Nearly halfway through its first-ever campaign season, Ottawa’s professional women’s soccer team looks primed to qualify for the playoffs.
Ottawa Rapid FC are one of six teams competing in the inaugural Northern Super League (NSL) season. Through nine games, Ottawa has posted a 4-2-3 record, leaving them third-place in the table.
The top four teams at the end of the 25-game regular season advance to the playoffs.
Most recently, the Rapid beat the Calgary Wild 3-1 in front of a home crowd at TD Place. The team will next play on Saturday when they head down the 401 to take on AFC Toronto, the cross-province rivals.
The Rapid have been powered by a high-octane offence driven by American forward Delaney ‘DB’ Pridham, who leads the league with nine goals this season (five more than any other player).
The 27-year-old Pridham, who also holds Canadian citizenship, played in Europe last year with Linköping FC, which competes in the highest division of Swedish women’s soccer. Earlier this season, she recorded the first hat trick in NSL history, scoring three goals in a 4-0 win against AFC Toronto in June.
Meanwhile, Rapid midfielder Melanie Forbes, another Californian, leads the league with five assists this season, most of which have set up Pridham’s strikes.
The duo have helped Ottawa score more goals than any other team through a third of the season, despite playing fewer games than several other teams.
Rapid FC’s roster featured nine Canadians, including two Ottawa natives (midfielders Miranda Smith and Emily Amano). The team is also headlined by Desiree Scott, the 37-year-old national team veteran, who was part of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Scott also holds bronze medals from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
The Rapid are also coached by Katrine Pedersen, who previously captained Denmark’s national team.
The NSL has been buoyed by strong attendance to start the regular season, with games featuring an average of 4,343 fans. However, Ottawa has the worst average attendance of any of the six teams, despite playing in one of the largest venues, as home games have averaged 3,551 spectators.
