The Chase toward the end of the season carries on apace, and we're not much closer to knowing who is going to lift the CPL Shield in a few weeks.
Sunday's top-of-the-table clash offered few answers, but plenty of entertainment; an 82nd-minute Hoce Massunda goal equalized late for Forge FC as they and Atlético Ottawa settled for a 1-1 draw at TD Place. That leaves Forge two points clear at the top of the standings, with four games left.
Elsewhere in the league, a couple teams punched their postseason tickets on Saturday. The Halifax Wanderers rode a second-half wave to beat Pacific FC 3-0, and Cavalry FC enacted some revenge on Valour FC with a 3-0 win of their own. Both sides now know for certain they'll be in the playoffs — but not which position they'll finish.
Finally, York United had a chance to clinch their own playoff spot on Sunday, but instead it was Vancouver FC who continued an exceptional week and beat the Nine Stripes 2-1.
Here's where it all sits with just four weeks left to play:
So, Cavalry and Halifax are in the playoffs for sure, and York will probably follow next week, but there's a lot still to play for as these sides battle for positioning within the top five.
It's at the top of the table, however, where we may have the most fireworks in the last few weeks. It was a spicy affair in Ottawa on Sunday, which included some heated confrontations after the final whistle. Diego Mejía, unhappy at Marko Jevremović saying something to the Atleti bench, got into it with the Forge full-back, and then with Bobby Smyrniotis briefly at full time (more on that on the CPL Newsroom this week).
Both coaches had a lot to say after that clash; Mejía maintains that his Ottawa side is the best, but also insists that youth development — and not winning trophies — is his club's main priority. Smyrniotis, meanwhile, pointed out that he thinks Atleti could be feeling some fatigue from a lack of depth (he suggested that Atleti have played with "for the most part, 13 players").
Speaking of big moments in Ottawa though, Vancouver FC enjoyed perhaps the greatest night in club history on Thursday, when they held off the high-scoring Atleti to win their TELUS Canadian Championship semifinal tie.
Few saw it coming, but VFC are the first CPL team ever to get to a CanChamp final in a full tournament. What makes it a little sweeter for them is that it'll be a local derby at BC Place in that final, against the Vancouver Whitecaps. That showdown for the Voyageurs' Cup will kick off on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.
Speaking of which, apparently Vancouver FC celebrated mascot Sp’óq’es's birthday on Sunday, and invited other sports mascots from the area to join.
All I'm saying is, I don't think he and Spike are going to be that friendly a week from now...
If the playoffs started today...
With four weeks left, we've got a pretty good idea of what some of the matchups might be in the playoffs.
At this point, it's almost certain that Forge and Atlético Ottawa play in the Championship Semifinal (regardless of who wins the Shield), with the winner heading straight to the Final.
On the other end of the bracket though, all three of Cavalry, Halifax and York would much prefer to finish third and host the Semifinal Qualifier, rather than have to play the midweek knockout match. Right now, it'd be Cavalry in third, and everybody knows how tough it is to play at ATCO Field in the postseason...
A reminder of how the five-team playoff structure works:
Breaking down the run-in
Four weeks left, and each game is massive.
Cavalry arguably have the toughest schedule remaining, with three of their last four on the road — and that one home game is against Forge.
Forge, meanwhile, have three more home matches to play, including back-to-back against Pacific and Vancouver, two non-playoff teams. Though they may be expected to win those games, there's pressure on, because if Forge slip up at all then Atlético Ottawa will have a major lifeline in the Shield race.
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Awards Watch
A lot of the talk around the Best U-21 Canadian award has centred around Ottawa's young centre-backs, but have we been overlooking Gabriel Antinoro? The 21-year-old has excelled in a wing-back position under Diego Mejía, and has shown impressive tactical maturity in how he's adapted to various roles over the course of each game. He's arguably been the most consistent of Atleti's youngsters.
As far as goalkeeping is concerned, it was a good week for Marco Carducci, who put in a man-of-the-match performance for Cavalry against Valour with four saves and an assist. It seems that the third nomination is up for grabs, with Jassem Koleilat and Nathan Ingham very likely getting two of the nods. Could Carducci, a two-time Golden Glove winner, be the third?
U-21 Minutes Update
Forge FC are the seventh team to pass the 2,000-minute threshold (which means, of course, that they're officially eligible for the playoffs), and they did it in style with youngster Hoce Massunda scoring their equalizer in Ottawa on Sunday.
Speaking of Atleti, though, they deserve a shoutout for starting an entire back five of U-21 Canadian players, for the third time this season. Their back three of Sergei Kozlovskiy, Noah Abatneh and Loïc Cloutier were reunited for the first time in over a month, while Gabriel Antinoro and Joaquim Coulanges started as the two wing-backs — Coulanges, in particular, being a big call from Diego Mejía, who pulled the 18-year-old out before halftime in Thursday's Canadian Championship match.
| Team | U-21 Minutes |
|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | 7,303 |
| Vancouver FC | 6,838 |
| Cavalry FC | 3,072 |
| Pacific FC | 2,525 |
| Valour FC | 2,478 |
| Halifax Wanderers FC | 2,123 |
| Forge FC | 2,016 |
| York United FC | 1,763 |
Coming up next…
Saturday, Sept. 27
Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC — 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Forge FC vs. Pacific FC — 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
Sunday, Sept. 28
York United vs. Valour FC — 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
Vancouver FC vs. Halifax Wanderers — 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
(Watch all games live on OneSoccer. Plus, this week, watch Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry on TSN.)
Photo of the Week
Are Cavalry flipping this playoff race on its head?
Okay, maybe not, but Goteh Ntignee brought out the gymnastics after his goal on Saturday.
(Photo by Tony Lewis)
