Having made history in the previous round, Vancouver FC is now set to host Cavalry FC in leg one of the 2025 Canadian Championship quarter-finals at Willoughby Community Park on Wednesday.
Their first-ever home match in this competition marks a big milestone for this Vancouver side, too, who defeated rivals Pacific FC on penalties to reach this stage for the first time as a club.
Awaiting them, however, is a Cavalry team that has its fair share of history in the Canadian Championship, including a run to the semi-finals back in 2019. Plus, they've got a pretty good record against Vancouver - they've never lost to them in 10 meetings, which included a 1-0 win vs. Vancouver in the 2024 preliminary round of this tournament.
Despite that, Vancouver feels as ready for this test as possible. They're coming off a tough 2-0 loss at home to the Halifax Wanderers, but had been on a good run of form before that loss, in which they played better than the final score might have indicated.
In particular, they feel like they've turned a corner defensively, something which manifested itself in the previous round of this tournament, which is key given how important solidity at the back tends to be for teams wanting to make a run.
At the same time, Vancouver knows that this match won't be easy. Yet, this is also a chance to further prove their credentials as a growing team, while also giving their fans a long-awaited home victory, having struggled to pick up wins at home over the past 12 months.
No better way to get back on track in that latter category, however, than with some cup action.
"We need to buck the trend of home performances not going the way that we want," Vancouver captain and goalkeeper, Callum Irving, said this week. "So we can't come out scared to concede, we need to go out there confident that we can win. I think that if we go into Calgary (in leg 2) with the lead, even if we do concede goals, I think we'll still feel confident that we can do what it takes in that next leg to close it out."
Meanwhile, for Cavalry, they're just looking to keep the good times going. As has become almost customary for them, they once struggled hard in the month of April, but have turned things around since the calendar flipped to May.
It started with a 6-0 drubbing of Edmonton Scottish in the preliminary round of this competition, and they've since carried that momentum into CPL play, beating York United 2-1, the Halifax Wanderers 3-0 and Pacific FC 4-0 in their last three matches to quickly climb the league table.
Not only that, but they look very solid without the ball again, too, and have re-found their fluid, free-flowing attack, looking like the Cavalry side that won the 2024 North Star Cup once more.
Because of that, look for them to keep that momentum going, as they try to carve out a crucial early advantage in the tie. Given that they'll be on the road in this first leg, Cavalry will know that they could put themselves in an excellent position with a victory, even if away goals are no longer in effect across two-legged ties in this competition, with a leg one road win still representing a pretty solid advantage for any team who can get one.
"We just want to keep in rhythm," Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said. "I think it's taken a bit to get here. It took us a few games to get some rhythm, but now that we seem to have it, it's all about managing that momentum, you know. So I think we're a team that once we're in rhythm, we're very hard to stop, but we've got a difficult opponent to play against, so no game is easy."
Canadian Championship History
Last meeting: April 18, 2025 -- Cavalry FC 1-1 Vancouver FC (Canadian Premier League)
Vancouver FC:
All-time record: 1W-0D-2L
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2025)
Cavalry FC
All-time record: 9W-2D-6L
Best finish: Semi-finals (2019)
Key Quotes
"Anytime you come into a game like this, where you've got two 90-minute games, you try to break it into four 45-minute segments to help players concentrate better. I think we have a very good away team; we play very well away, so we're not so worried about playing away from home, as I feel that we can score away from home, and I think we can win away from home. I think the question is, can we bring the same confidence and quality we're looking for at home, and find that same grit that we've seen on the road, that same mentality, attitude and kind of mental toughness that sometimes we've lacked at home?" -- Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
"I'm not sure I'd call it a rivalry based on the outcomes so far, but they're always good games. And we never underestimate them. In fact, I think they were the better team when they came here in the league in April, but for us not to play well and still get a result (in that game) shows where things are at between the two sides. We look forward to these games, because they're they've got a new batch of players, and they always throw something a bit different at us, and they're very well organized and tough to beat. We just have to concentrate on being our best selves, and hopefully get a result to bring back to ATCO Field for July." -- Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
