Vancouver Rise sell Canadian forward Holly Ward to NWSL’s Seattle Reign

Forward Holly Ward, who scored the winning goal for the Vancouver Rise in the inaugural Northern Super League championship game, has been sold to the NWSL’s Seattle Reign.

It’s been a rapid rise for the 22-year-old from Vancouver, who made her senior debut for Canada last April against Argentina and now has nine caps to her credit. Ward only wrapped up her collegiate career with the University of Texas in November 2024.

“I almost living day by day because new things are happening and they’re all exciting things. But they’re still new and they’re still big deals for me,” Ward said in an interview. “Whirlwind is a good way to describe it.

“I’m accomplishing my dreams,” she added. “So it’s what I want to be doing.”

On Thursday, Seattle sold Canadian international forward Jordyn Huitema to the Chicago Stars for US$200,000 in allocation money and a US$300,000 transfer fee.

“Holly Ward is an exciting young forward with tremendous upside and a mentality that fits exactly what we’re building at Seattle Reign FC,” Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore said in a statement. “She’s already shown her ability to impact games with her pace, work rate and creativity in the attacking third, and her rise with the Canadian national team speaks to the quality and potential she brings to our club.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Holly to Reign FC and look forward to supporting her continued development while she helps strengthen our team and compete for championships.”

Ward joins fellow Canadian international Emma Regan, a close friend, in making the jump from the NSL to NWSL. The former AFC Toronto midfielder was sold to Denver Summit FC, one of two NWSL expansion teams debuting this season, in mid-January.

At club level, Regan captained Toronto to first place in the NSL regular-season standings. She was named NSL midfielder of the year and made the league’s team of the season, as voted on by the players, as well as earning AFC Toronto Player of the Season honours.

She has become a fixture in the Canadian lineup under coach Casey Stoney, with 16 caps to her credit.

The NSWL season kicks off Friday, with Seattle opening Sunday at the Orlando Pride in a rematch of the 2025 playoff semifinal won 2-0 by Orlando. The Reign finished fifth in the standings last season at 10-7-9.

Vancouver Rise sporting director Stephanie Labbé called Ward’s move “an incredibly opportunity.”

“No. 1, it’s a testament to her and the hard work that she put in and the determination she had. But I think at the same time it’s a testament to our club, our environment and this league as a whole,” said the former Canada goalkeeper. “This is what it’s for — to help players like Holly make a name for themselves … and absolutely take off.” 

Ward scored eight goals for the Rise, ranking fifth in the league, and tied for fourth with five assists. She was fifth in both shots (44) and shots on target (28).

She scored the decisive goal in the 68th minute of the NSL final in November, outpacing Zoe Burns down the left flank before beating Toronto goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde before an announced crowd of 12,429 at BMO Field.

“For my first year pro, it was pretty amazing,” she said of her debut NSL season.

“Me being in this environment helped me get me where I am — to be not just the player I am, but the person too,” she added.

A dual citizen thanks to a Montreal-born father and Boston-born mother, Ward was three when her family moved from Vancouver to Portland because of her father’s work. She was 13 when her family moved back to North Vancouver.

She joined the Whitecaps academy, now the Vancouver Rise academy, in Grade 10 and played alongside Regan and Julia Grosso, who like Ward went on to play for the Longhorns.

Ward played 93 games for Texas from 2021 to 2024 with 17 goals and 15 assists.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.