Match in a minute or less
Atlético Ottawa will remain in first place for another CPL matchday, as they defeated Pacific FC 1-0 at Starlight Stadium to provisionally extend their lead to four points atop the table.
After a back-and-forth start, Ottawa opened the scoring just before half time, as Ballou Tabla calmly dispatched a 44th-minute penalty won by David Rodríguez to put his team up 1-0.
From there, they did what they needed to to secure the clean sheet and the result, although Pacific came close to dramatically tying the game with an Aly Ndom free kick in the 96th minute, one that forced an excellent save out of Ottawa's Nathan Ingham.
Three Observations
Ottawa shows newfound defensive solidity without sacrificing identity:
As they've stormed their way through the first quarter of this CPL season, Ottawa have had a pretty simple recipe for success - score more than the other team.
In fact, that almost sells their approach short - they aren't just trying to outscore their opponents, but want to sweep them away in overwhelming fashion. Given that they'd scored 24 goals in their first nine games of the season, scoring three or more goals five times, they'd been successful in that approach.
Yet, as many will know, it can be hard to maintain a scoring rate like that throughout a season, for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes, teams will adjust, injuries will happen, and luck can turn.
Because of that, it's important to be flexible in games and to know how to adjust. Ottawa got a reminder of that a few weeks back, as they fell 2-0 to the Halifax Wanderers in their lone loss of the CPL season on May 24th, a game that showed their previously dynamic attack won't always click.
On a day where their defence allowed two goals, one of six times they've allowed two goals in a game this season, that showed a good reminder of why they'll have wanted to tidy up their defensive play, even if they haven't needed to have been as solid at the back so far this year.
That's been something they've continued to work on, and it paid off for them in this game, as they kept their first clean sheet of the CPL season.
Not only that, but they were full value for that clean sheet, as well, keeping Pacific to just seven shots and 0.6 xG - that last figure was the lowest xG Ottawa have conceded in a game in the 2025 CPL season, for context.
In particular, what will stand out to Ottawa was that while they were much sturdier defensively in this game, they found that solidity by sticking to their identity. A large reason for their ability to grind out the clean sheet wasn't because they sat back and defended, but instead due to their ability to actively defend while playing with the ball, as they still kept 48.1% of possession in the second half despite weathering Pacific's push for an equalizer.
That number might not feel large, but there were several sequences where Ottawa halted Pacific's momentum by getting on the ball for a minute or two, which allowed them to quickly move through the second half while conceding just four shots - with three of them coming in stoppage time as Pacific risked everything for a point.
For Ottawa, that'll be something to build off, as it showed that they can also use their high-flying offence to keep them from conceding less - perhaps, finding a way to do that with more regularity going forward is going to be their next evolution as a team this season.
Pacific's offensive woes continue to pile up:
For a team slumping offensively, Pacific were just looking for any sign of life in this game. Having failed to score in their past three matches, what will have concerned them most about that run of games wasn't that they failed to score - sometimes that can happen over the course of a season.
Instead, the bigger worry was that they'd struggled to find many chances, as they generated just 0.76, 0.67 and 0.56 xG in those three games vs. Cavalry, Forge and Valour, respectively.
After a two-goal outburst vs. York United on May 11th, which was the second time they had two goals in a game in 2025, coming as part of a game where they generated a season-high 2.64 xG, they'll feel frustrated that they weren't able to build off that since.
While they hoped to change that against an Ottawa team that has been prone to conceding goals this year, having allowed 15 goals in nine matches, a lot of those woes continued in this match for Pacific, unfortunately. In the end, they got into the right areas and had some bright moments, but the numbers tell the story - they once again finished with 0.6 xG, as they generated just seven shots, and had just 18 touches in the box compared to 30 for Ottawa.
Yet, speaking of that last number, it shows the difference between the two teams right now - one is brimming in confidence and is atop the table, while Pacific is looking to find any hint of momentum to build off of.
When diving deeper into the numbers, Pacific actually attempted more passes in Ottawa's final third than Ottawa did in theirs (108-103), more crosses (13-12), and more final third entries (48-37).
That's key, because it'd be one thing if they were not getting to the right areas of the field, but they are. Instead, where they're coming up short is in that final act, as nothing's clicking in the final third.
There might've been no better example of that than a first-half counter-attack Pacific had, where they had a clear 2v1 from half, one that then turned into a 3v2. On that sequence, they had several opportunities to create a dangerous chance, but instead, they picked the wrong pass and then dribbled themselves into trouble, and didn't get a shot off in the end.
In a game where chances like that can be limited, that'll loom large for them, as they can only imagine what it would've done to their confidence to have gone up 1-0 in the first half on that action, instead of eventually conceding the first goal for the fourth straight home match.
