Matchweek 22 in the Canadian Premier League comes to a close in the capital on Saturday night, when Atlético Ottawa host Pacific FC at TD Place.
Both sides head into the weekend in need of three points, but for different reasons. Ottawa has locked up their spot in the playoffs, clinching last weekend after they won and Pacific failed to beat Valour FC, while the Tridents see themselves nine points out of a playoff spot with just seven games left in the campaign, a gap that could increase to 12 points if York United beat Cavalry FC on Friday night.
Tridents attacker, and Vancouver Island native, Dario Zanatta was blunt in his pregame press conference, saying "there's no shying away from the fact that we're not in the position that we want to be in right now", but he and head coach James Merriman both stressed the importance of leadership in the group as they look to end the year strong and reach the postseason for the sixth year in a row.
They have come from behind to pick up a draw in two of their last three matches, with a heavy defeat to York United in between, and will now need to beat an Ottawa side that is coming off a 3-1 win over their provincial rivals Vancouver FC.
In that match, Sam Salter set a new CPL record for most goals in a single regular season, now up to 15 after finding the back of the net twice against the Eagles. Pacific can counter with a CPL record holder of their own, though, as all-time leading scorer Alejandro Diaz is in good form, scoring in each of his last two matches, and will be keen on staying in front of Salter, who is now just two goals behind him.
It's not the time to worry about individual records for Pacific, though, who have lost all three matches against Ottawa this season and have just five wins on the season. They might need to double that, or come close certainly, if they are to reach the playoffs -- as has been the expectation that they have struggled to live up to so far this season.
Atlético Ottawa has also boosted their squad this week with the signing of attacker Jean-Aniel Assi. Over two loan spells in the CPL, in 2022 with Cavalry FC and 2023 with this same Ottawa side, Assi wowed at times, scoring once and providing five assists as a teenager across 45 league matches -- with the goal, three assists and 26 appearances coming in an Ottawa kit. Still just 21, he is a promising young talent with something to prove after bouncing around a handful of clubs in the United States and Spain over the past two years since leaving CF Montreal.
The other big news in Ottawa this week was that Nathan Ingham was named the CPL's Goalkeeper of the Month for August, after captaining his side to a couple of big wins, and keeping a clean sheet against his former club York United.
In front of Ingham, Ottawa's backline will get a bit of a boost this weekend with Loïc Cloutier back after a couple of matches on the sidelines with an injury, while Noah Abatneh is also nearing a return after being in a similar circumstance, and could potentially play this weekend as well according to Diego Mejia.
As for Pacific, everyone is available according to James Merriman, other than Daniel de Pauli, who continues to battle an injury that has kept him out of the squad since June.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Salter broke one goals record, continues to chase another: Sam Salter made history last weekend, setting a new CPL record for most goals in a single regular season with his 14th and 15th goals of the year. That breaks his former Halifax Wanderers teammate João Morelli's record of 14 set in a Player Of The Year-winning 2021 season -- which Salter had a front row seat for as a first-year professional. With one record out of the way, and one hand on the Golden Boot with seven matches remaining, Salter can turn his attention to the CPL's all-time scoring record. He is now tied with Vancouver FC's Terran Campbell on 41 goals, two back of Pacific FC's Alejandro Diaz -- who will likely start for the Tridents in Saturday's match at TD Place and scored in each of the Tridents' last two matches.
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Now or never for Pacific in pursuit of playoff spot: Entering matchweek 22, and the final quarter of the season, Pacific FC sit nine points out of the final playoff spot -- not a gap that is impossible to overcome, but one that doesn't leave them with a lot of room for error with seven games to go. With fifth-place York United playing on Friday night, there is a chance that the Tridents will sit 12 points out of a playoff spot by the time kickoff approaches in Ottawa, making Saturday's contest even more important to a team looking to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They will play each CPL club once more this season, and need to beat multiple of them to give themselves a shot at the North Star Cup.
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Ottawa need to stay close to first-place Forge: Even if Forge FC lose to Halifax on Satruday afternoon, Ottawa can't climb into first place in the table with a win in the evening due to the head-to-head record between the two teams, but this weekend presents an important opportunity for the capital city club to get back even on points with the Hammers. With seven games left in the season, and the two sides set to meet for a final time in the regular season on September 21, Ottawa need to at least stay within striking distance of Forge until that showdown at the end of the month, and that starts against a Tridents team they are expected to beat, but will be desperate for a win of their own.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier, Kozlovskiy, Levis; Antinoro, Castro, Aparicio, Dos Santos; Rodriguez, Salter, Tabla
Pacific FC: Melvin; Chung, Baldisimo, Ndom, Mukumbilwa; Browning Lagerfeldt, Juhmi; Heard, Bustos, Zanatta; Diaz
ALL-TIME SERIES
Atlético Ottawa wins: 9 || Pacific FC wins: 6 || Draws: 6
Last meeting:
July 26, 2025 — Pacific FC 0-2 Atlético Ottawa
KEY QUOTES
"We've put focus on the last round of the season, so we want to start really well in this first match. We will try to win the Shield, then we need to push hard to make a comeback in the [Canadian Championship]. We are recovering all the players right now, so I am very happy with this week." – Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
"I'm looking to show leadership on the field and off the field and make sure I'm there for all the boys and make sure that we're picking up results. We know it's not going to be easy, there's no shying away from the fact that we're not in the position that we want to be in right now. We can go out here this weekend, get a result, and it changes your whole mindset." – Pacific FC attacker Dario Zanatta