A Cavalry free kick from deep in their own half looped high into the Hamilton sky. As it dropped toward the Hamilton Stadium turf, Cavalry attack Tobias Warschewski rose highest to head the ball toward the Forge box.
Cavalry striker Caniggia Elva took that pass out of the air with his first touch, before flicking the ball backward into the area where Warschewski had continued his run. Forge defender Malik Owolabi-Belewu moved to intercept the play, but did not see Warschewski coming.
The German striker dispossessed him, before cruising into the box, chipping the ball over Jassem Koleilat for the lone goal in Cavalry's 1-0 contender semifinal win over Forge. The goal put defending champions Cavalry back in the CPL Final.
What initially appeared to be a significant problem for defending champions Cavalry FC heading into the 2025 CPL Playoffs may have unearthed a secret weapon.
In the club's final regular season match, a 2-2 draw with Vancouver FC, Sergio Camargo left the game in the 22nd minute after a non-contact injury. The attacking midfielder had arguably been Cavalry's best and most consistent player this season, starting 27 of Cavalry's 28 regular season matches with eight goals and six assists and became unavailable for Cavalry's playoff run so far, with no clear timeline for his return.
That meant, for just the second time all season, both Caniggia Elva and Tobias Warschewski were in the starting lineup, with the latter dropping deeper to occupy Camargo's number 10 position against York United in the semifinal qualifier. Despite a lack of game experience together, they thrived in a dominant 4-1 victory for the Cavs where Elva twice set up Warschewski. They followed that up by again combining for Forge's winner on Sunday. At the most important moment of the season, Cavalry appear to have unleashed a prolific partnership.
"I've been keeping it a 28-game secret until we got to the playoffs," joked Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. after the match against York. "Caniggia is a special player, I've seen him since he was a kid. He used to destroy a lot of my Foothills teams for [Calgary South West United]. And I'm just happy he's on my side. Now we've got him to a condition that he knows how to play the way we want to play."
Through a variety of factors, including fitness, international absence and the consistent quality of Camargo, Elva played just 620 minutes of CPL action this season. Sunday was his third start of the year.
Quietly, however, he has been outstanding in those limited minutes. With four goals and four assists between the regular season and playoffs, Elva put up 1.16 goal contributions per 90 this year, second most in the CPL among players who played at least 180 minutes. His 3.5 chances created per 90 is also the most in the league.
What makes Elva particularly effective, especially when it comes to this current Cavalry system and lineup, is his positioning when leading the line.
"I think what he does is he frees up other people, and you've seen that with the way he assisted Tobi on the goals," said Wheeldon Jr, after the match against York.
In particular, the way Elva operates has unleashed Warschewski. It is well documented at this point that the German is not a traditional striker; he works best in a free role, where he is allowed to roam around the field, finding pockets of space and influencing the game in multiple areas of the pitch. It's the reason he was the league leader again this season in dribbles completed (57) and second in touches in the opposition box (145), as well as winning the most duels of any player in the league (198).
That makes Warschewski unpredictable, not only for the opposition, but also to some extent for his teammates. Often, in moments where most strikers would be in the box, Warschewski is on the perimeter or perhaps even the one crossing the ball into the area. There is no doubt that this proactive style of play is what makes him such a special player, so having someone like Elva in a more advanced position to complement those attributes has the potential to make him even more dangerous. Both are also comfortable as either a striker or an attacking midfielder, so they can interchange positions during the match as well.
With Elva stretching the opposing backline, that not only frees up Warschewski to make later runs into the box as he likes to do, but also opens up that pocket of space centrally just outside the box where the German striker does his best work. All three of Warschewski's goals during the playoffs have come from this exact scenario, where a more advanced Elva laid the ball off to him in space.
There is another natural advantage when it comes to the communication between Elva and Warschewski as well, owing to Elva's nine professional seasons in Germany — where he spent his entire professional career before signing with Cavalry this off-season.
"Tobi and I, we speak German, so the backline doesn't understand how we communicate or what we want from each other," said Elva. "Tobi can either come short, or I can come short. So we're just variables, it's hard for the defenders to read."
Elva can be that central reference point, and holds up the ball brilliantly. In particular, his aerial ability is outstanding. He won 73 per cent of the aerial duels he contested this season (30 of 41), and won 5.1 per 90. That allows Cavalry a target in the box that they lack at times when Warschewski is leading the line and drifting around the field.
Having a consistent threat in the middle of the box also significantly benefits Goteh Ntignee and Ali Musse out wide. Watch, in particular, the third goal that Cavalry FC scored against York. As Ntignee gets the ball down the byline and cuts it back, Elva is perfectly positioned in the centre. Because he is occupying that space, Luke Singh knows the ball cannot go beyond him, and inadvertently puts it into his own net. Warschewski, it's worth mentioning, is not in the box here.
Both Musse and Ntignee are outstanding at getting down the line and delivering passes into the box. Camargo, for his part, did an excellent job throughout the season of getting into those dangerous central positions (he actually led the team in expected goals this season with 9.45). But given Elva's aerial prowess and finishing ability, he could be an even more lethal target up front.
This attacking group will now have one final test in the nation's capital, against an Atlético Ottawa team who have had their number all season. In the 2025 CPL Final on Sunday, November 9 (5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT), Cavalry will look to win at TD Place for just the third time in club history.
Against an Atlético Ottawa team full of attacking weapons, however, who scored a league record 54 goals during the 2025 regular season, Cavalry will counter with a lethal attack of their own. Heading into the most important match of their year, Cavalry's central attacking duo of Tobias Warschewski and Caniggia Elva could be the x-factor.
