2025 CPL Regular Season — Match #66
Atlético Ottawa vs. York United
August 3 at 4 p.m. ET
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
Live: OneSoccer // Tickets available here
Two of the Canadian Premier League's hottest clubs meet in what promises to be a spicy affair in the nation's capital on Sunday afternoon.
Top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa, unbeaten in their past eight league matches, host York United, who are undefeated in their past six -- and now sit in fourth place.
Atlético Ottawa have gotten the better of their Ontario rivals this season, with three wins and a draw in all competitions. But all of those three victories have come by a single goal, with their most recent league meeting a 0-0 match at York Lions Stadium back on June 22.
Those matches have stood out in particular because of the intensity with which they have been played. In four matches between the two sides this year, there have been 15 goals scored, and 133 fouls committed combined between both clubs.
York will be looking for revenge after Atleti eliminated them from the TELUS Canadian Championship quarter-finals last month. Currently, 11 points separate York United and Atlético Ottawa in the league table, a number the Nine Stripes would love to reduce as they aim to continue their rise up the standings.
The match will also feature the league's two leading goal scorers this season. Samuel Salter has scored a CPL-high 11 times this year, and is now Atlético Ottawa's all-time leading goalscorer. His next goal would set a club record for most goals in a single season.
Just two goals behind him, however, is Julian Altobelli, who has been especially prolific against Atlético Ottawa with four goals in four matches against them in 2025 -- including scoring in both of his trips to the nation's capital this season.
While attacking football has been the calling card for both this season, they enter the match on good defensive runs of form, particularly in the league. Atleti have allowed just one goal in their past seven matches in CPL action, while York United have kept clean sheets in three of their past six.
Manager Diego Mejía will be back on the Atlético Ottawa touchline for Sunday's match following a two-match suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Both teams should have some new faces in the mix as well, with York United announcing the signing of experienced veteran Mexican midfielder Leonel López this past Friday, while Atlético Ottawa unveiled the addition of attacking midfielder Antonio Álvarez on loan from Club América. Both are fit and available, and are expected to play some sort of role on Sunday.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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TD Place is finally becoming a fortress for Atlético Ottawa: Despite all of their success in recent years, winning the CPL Shield in 2022, and making the playoff semi-final last season, Atlético Ottawa have always done their best work on the road. In many ways, their previously defensively rigid style was better suited to opponents who felt the need to be the protagonists, as is often the case for the home team. With a more attacking identity this season, however, the nation's capital is a lot less fun of a destination right now. Atleti are undefeated at home, with a 5-2-0 record. One more home win, which would be their sixth, and Atleti will have already set a record for most victories at TD Place in a CPL regular season and with 19 home goals, they are two away from tying the most they have scored at TD Place in a CPL season. The atmosphere in Ottawa has always been brilliant, and now the home team are giving them even more to cheer about.
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York United not backing down despite 'bad guys' label: York United's most recent match, a 1-0 win over Cavalry FC back on Saturday, ended in a quite chaotic fashion with both teams getting involved in coming together following the final whistle. It certainly isn't the first time that the Nine Stripes have drawn the ire of their opponents this season, but as York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio says, "it takes two to tango". While York are the team who have committed the most fouls in the league this season, with 231, they are also the most fouled team, with 232. He did say that especially earlier in the season, his team were a bit more naive in terms of their aggression, and paid for it with a lot of yellow cards. But as his group continues its maturation, they are finding ways to keep that intensity and commitment without having it cost them. "I think there's this aura around us, that we're the bad guys, that we're the aggressors, that we like the 50/50s, and that there's some bad blood, or whatever has been going around," said Eustáquio. "I think we're a team that we stick together. We're a family. We defend what's ours. And that's just the reality of things."
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Leonel López adds experience to the York midfield: This past Friday, York United announced the signing of 31-year-old Mexican midfielder Leonel López, adding a player with an incredibly exciting resumé to their ranks. López played a decade in Liga MX, between clubs like Léon, Club América and Pumas UNAM. He has spent the past few years with The Strongest in Bolivia. He is a player well-known to the club, as assistant coach Mateus Lima worked with López during his time at The Strongest. Given his experience and quality, he could be an important piece in the second half of York's season. "He's hungry, he wants to be someone here to help the program grow and make the team better," said Eustáquio. "So extremely happy with him. He's fit and available for the weekend, so you guys will see him."
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Kozlovskiy, Abatneh, Cloutier; Antinoro, Aparicio, Castro, dos Santos; Rodríguez, Tabla, Salter
York United: Urtiaga; Singh, Sturing, León; Ferrazzo, Adekugbe, Kibato, Botello; Reid, Ferrin, Altobelli
ALL-TIME SERIES
Atlético Ottawa wins: 6 || York United wins: 8 || Draws: 10
Last meeting:
July 8, 2025 — York United FC 3-4 Atlético Ottawa (2025 TELUS Canadian Championship quarter-final)
KEY QUOTES
"It's one of the tough parts of this [season] because playing against the same rival five times during the season, is incredible, but I think for us it's our opportunity to still grow our model. Because we need to switch or change some things to try to beat them."-- Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
"It's continue to be ourselves. If there's a team in the league that can keep a clean sheet against them, obviously, we've already proven that we can do that. So it's just being organized, something that we've grown a lot on the defensive side." -- York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"It's just a back-and-forth battle every time we play them, lots of fouls, lots of guys getting after it. Really, it's just this spirit right? I mean any time we face Ottawa, especially in the form they're in, you've got to be up for it. And just really getting after every single challenge and every single 50/50, and battle that happens in the match." -- York United defender Riley Ferrazzo