Once again, however, that's a good reminder of how Pacific will get out of this slump. It may be simplistic to say, but their luck can only turn if they become more decisive with their offensive actions. They do that, and perhaps that leads to an ugly goal, and from there, the offensive taps can flow.
They've got the players to be dangerous - Marco Bustos alone leads the league in chances created with 28, and Josh Heard has scored plenty of goals for Pacific in the past, just to name a few - but that won't matter until they get their confidence back as a team.
Ottawa's young defenders making the most of opportunity for minutes:
It remains an unprecedented sight. Once again, Ottawa tackled this game with a unique starting XI, as they went with the back three of Loïc Cloutier, Noah Abatneh and Tyr Duhaney-Walker, who are 21, 20 and 21, respectively.
Of course, it's worth remembering that they could've skewed even younger - 16-year-old Sergei Kozlovskiy is currently away with Canada's U17 team, and has started several games this year - as they've leaned heavily on youth at the back, which is rare to see in the professional game, with defence usually being a position dominated by experienced players.
Part of that has been out of necessity - Amer Didić would be playing a big role at the back on this side if not for a major injury, while Brett Levis has also filled in at centre back, exiting last week's game early with an injury - but it's worth noting that these youngsters are making it hard for head coach Diego Mejía to keep them out of the lineup.
At a position where it can be easy to want to hide, they're playing with the sort of mentality that can be hard to teach for young defenders - aggressively and fearlessly.
Sometimes, that aggression can work against them. Some of the goals they've conceded this year will show that, as will the fact that Abatneh and Duhaney-Walker already have three yellow cards apiece.
In this game, however, that aggression worked in their favour, as they helped Ottawa win 54.2% of their duels, while also winning 13 tackles to Pacific's nine. Any time that Pacific got into dangerous areas of the field, they usually had an Ottawa player right on top of them, such as those centre backs.
That's been huge to see, as these youngsters have slowly learned how to best use that aggression in their favour. Given that Abatneh and Duhaney-Walker are adapting to playing bigger leadership roles at the back, while Cloutier and Kozlovskiy adjust to being first-time pros, that's been good to see.
Because of that, it'll show why this clean sheet is so important, as it'll serve as a token for the work they've put in.
They've been excellent on the ball all year long, which has remained quite impressive to see - Abatneh has averaged 95% pass completion this year, Cloutier 90%, Duhaney-Walker 87% and Kozlovskiy 87% - as that's been their bread and butter. After all, Ottawa's offensive success has to come from somewhere, and a large part of it starts with their ability to build up from the back, which all of their young defenders are willing and capable of doing.
Now, if they can build off this clean sheet, that'll be a huge plus, as it'll add a new layer to their quickly developing games, further showing why Mejía has been so willing to trust them early on. Having known that their development would come with growing pains, he'll take that every day when seeing the mentality they continue to bring in every match.
What They Said
“We will find a lot of scenarios similar to today (going forward), because other teams will try to find the strategy to try and beat us. We are starting to see more low blocks to try to defend us, so that we don't create any opportunities, but we still had amazing opportunities today. Plus, I'm very happy because the young kids are growing a lot in the defensive line. For me, it's a gift to be the coach of those guys." -- Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
“It's important always to have clean sheets, especially for Nathan (Ingham), as he deserves that. The backline showed today that we're strong, and we're getting stronger. We've been working a lot on that this week, so it's a good point on the road, and we're going to try to keep going like that.” — Atlético Ottawa forward Ballou Tabla
“It doesn't need to be perfect. That weighs heavily on players, especially forwards, when goals aren't falling for them. We need to be strong right now in this period, because it's not easy to put in that amount of work and walk away with nothing in a couple of games. We need to keep a strong mentality, we need to keep working on this, and keep showing up the way that these guys have been showing up, but bring a little bit more attention to detail, and in those final acts. At the end of the day, we need to do it in the game, when it matters.” -- Pacific FC head coach James Merriman
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Ballou Tabla, Atlético Ottawa
In addition to scoring the match winner, Tabla was lively for Ottawa in attack, as he had two shots, two dribbles, three fouls won and nine touches in Pacific's box offensively, while chipping in with two clearances, one interception, three recoveries and five out of seven duels won defensively.
What’s next?
Pacific will be back at home for their next match, as they get set to host York United at Starlight Stadium on Saturday, June 14th (3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET). Meanwhile, Ottawa will have a busy week, as they return home to face York in leg one of their Canadian Championship quarter-final tie at TD Place on Wednesday, June 11th (7:00 p.m. ET), before hosting Valour at TD Place in CPL action on Sunday, June 15th (6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET).
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