new positioning on the field. But I’ve been getting a lot of help, so it’s easier to feel good on the field.”

Feeling good hasn’t been a given for Abdu this season.

The 23-year-old attacker started the campaign with her hometown Montreal Roses, then asked to be released from her contract in August.

Montreal said in a statement that Abdu, the club’s leading scorer, wanted “to continue her career in an environment better suited to her personal goals and playing style.”

The club had informed Abdu of its intention to exercise the option in her contract for the 2026 season before the request.

Asked this week why she wanted out of Montreal, Abdu declined to comment, but said there were “a lot of conversations” before the Roses transferred her to the Rise on Aug. 30.

She added that Vancouver was an attractive option because she already knew some of the players, including Jessica de Filippo and Holly Ward.

Abdu hasn’t been with the club long, noted Rise head coach Anya Heiner-Moller, but she’s joined a lineup that’s invested in a certain style of play.

“We know what we want in different situations,” she said. “And when we’re clear on that, they will also be clear in front of each other. So I think, we coaches, we can coach something, but we also have extra coaches on the field in terms of the players.”

The new addition was quick to credit her teammates for her early success.

“I think it’s really just me integrating and learning about the players and how can I help them help me as well,” Abdu said. “So it’s just a two-way thing. I score goals, but also the team is there for me and helping me get into those situations.”

Abdu, who sits third in the league in goals (eight), adds another offensive option for a Rise side that has climbed the NSL table in recent weeks.

Saturday’s 6-0 victory over the Calgary Wild extended Vancouver’s win streak to four games. The Rise are now undefeated in their last eight outings (6-0-2).

“Things feel easier when you’re winning, I think, overall,” said midfielder Samantha Chang. “But we did go through a period where we weren’t getting three points consistently. So I think from that, we grew a lot. And now it really feels nice to have the celebrations from three points week in, week out, and we just hope to keep it going.”

Vancouver’s next test will come Saturday when the Rise (9-5-5) visit league-leading AFC Toronto (12-6-2).

“I think every single time we go there that we know it’s a top team, so we need to perform at our highest level, every single time,” Heiner-Moller said. “But I have confidence in the team in terms of they know they need to be on their toes, and we need to perform at our very highest to get a win there.”

The game will mark the fifth matchup between the two sides and Vancouver goes in with a 2-1-1 edge in the head-to-head competition, but sitting six points back in the standings.

“Even from the first game, it … felt like a rivalry, in a way. Like the West Coast versus East Coast battle,” Chang said. “We have a lot of players from Toronto on our team, and they have a lot of players from Vancouver on their team. So the game means a little bit more to quite a few of us, and quite a few of them as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press