Made in Québec: Montréal Roses win the Supporters’ Shield at home.

Montréal Roses 1–0 Ottawa Rapid · October 23, 2026 · Stade Boréale, Laval

The Montréal Roses saved their first trophy for the last night of the regular season, and for their own fans. Substitute and co-captain Tanya Boychuk scored three minutes after coming on, Veteran Gabrielle Lambert kept a clean sheet, and a 1–0 win over the Ottawa Rapid at Stade Boréale sealed the 2026 Supporters’ Shield.

Montréal only needed a draw. After five straight ties coming into Friday, a draw would have felt on brand. Boychuk, the club’s co-captain, had her own cheeky explanation for the streak when she addressed the fans in the stadium.

It was fitting that the Shield was won at home by a squad that looks like its city. Five of the starting XI, and 12 of the 19 Canadians on the roster, are Québécoises. Many came through RSEQ programs at McGill, Université de Montréal, UQAM, UQTR and Vanier.

Both teams came out at full intensity, and the opening 20 minutes were end to end. In the 10th minute, Bilbault’s ball set up Lisa Pechersky at close range, but Ottawa goalkeeper Dagenais made the save. Pridham forced a corner from a Belzile cross three minutes later, and Evelyn Badu couldn’t find the target from an Elyse Bennett pass on the quarter hour.

Ottawa’s best chance of the night came in the 17th. Pridham picked out Belzile inside the six-yard box, and Heilferty threw herself into a huge block to keep it out.

From there the pace dropped, and the middle of the half settled into a deadlock. Montréal won several corners between the 20th and 35th minutes but could not capitalize.

The Roses found another gear in the last ten minutes before the break. In the 44th, Heilferty whipped in a cross, and Mimi Alidou buried the rebound, only for the flag to go up: Bennett was judged to be ahead of her defender when the ball was played. In added time, Paquin missed from close range, and it stayed 0–0 at the half.

Ottawa head coach Katrine Pedersen made a change at halftime, sending Choo in for Golen. Golen had been losing her battle with Pechersky down that flank.

It didn’t slow the Roses down. Alidou had two more chances, in the 47th and 57th minutes, and sent both off target. Even so, her ability to break Ottawa’s midfield line, with a dribble or a pass, was one of the stories of the night.

Montréal’s press was relentless, and Ottawa lost control of the game entirely. The Rapid didn’t put a single shot on target in the second half, and their game had no bite. They only committed 5 fouls compared with the Roses’ 14.

Both coaches made two subs in the 77th minute. Maryse Bard-Martel sent on Boychuk for Paquin and Thibault for Badu. Pedersen brought on Chown for Forbes, who looked gassed, and Wilkinson for Jung to help throw numbers forward.

Three minutes later, Montréal scored the winner. Bilbault, Bennett and Alidou combined in a textbook up-back-through move, and Alidou played in Boychuk to score in the 80th minute. Ottawa’s substitutes never changed the game, and the drop-off from their starters showed a lack of depth.

With the Shield in sight, Bard-Martel locked things down, bringing on two centre-backs, Leas and Hill, for Pechersky and Bennett in the 86th minute. Dagenais kept the margin at one when she denied Boychuk a second, and Lambert saw out the clean sheet.

Montréal outshot Ottawa more than two-to-one and put four shots on target to the Rapid’s one. The Rapid’s passing accuracy was uncharacteristically low as they reverted to a direct style in the second half as the fatigue and panic kicked in.

Montréal deserved this, on the night and over the season. They finished on 45 points, five clear of Ottawa, and Friday’s second half was one-sided when the Roses turned up the heat.

Much of the credit goes to 31-yo Maryse Bard-Martel. She stepped in as interim head coach in August, after the club parted ways with Rositoiu, and the Roses didn’t lose again for the rest of the regular season. Two months later, the Laval native led the club to its first trophy.

The Québec story matters too. In 2026, Québec accounts for 23 of the Canadians on NSL rosters, second only to Ontario. Over half of them play in Montréal. The Roses are clear proof that the province’s youth, CÉGEP, and university programs can feed a title-winning professional team.

Club president Hugues Léger framed it as a win for the whole city. Especially important following CF Montreal’s loss in the Canadian Championship on Wednesday.

Now the question is: Is Montréal the women’s sports capital of North America? Five months ago, the Montréal Victoire won the PWHL’s Walter Cup, defeating the Ottawa Charge. They were the first Canadian team to win it. Now the Roses have the NSL’s regular-season crown, again at Ottawa’s expense. There is one difference: the Victoire won the regular season and the playoffs. A Diana B. Matheson Cup would make the case hard to argue with.

The Roses will face the fourth-place team in the semifinals, with Halifax and Vancouver still fighting for that spot. Ottawa meets Toronto in the other tie, although second place is still up for grabs in Monday’s game between Toronto and the Tides.

The first legs of the semi-finals are next weekend, and the final is on November 14 at TD Place in Ottawa. Montréal will aim to become the first club to win both the regular season and the Championship.