A rematch of last year's playoff opener ends matchweek 20, as Pacific FC visit Toronto to play York United on Sunday afternoon.
It's another must-win contest for Pacific, whose playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. The Tridents sit in sixth place in the Canadian Premier League, seven points out of the postseason spots. Their 5-4-10 record has them in the fight at this point in the season, but they desperately need to start adding to their ledger if they're to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year.
Last weekend, Pacific hosted the Halifax Wanderers, and fell behind 2-0 in the first half. Knowing they absolutely needed a result, however, they managed to claw back both goals, and scored two before halftime thanks to the hard work of Aidan Daniels. They emerged with a 2-2 draw, which didn't help much but prevented Halifax from pulling away.
This week's situation is similar, with York tied with the Wanderers in the standings and thus one of the teams Pacific could pass to get into the top five. They technically sit fourth thanks to tiebreakers, with a 7-5-7 record and 26 points, seven up on Pacific.
York are keen to get back into the win column soon, after going winless in their last three. They drew 0-0 at Valour last weekend, and have scored just once in that three-game run. However, they've been one of the CPL's stronger sides this summer, with just one loss in the last nine league matches.
Pacific haven't yet visited York this year, but they've hosted them twice. The Nine Stripes won 3-1 last time they were on Vancouver Island, scoring three in quick succession in the second half after Pacific scored 20 minutes in.
The Tridents won the earlier meeting this year back in May, a 2-1 result also at Starlight Stadium thanks to a 92nd-minute Emanuel Montejano winner.
Injuries may be a factor in this game; most notably, both sides were without a key centre-back last week. Pacific's Aly Ndom missed out, which meant they had to play midfielders Matthew Baldisimo and Sean Young, as well as club newcomer Ahmad Mansour in the back three, and they struggled in the first half. PFC coach James Merriman said this week that Ndom is fit and available this week, which would be a huge boost to the team's chances.
York, meanwhile, were without Oswaldo León in their game against Valour. Mauro Eustáquio said he too is fit to play this week, so York's back three should be at full strength.
It's now or never for Pacific, who are desperate to reel in one of the clubs above them and don't have many more opportunities to play them directly.
So, can the Tridents take all three points and put themselves firmly in the playoff hunt, or is this where York create separation and safety in their own top-five campaign?
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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York's midfield depth growing: It's been a good summer transfer window for York United, who have already successfully integrated Leonel López and are now looking to do the same with Jesse Costa. The Canadian U-20 captain arrived at the club recently and could be in line for a debut this weekend, but head coach Mauro Eustáquio did warn that he has some work to do in order to increase his fitness and become a starter for the team. With López now involved, having started the last two games for York, Eustáquio has a lot of options to fill out his midfield, which makes it easier to sacrifice Elijah Adekugbe's central ability and put him in the back three, where he was needed last week. The full picture depends on whether Oswaldo León is fit to start; if he misses out again, Adekugbe will surely play at centre-back again, but if not, then Eustáquio will have a tough job putting together his midfield.
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Pacific look to improve road form: A major part of the reason Pacific find themselves outside the playoffs is their poor form away from home. They have yet to win a game in 2025 outside of British Columbia, their only road win being two weeks ago at Vancouver FC. Knowing that if they do make the playoffs, they'll probably spend that entire journey on the road, Pacific have to find a way to take results from hostile environments. James Merriman said on Friday that his team hasn't been good enough this year at home or on the road, so he's not too focused on the away form in particular, but the club's mentality in this last month of the season is critical.
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Can York attack come back to life? The Nine Stripes have scored just one goal in the past three games, which is concerning after a few high-scoring matches in a row to end July. Julian Altobelli, who continues to chase the Golden Boot, has been held off the scoresheet in these three games, and it's been a quiet few weeks for Adonijah Reid who was the most productive player in July. Eustáquio isn't particularly fazed by this dry spell, knowing his side's attacking quality means the ball should start going in pretty soon. However, it'll be interesting to see how exactly he deploys his attack, with several options available. Reid was on the bench last week as Shola Jimoh got the start; will Eustáquio return to the youngster, or shake things up again?
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Urtiaga; Ferrari, Sturing, Adekugbe, Adekugbe, Singh, Botello; López, Kibato; Reid, Altobelli, Ferrin
Pacific FC: Melvin; Chung, Mansour, Young, Baldisimo, Greco-Taylor; Browning-Lagerfeldt, Daniels; Bustos, Díaz, Zanatta
ALL-TIME SERIES
York wins: 9 || Pacific wins: 10 || Draws: 7
Last meeting:
June 13, 2025 — Pacific FC 1-3 York United
KEY QUOTES
"For you to score, for you to have dangerous plays, you need to have the ball. ... We've been focusing on having the ball a lot and being able to transition right after we gain it. Against Valour I think we showed what we trained, which was to have possession, but in that final third we weren't too explosive, too creative, too exciting. It's something we're aware of, we want to get back into scoring ways. We know the quality we have, and it's something we do normally, so it's not something I'm too worried about." – York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"[I've seen] more belief, more consistency in the attitude, the competitiveness of our team, the way we start games, the way we finish games, moments that we bounce back like last weekened against Halifax. ... The mentality is correct, and we have belief, and we're fighting. There's no easy game for anybody that's going to come and play us for these next nine games, I can promise you that." – Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
