Note: This game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, June 21 at 2:30 p.m. MT, but was rescheduled due to unplayable conditions caused by inclement weather in Calgary.
On Saturday afternoon in Calgary, two sides in the midst of very different runs of form clash at ATCO Field.
Hosts Cavalry are undefeated in their past nine in all competitions, remaining in third place following a 1-1 draw in Halifax this past weekend. Pacific, meanwhile, have just a single win in their past nine in all competitions, and just two on the season as a whole.
That difficult run for Pacific included a lopsided 4-0 loss the last time they visited Spruce Meadows. In fact, they have never won a regular-season match at ATCO Field -- and are winless in their past 10 matches against Cavalry.
Goals have always been plentiful for Cavalry when they've played against Pacific, as with 50 in 31 all-time meetings, they have scored more times against the Tridents than any other CPL club has managed against an opponent.
With the weight of history against them, however, Pacific understands that a result on Saturday could be a crucial opportunity to change their fortunes. Following a 3-1 loss to York United at home last weekend, they sit in sixth with just eight points through 11 matches and now five points behind the Nine Stripes in the fifth and final playoff position.
They are also searching for a first road win of the season at ATCO Field on Saturday, and know they will need a complete 90-minute performance in order to make that happen -- something that has largely eluded them so far this season.
There is a lot of positive news on the injury front for Cavalry, as Diego Gutiérrez will be back in the squad in some capacity on Saturday, while Chanan Chanda and Maël Henry have returned to training. Michael Baldisimo and Tom Field are also getting closer to a return, while Bradley Kamdem is still out longer term with a knee injury.
As a result, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. increasingly has some difficult decisions to make, especially in central midfield and central defender, where he has a wealth of quality options for different situations -- particularly since the return of Eryk Kobza, who can play both.
For Merriman, he is still trying to find his best attacking mix, in particular, with a number of options, but none of whom have shown to be particularly prolific so far this season. Will Yann Toualy get another opportunity after some promising moments against York this past week? Or will captain Josh Heard draw back into the lineup? With a league-low eight goals so far this season, the attack is the biggest question surrounding the Tridents since the start of the season.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Cavalry looking to kick off important homestand with a victory: Saturday's match is the first of three straight at ATCO Field for Cavalry FC. This kicks off an important stretch of games, which also includes a league match against top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa on Saturday, June 28, before a Canadian Championship second leg against Vancouver FC on Tuesday, July 8. They aren't scheduled to play three games at home again this season, so this will be a crucial opportunity to not only make progress in both competitions, but also without travel to have a consistent training schedule where they can work on further cementing many of the things which have made them successful to this point. "The home advantage matters," said Wheeldon Jr. "But also the way we've been performing at home, we've had 6-0s, 4-0s, we've had a lot of wins here of late."
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Pacific know they need to get off to a better start: In that last meeting between these two sides, Cavalry were on the front foot right from the start. Within seven minutes, Mihail Gherasimencov had opened the scoring, and it was downhill for Pacific from there. They know that, especially at home, Cavalry like to start games quickly, and will need to match that intensity on Saturday. "We need to be ready from the start, we conceded very early, we've done that a few times this season," said Pacific FC head coach James Merriman. "It puts you on the back foot. So we need to be more ready, especially going to Calgary, knowing how aggressively they like to start the game."
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Can Merriman bring lessons from Canada camp back to Pacific?: Pacific FC head coach James Merriman got a nice international break this past week as he was invited to join the Canadian men's national team for their preparations ahead of their 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup opener against Honduras in Vancouver. Canada dominated that match 6-0, and Merriman spoke glowingly to the media this week about his experience and about the culture and competitiveness of the team. Now, armed with some of that high-level information and insight, can Merriman find ways to replicate that in the Pacific FC squad, especially ahead of such a challenging match in Calgary this weekend and going forward this season?
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Laing, Montgomery, Gherasimencov; Kobza, Shome; Musse, Camargo, Wähling; Warschewski
Pacific FC: Anchor; Chung, Machado, Ndom, Lajeunesse; Young, de Pauli, Keshavarz; Bustos, Montejano, Heard
ALL-TIME SERIES
Cavalry FC wins: 17 || Pacific FC wins: 8 || Draws: 6
Last meeting:
May 17, 2025 — Cavalry FC 4-0 Pacific FC
KEY QUOTES
"There's a groove to the team where it doesn't matter who we're putting in the team, there's an understanding of how we want to play with and without the ball that makes it easier for me. They are getting more and more confident. They are a very, very versatile team." -- Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
"We've had great games, great battles over the years [with Cavalry]. But I think if we look back at the last few games, we need to be better. We need to get back into the fight. And that's what we've been talking about going into the game. We want to see that level of competitiveness back on the pitch throughout the 90 minutes." - Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
"Going into Calgary is one of the toughest games there is in this league. But it could be a perfect game for us to jump-start our season again. If we can get a result here, we can really build off that. There's lots of season left. " -- Pacific FC midfielder Sean Young
