2025 CPL Regular Season — Match #33
York United FC vs. Halifax Wanderers FC
May 31 at 7 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. AT
Stade TELUS-Université Laval in Québec City, Que.
Live: OneSoccer & YouTube // Tickets available here
Pour plus d'information en français : fr.canpl.ca
The CPL is headed on tour this week, but there are still three massive points on the line when York United take on the Halifax Wanderers on Saturday. The two sides will meet in Québec City for the league's first ever game in the province, but for the teams competing, it's more than just an adventure into a new community; it's a crucial moment in their season.
The Wanderers arrive in Québec feeling more confident than ever, especially after last weekend's impressively comprehensive win over Atlético Ottawa. That 2-0 triumph at the Wanderers Grounds allowed Halifax to leapfrog Atleti and take over first place in the Canadian Premier League for the first time in club history, and that's where they sit heading into this game.
With just over a quarter of the 2025 campaign on the books, Halifax have a 5-2-1 record and 17 points, sitting above Ottawa thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker. Helping fuel their success so far this year is their 10 points earned away from home; with three road wins already, another victory on Saturday would set a new club record for wins outside of Halifax in a season.
They won't have an easy time securing that against York, however. The Nine Stripes are also feeling good this week, having finally picked up their first home win of 2025 last Sunday against Vancouver FC. Julian Altobelli was — as usual — the goalscoring hero for them on the day, and they defended well to keep the clean sheet in a 1-0 result.
Mauro Eustáquio's York side haven't quite been picking up the results they'd like so far this year, with just two wins and seven points to leave them in sixth place. However, they have scored first in all five of the games they've lost; the challenge now for them is to score second as well, and put games away before the opponent can find a way back in.
That was York's problem last time they played the Wanderers, back in early April at York Lions Stadium. Although Gabriel Bitar put York ahead in the first half, Halifax managed to equalize in the second thanks to a Giorgio Probo free kick, followed by a counter-attack winner from Tiago Coimbra, who came off the bench in the 80th minute and scored in the 81st.
The history between these two teams is pretty even; over six seasons plus the start of this one, York have seven wins, Halifax have eight, and there are nine draws.
Both sides are pretty close to full strength right now, although York have a couple of players away on international duty. Gabriel Bitar received a call-up to the Lebanon national team and is away with them ahead of an upcoming World Cup qualifier, while youngster Shola Jimoh is with the Canada U-17 team for a training camp in Spain. Halifax's squad, however, is largely healthy, with a few players still working to return from injury.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Wanderers' confidence, character leading their success: The Halifax Wanderers under Patrice Gheisar have always prided themselves on playing free-flowing, possession-oriented football, and that remains true of this year's team. What seems to have put them over the edge, though, is their strength of character and ability to win scrappy games, especially on the road. Players like Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Isaiah Johnston have injected new energy and tenacity into the squad this season, and Halifax have developed a clear identity as a team that loves to win duels and defend almost as much as they like scoring -- which they also do very well.
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York attack developing, led by starpower: It's hard to argue with the talent York have up front, beginning with striker Julian Altobelli. He arrived at the club ahead of this season and began scoring immediately; now, he's up to six goals already with York in just eight games (tying him for the Golden Boot lead), and he has scored every goal in the club's two CPL wins this season. Altobelli is on fire, certainly, but the next step for the Nine Stripes is to get some of their other attackers into form too. This could be a big game for Massimo Ferrin, who takes on his former Wanderers teammates and has been returning to full fitness after an injury earlier in the year. With Gabriel Bitar and Shola Jimoh out of the picture for Saturday, somebody like Ferrin or Adonijah Reid may be primed for a breakout moment. York always seem to have good battled with Halifax, and Saturday will surely be no different.
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Special moment for Québécois Wanderers: Halifax may be about 1,000 kilometres from Québec City, but for a lot of the Wanderers, this game will feel a little like home. Nine of the Halifax players hail from the province of Quebec, and a further three players from France (Lorenzo Callegari, Jason Bahamboula and Yohan Baï) are likewise comfortable in the Francophone environment of La Belle Province. Several of the players have large contingents of friends and family attending the game, many of them making the three-hour journey from Montréal, and it's likely to be a particularly special experience for the Wanderers who are playing in their home province. Both clubs have spent the days leading up to this game out in the local community, visiting schools and youth soccer clubs, and the city is excited to welcome professional soccer on Saturday.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Urtiaga; Ferrazzo, Sturing, Singh, León, Ferrari; Reid, Adekugbe, Yeates, Ferrin; Altobelli
Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Timoteo; Callegari, Johnston; Bahamboula, Probo, Rea; Telfer
ALL-TIME SERIES
York wins: 7 || Halifax wins: 8 || Draws: 9
Last meeting:
Apr. 13, 2025 — York United 1-2 Halifax Wanderers
KEY QUOTES
"It's always easier to work after you win games, and we went through a spell there losing three games in a row that was quite heavy for us, created some tension. Fair play to the players they stuck loyal to what the plan was, the way of playing, the style of play, and they were committed. They were working hard, and they more than anybody deserved the result." -- York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"[Halifax's] results speak for itself; they're a very good team, well put together, and it's not going to be easy. We're looking forward to it, Patrice is a great coach and we know they'll be up for this one." -- York United defender Riley Ferrazzo
"Any time that you start to an idea, and you could see the team support it, and you see it come off on the field, that's really exciting. Our identity continues to grow and evolve and we're getting better at certain parts of the game more than others, but it's their desire every day to want to take the feedback. For sure, I'm excited to be in first place at week eight, but we know what counts is week 28." -- Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar
"It starts with us being a family. You can tell on the pitch that we're really connected and we all understand each other. The staff has done a great job with us and we're all on the same page. We've just got to keep going forward with strength, keep playing the way we're playing because it's a good style of football." -- Halifax Wanderers midfielder Sean Rea