VANCOUVER — It's not often the retractable roof at BC Place is pulled back mid-April. But on Wednesday, as the Northern Super League opened its inaugural season, sunlight streamed onto the pitch.

Call it a good omen if you want, but the significance wasn't lost on Vancouver Rise head coach Anja Heinder-Moeller.

"The two, three days leading up to this, we had spring coming to Vancouver," the Danish coach quipped. "Suddenly the sun was out."

For a city that calls itself (semi self-deprecatingly) Raincouver, the uncharacteristically warm and bright weather felt like pure gravy on an already historic day. The sun was out and so were the fans to watch the Rise take a 1-0 victory in the inaugural NSL game against the Calgary Wild.

The lead-up to Wednesday — the pre-season friendlies, the big-name stars who now call the NSL their home, the anticipation of seeing high-quality and competitive women's soccer right in your backyard — meant the excitement was palpable before any player stepped on the pitch.

Then, Christine Sinclair — hometown hero and co-owner of the Rise — took her spot near centre field alongside fellow Canadian women's national team legend Diana Matheson — who made building the first all-Canadian professional women's league her passion project — to mark the league's kickoff and the gravity of the moment started to hit.

The crowd of 14,018, on their feet as they celebrated the collective achievement of two of the greatest soccer players Canada has ever seen, was a reflection of everything it took to get to this moment.

"I think it was bigger than I was expecting," said Rise midfielder Quinn, an Olympian who has seen their fair share of big games. "I thought, oh yeah, this will be easy to handle. But stepping in on the pitch and seeing Diana Matheson and Christine Sinclair with the ball, and just sinking in how much work's been done to get to this moment."

That moment transcends team colours or loyalty — everyone on the pitch knew that, including Wild goalkeeper Stephanie Bukovec.

"I was waiting for this opportunity for a while now and I'm happy I got the opportunity to play," the Toronto native said. "It was a surreal experience playing on home soil. Not the result we wanted, but it was an amazing experience and, you know, be a part of history."

It was a big night for professional women's sports, one that no doubt will be earmarked in history books, but after all that, there was still a game to be played. And what followed was tense, exciting and feisty — all the makings of a great soccer game.

It was a competitive, tight-marking match with both sides creating dangerous chances and met with equally stifling defence. Though the Wild put just one shot on target to the Rise's four, goalkeeper Morgan McAslan still had to come up with some white-knuckle saves to keep her squad up.

It didn't seem to matter that there was just one goal for the Rise faithful, who oohed and aahed when Holly Ward rushed down the left wing, or Mariah Lee stripped her opponent of the ball to create a scoring chance, or any time the play crept closer to the Wild keeper and the decibel in the stadium would ratchet up a notch. One goal was enough — especially since it came from the home team's biggest star.

When the penalty kick was called and the Rise had the opportunity to draw first blood, well, who better than Quinn to take it?

"It's a pretty cool moment, not one I thought I'd have. I score goals few and far between, but I think it was just exciting to get on the scoreboard. I think that was a bit of a relief for us," Quinn said.

"I feel confident about penalties and just thought I should step up in that moment," they continued. "But I know we have a whole team that can do that, so it was just good to get it in."

It was an eruption of joy and relief from the fans, whose energy was noticeable before but unmistakeable after. They carried that excitement less than three minutes later, when Lee's burst of speed down the right wing felt destined to beat the keeper, and when nearly everyone partook in an enthusiastic wave just 30 minutes into the game.

In fact, the fans remained engaged until the very end, saluting their keeper with rousing applause when McAslan made a jumping save off a frantic corner kick. And when the final whistle sounded, they rewarded their newest professional team with a standing ovation.

The gravity of the game, of the moment, never truly subsided for the Rise, who will admit they're not entirely satisfied with the performance they put forth but are grateful for the win, nonetheless.

"I think we were satisfied with moments, but if I'm being honest, I think there's a lot more that's still to come," Quinn said post-game. "It's a pretty big game in history. We're not going to walk away satisfied with that. I think there's a lot we can improve on.

"Hopefully we'll put a more complete match out next week."

"This was a very special moment," Heiner-Moeller added. "We wanted to finish with a win. We wanted to win, finish with a good performance.

"This was still a nervous game, and we wanted to do well for the league and Vancouver, definitely. So it wasn't, like, a laid-back game."

With one game down and 24 more to go, history is just getting started for the Rise, Wild and the entire NSL. There will be plenty more pinch-me moments, even for players with resumes as long and impressive as Quinn's.

"Walking out ... That was such a surreal experience for me. I thought it had sunk in and then I got to that point. So, I'm sure there will be more of those throughout the season for sure."