Have you caught your breath yet after Sunday night? Our social media team probably hasn't.
Week 19 in the Canadian Premier League offered a few unforgettable moments, including a triple-header that ended with possibly the most entertaining game in league history.
Cavalry FC got back to winning ways in style, as they and Vancouver FC went blow-for-blow in a 5-4 thriller. The visiting Eagles overturned a two-goal lead to knot it at 3-3, before Cavalry thought they'd won it in the 88th minute with a Mihail Gherasimencov goal. Vancouver responded in the 95th with Emrick Fotsing, though — but that only set up the truly Hollywood ending.
Days after reigning Defender of the Year Daan Klomp re-joined Cavalry after a stint in Belgium, he made his return off the bench on Sunday, and it was he who provided the heroics with a 97th-minute winner in front of the Foot Soldiers. A magical moment from a magical player.
This weekend's action started on Vancouver Island, though, where the Halifax Wanderers took an early 2-0 lead but Pacific FC — with their playoff hopes under serious threat — fought back to take a 2-2 draw.
Valour FC and York United scrapped to a 0-0 draw in Winnipeg on Saturday, before a top-of-the-table clash featuring Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa ended up firmly on the side of Forge.
The Hamilton club now remain undefeated, 19 games into the CPL season, and have a four-point lead over Ottawa in the CPL Shield race.
After a wild weekend, here's how the table looks:
It feels like we have to talk about Forge every week, but what they're doing at the moment is truly remarkable; they thoroughly outplayed a team that had been top of the league for most of the season, and now they look unstoppable. They're undefeated in 23 matches in all competitions.
For reference of how impressive their streak is, the record in Major League Soccer for matches unbeaten is 19, or 13 to start a season. In competitive leagues, at any level of the game, what Forge are doing is outstanding. In a league like the CPL where teams know each other so well and play each other four times a year, it's tough not to drop games here and there.
Meanwhile, that Cavalry-Vancouver match on Sunday will be fixed in our memories for quite some time. It had a bit of everything; the Cavs had scored just one goal in four games heading in, but they scored twice in the first four minutes of this one. Tobias Warschewski hadn't found the net since May, so of course he scored almost instantly here. Callum Irving saved a penalty for Vancouver, but even that moment gets swallowed by the insanity of the final few minutes.
This nine-goal result tied the record for the highest-scoring game in CPL history, matching the 6-3 Pacific win over Vancouver two years ago. VFC seem to be involved in a lot of these thrillers, having also played in a 4-4 game against Pacific earlier this year.
A few milestones were hit this weekend, as Tommy Wheeldon Jr. coached his 200th game in charge of Cavalry. Meanwhile, Forge captain Kyle Bekker was honoured recently for hitting 200 with the Hammers, while Raph Ohin played his 100th for Valour and Rocco Romeo played his 100th CPL match.
Finally, it feels too early for this but we're looking at some playoff clinch scenarios already this week. Forge can officially book their postseason book if they beat Vancouver FC on Friday and Pacific lose or draw against York United. Alternatively, Forge would still clinch if they draw, and Pacific lose.
Awards Watch
A few former award winners reminded us of their talents this weekend. Kyle Bekker was excellent in the win over Ottawa, and Daan Klomp announced his return to Cavalry emphatically.
Some members of our CPL editorial staff are starting to wonder if York's Frank Sturing could climb his way into the Defender of the Year conversation; he made a few heroic blocks and defensive interventions to preserve the clean sheet against Valour. The competition is steep; it'll be hard to pass Dan Nimick, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Noah Abatneh, and a number of other players across the league have strong cases too. However, Sturing deserves a shout-out at the moment for how important he's been to York since returning from injury.
U-21 Minutes Update
A fifth team has crossed the 2,000-minute threshold! The Halifax Wanderers crossed the line this weekend, and fittingly it was one of their U-21s making an impact as Tiago Coimbra scored, with an assist from Adam Pearlman, in their 2-2 draw with Pacific.
In Calgary, a handful of U-21s made significant contributions, as Mihail Gherasimencov scored the fourth for Cavalry and Max Piepgrass assisted Klomp's winner. Meanwhile, Hugo Mbongue and Emrick Fotsing both scored for Vancouver, and Matteo Campagna added an assist on a strong night for VFC's youth.
Valour are likely to be the next side to fill their minutes quota, as Myles Morgan continues to play significant minutes for the club. They're only 52 away, so they'll probably hit 2,000 if Morgan starts against Halifax on Friday.
| Team | U-21 Minutes |
|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | 5,980 |
| Vancouver FC | 5,365 |
| Cavalry FC | 3,040 |
| Pacific FC | 2,276 |
| Halifax Wanderers FC | 2,013 |
| Valour FC | 1,948 |
| Forge FC | 1,682 |
| York United FC | 1,621 |
Coming up next…
Friday, Aug. 22
Halifax Wanderers vs. Valour FC — 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT (Live on TSN3)
Vancouver FC vs. Forge FC — 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Saturday, Aug. 23
Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC — 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Sunday, Aug. 24
York United vs. Pacific FC — 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT
(Watch all games live on OneSoccer. and this week watch Halifax Wanderers vs. Valour on TSN3.)
Photo of the Week
When you return to a club where you've won multiple trophies and individual awards, then score a 97th-minute winner in your first game back, all you can do is smile and soak it in.
(Photo by Tony Lewis)
