Montreal Roses knock off Vancouver Rise 3-0 in NSL semifinal opener

The Montreal Roses won the Supporters' Shield this year for finishing first in the six-team Northern Super League's regular season. The NSL front-runners demonstrated Sunday they have their eyes focused on a much bigger prize. The Roses opened their two-leg semifinal series — and pursuit of the Diana B. Matheson Cup — with a convincing 3-0 win over the Vancouver Rise at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C. Elyse Bennett opened scoring in the 12th minute, and teammate Marie-Yasmine Alidou doubled the lead 19 minutes later.