A wild, back-and-forth quarter-final second leg saw York and Atleti exchange leads before Sam Salter's heroic strike sent Ottawa to their first ever CanChamp semi-final.
Final Score: York United 3-4 Atlético Ottawa (4-6 agg.)
Goalscorers: Altobelli 13', 37', Ferrin 53'; Rodríguez 20', Salter 22', 84'; Sissoko 90+2'
2025 TELUS Canadian Championship — Quarter-Final (Leg 2)
After another exhilarating chapter in the rivalry between York United and Atlético Ottawa, the capital city club are moving on to the TELUS Canadian Championship semi-finals for the first time in their history.
Both sides produced highlight-reel moments in this game with six goals between them, but in the end Sam Salter was the hero for Atleti as they struck late to advance, 6-4 on aggregate.
This game was set up to be a chess match from the very beginning, with both managers deploying similar 3-4-2-1 formations. It was clear, however, that York would be early aggressors; with Ottawa up 2-1 on aggregate entering the match, York knew they needed a goal to draw level.
The Nine Stripes showed a desire to play direct, vertical ball through Atleti's midfield, which provided Massimo Ferrin with a good chance in just the second minute. He got on the end of a good through ball there, and his attempt was saved but the home team won an early corner.
About 10 minutes later, York found an early reward for their aggression. In a play that started from the back, featuring a lovely sequence of four passes from the defence through midfield to Julian Altobelli, who received Kembo Kibato's through ball and finished superbly to make it 2-2 on aggregate.
York's happiness at equalizing didn't last long, though.
A handful of catastrophic moments soon befell them in the next 15 minutes: first, Elijah Adekugbe tried to dribble out of his penalty area but coughed up the ball to Sam Salter, who knocked it forward for David Rodríguez to score in an open goal.
Two minutes later, Salter himself found the back of the net, as this time York keeper Ivan Pavela pushed away Rodríguez's curled strike but it landed kindly for Salter to bury and give Atleti a two-goal lead on aggregate.
As if York needed another punch in the gut, they received another blow in the 26th minute. Salter chased a long ball over the top, attempting to outrun Adekugbe, who grappled with the Ottawa striker and ultimately pulled him down. Referee Sebastian Noshinravani deemed Adekugbe to have been the last man back, and showed him a red card.
So, York United found themselves two goals and a man down with 60 minutes left in the tie.
Perhaps emboldened by that adversity though, York carried on and played perhaps even more direct. Before halftime, Kibato again was the one progressing the ball forward with a good run through midfield. He found Ferrin just behind Atleti's backline, and Ferrin played it smartly across the box to Altobelli, who smashed it into the open goal to give York a lifeline.
York came out of the dressing rooms in the second half still full of belief after finishing the first 45 so well. Soon enough, another direct ball brought joy for them. This time, it was Steffen Yeates who sent a glorious long ball from deep in his own half to Ferrin to run onto between Ottawa's centre-backs, and after one deft touch to bring it down he struck the ball between Ingham's legs, suddenly putting York back on level footing.
Having lost their captain and the anchor of their back three so early in the game, York were forced to adjust their shape, moving smoothly to a 4-4-1 with a more traditional four-man defence. That allowed their transition to be somewhat seamless, though; York were well-organized in the second half, knowing that Ottawa would have most of the ball; York sought to stay patient and keep their shape, as Atleti moved the ball around in hopes that a York player would bite and leave his space.
Just five minutes before penalties, when the game seemed destined to be settled at the spot, Atlético managed to produce one final moment. After a York clearance didn't make it out of their half, Rodríguez brought the ball down and tried to chip it into an open goal. York defender Frank Sturing made an outstanding goal-line clearance, but it fell perfectly in the box for Salter.
Ottawa's best goalscorer made absolutely no mistake, and a thunderous strike found the back of the net, making it 5-4 on aggregate.
Aboubacar Sissoko added one more for Ottawa with a screamer in stoppage time to seal the deal, and Atleti left Toronto with all the spoils, and a ticket booked to the semis.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
York United: Pavela; Sturing (Singh 90'), Adekugbe, León; Ferrazzo (Ferrari 82'), Yeates, Kibato, Botello (Jimoh 87'); Reid (Higgins 90'), Altobelli (Bitar 82'), Ferrin
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier, Abatneh, Duhaney-Walker; Antinoro, Aparicio, Castro (Sissoko 88'), Dos Santos (Levis 72'); Rodríguez, Salter (Patterson 88'), Tabla (Zapater 54')
Goals
13' — Julian Altobelli (York United)
20' — David Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)
22' — Sam Salter (Atlético Ottawa)
37' — Julian Altobelli (York United)
53' — Massimo Ferrin (York United)
84' — Sam Salter (Atlético Ottawa)
90+2' -- Aboubacar Sissoko (Atlético Ottawa)
Discipline
26' — Red: Elijah Adekugbe (York United)
31' — Yellow: Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)
45+1' — Yellow: Riley Ferrazzo (York United)
65' — Yellow: Ivan Pavela (York United)
66' — Yellow: Steffen Yeates (York United)
70' — Yellow: Gabriel Antinoro (Atlético Ottawa)
90+3' — Yellow: Aboubacar Sissoko (Atlético Ottawa)
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Sam Salter, Atlético Ottawa
The CPL's current Golden Boot leader took his goalscoring talents to the Canadian Championship in this one, scoring two himself and assisting one for Rodríguez at a pivotal point in the match for Atleti. Salter was causing issues for York's backline all night with his running, also drawing the red card for Adekugbe in the first half.
What’s next?
Atlético Ottawa now move onto the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship, which will begin in August. They will find out their opponent on Wednesday night following a draw involving the other semi-finalists.
Watch all 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship and CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
