PREVIEW: Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC | CPL Match #97

Both Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry FC enter the weekend looking to solidify their positions on the table but time — be it to claim the Canadian Premier League Shield or to secure an important third-place finish for the playoffs — is running out. This weekend's hosts, led by head coach Diego Mejía, trail Forge FC by two points and will be desperately looking to outpace the league's perrennial trophy-collectors. Meanwhile, Cavalry have effectively been boxed out of the championship race and have instead sets their sights on securing a favourable playoff bracket and a shot at repeating as North Star Cup winners.

Make no mistake: Saturday's match at TD Place has huge implications for both clubs.

Atlético Ottawa have traditionally played well against Cavalry but will be looking for a faster start than the last time these clubs met in August. Mejía's squad is also coming off a heated match against Forge, having drawn 1-1, and will be looking to offensive weapons like Sam Salter, David Rodríguez and Ballou Tabla to crack open the game. Salter, 25, currently leads the Golden Boot race with 17 goals and will almost inevitably be relied upon to lead the line.

Yet it's possible the biggest story heading into this match will be about Atlético Ottawa's defence, which has been led by a triumvirate of youngsters in Loïc Cloutier, Noah Abatneh and Sergei Kozlovskiy and bolstered by a midfield made up of veteran pivots Manny Aparicio, Juan Castro and Alberto Zapater. Combined, the defenders registered 4,870 U-21 minutes and kept the second best goals against record in CPL with 25. But will Mejía's reliance on youngsters, with a trophy on the line, be rewarded versus a surging Cavalry attack?

He wasn't much concerned during his pre-match availability.

"We need to try and be perfect in our play, in our model, so I think that I'm worried about the levels of my players but not too much on the level of the rivals," Mejía said.

“We have another goal. We have a goal to develop players, to play really good soccer but we want to win, we want to win, for sure."

Cavalry enters the weekend riding proud following a strong 3-0 trampling over Valour FC. Despite goal scoring woes in the middle of their season, head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.'s squad is peaking at the right time: they've won three of their last five matches and have scored 13 goals across that span, with contributions across their roster. Their depth — with important players like Callum Montgomery and Diego Gutiérrez out with injury — has been on full display.

One of the main threads heading into the match is that Ali Musse, who won Players' Player of the Year in 2023, is on a heater befitting Cavalry's red kits as he's registered eight goal contributions in his last five matches. Look for him to continue his stellar play alongside Tobias Warschewski, Goteh Ntignee and Sergio Camargo.

"He's playing with confidence, he's playing with swagger, he's playing with energy and he's a nightmare now," said Wheeldon Jr. when asked about Musse. "It's a delight. The more he matures, the more complete a player he becomes."

As mentioned, Cavalry will be without Montgomery and Gutiérrez due to injury; midfielder Maël Henry resumed training and his available for selection. Atlético Ottawa's Joaquim Coulanges, Roni Mbomio and Antonio Álvarez will all be matchday decisions.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Cavalry FC scoring by committee: It's not just Musse whose been filling the back of the net for Cavalry as six different goal scorers have added to their accounts across the last three matches. Although Musse is clearly in top form, players like Eryk Kobza have been involved offensively, having scored two goals in his last two matches. But will Cavalry be able to continue their scoring stampede versus a defensively solid Atlético Ottawa?

• Mejía urges Atlético Ottawa to 'trust the process': Asked about the title race, Mejía said the club has really clear objectives — developing players and striving to win — and is playing with a lot of confidence. Some of the coach's gutsier decisions have paid off this season, whether it be starting a young backline or opting to give players like Coulanges and Antinoro wing-back roles, with the club pushing above expectations given a long-term injury to Amer Didić. However, with the regular season winding down, it remains to be seen if Atlético Ottawa's process will lead to silverware this year.

• Playoff and table implications: A loss for either club could be a huge blow to their title and playoff placement hopes. For Atlético Ottawa to control their own destiny, a win is needed to close the gap on Forge and put the ball in the Hammer's court. Cavalry, meanwhile, are being chased by a Halifax Wanderers squad looking to secure third-place like they did in 2023 during head coach Patrice Gheisar's first season. A loss on Saturday could see Cavalry's cushion narrowed to a single point with three matches remaining.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier, Abatneh, Kozlovskiy; Antinoro, Castro, Aparicio, Dos Santos; Rodriguez, Tabla; Salter

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Laing, Klomp, Kamdem; Kobza, Baldisimo; Musse, Camargo, Ntignee; Warchewski

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 10 | Cavalry FC wins: 4 | Draws: 5

LAST MEETING

August 22, 2025 — Atlético Ottawa 2-2 Cavalry FC

KEY QUOTES

"As a coach, sometimes, you can try and change the world when things aren't going right for you. If I think of, it was the June, July goal scoring slump, we could've changed what we were trying to do, tried to be a bit more pragmatic and just tried to score goals on transition or by chance. I'm not a fan of that.

"We trusted the process. That's the really tough part of it when things are going against you. The lads are reaping the rewards now." - Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

“The trophy is a consequence of our acts, you know? We’ve worked since January, we put these as goals as a really clear objective but always put the focus in the moment, in the present and I think that all these things, all these good things, give us right now the opportunity right now to play (for) the championship." - Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía

"The thing in football, in generall, is big players step up in the big moments and this is the big moments in our season, it's the most important moments in our season heading into playoffs and that's why Ali Musse is stepping up because he's a big player." - Cavalry FC defender Bradley Kamdem Fewo