AS IT STANDS: Nick FC does it again, Cavalry reclaim 1st & Pacific finally win

What an eventful weekend.

Cavalry claimed first place, Nick Fleuriau Chateau did it AGAIN, and Pacific FC finally won a game.

Matchweek 19 began with a Friday night double-header in Ottawa and Laval. In the nation's capital, Inter Toronto took the lead over Atleti, but Ballou Tabla scored an outrageous spinning flick to tie it, before Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau won it (2-1) with his FIFTH CPL goal in seven games.

Simultaneously, Loïc Kwemi strengthened his hold on the Golden Boot lead, scoring a penalty to lead FC Supra du Québec to their first ever win (1-0) over Forge FC.

Saturday's action saw Cavalry take advantage of Forge's stumble, beating Vancouver FC 1-0 to leapfrog the Hamiltonians into first place.

The weekend wrapped up with a coastal clash in Langford between Pacific and the Halifax Wanderers. Perhaps surprisingly, this was the best game of the weekend; the sides traded goals and leads, until Lorenzo Callegari seemed to have won it with an outrageous strike from distance.

Diego Konincks had other ideas, though. The Dutch centre-back redeemed himself for an own goal in the third minute by scoring two of his own — in the 85th and 92nd minutes — to hand Pacific their first win of the season (4-3).

After all that, here's how the table sits at the end of August:

Let's start with Fleuriau Chateau. He's on an absolutely absurd run of form right now, with seven goals in all competitions for Ottawa (in eight games). After scoring again on Friday, he's now hit the net in five straight matches (again, all comps).

There haven't been many similar runs of form from any CPL players, let alone one that signed in the league midseason. This weekend, he'll be chasing a bit of history. If he scores again, he'll tie Ruben del Campo and Aribim Pepple's record for consecutive regular season games with a goal (5).

Speaking of chasing records, Tobias Warschewski is also hunting one. He chalked up his eighth assist of the season on Bradley Kamdem Fewo's winner on Saturday, which puts him one back of the mark set by Sean Rea in 2022 and matched by David Rodríguez last year.

Warschewski has been on a tear for the Cavs, who now find themselves in pole position for the CPL Shield. There's not much they would love more than beating Forge to the first piece of silverware of the season. Plus, considering how strong they've been at ATCO Field (unbeaten at home in over a year), the Cavs also want to finish first to guarantee themselves a home CPL Final if they make it.

Vancouver FC, after a somewhat toothless loss to Cavalry, find themselves less secure in their playoff position than they previously thought. The gap between them and FC Supra is five points, but that makes this weekend's match between those two clubs in Langley almost must-win for either side.

VFC now haven't scored in three straight games, and they generated just 0.25 expected goals against Cavalry (their lowest single-match total of the season). They will absolutely have to score this weekend against a Supra team fresh off its first clean sheet of the year.

Speaking of Supra, they've got something else on their minds before they can worry about that trip to Vancouver.

The TELUS Canadian Championship semifinal between them and Forge FC kicks off Tuesday with Leg 1 at Stade Boréale. After Supra beat Forge on Friday night, they'll feel a lot better heading into this clash, but the stakes are different. This will be knockout football, with a place in the CanChamp Final on the line.

Either way, we're guaranteed a CPL team in the final.

Here's what else is going on this week. And Happy Labour Day, Canada!

If The Playoffs Started Today...

Now that we're into September, it's time to start looking more seriously at the playoff picture.

In case you forgot, four teams make the CPL Playoffs this year. The postseason will be a straightforward semifinal bracket, with first place playing fourth and second playing third in two-legged ties. There's no away goals, and the second leg of each tie is hosted by the higher-seeded team. Whichever of the two finalists is ranked higher will then host the CPL Final.

All that said, as it stands right now we'd have Cavalry FC taking on Vancouver FC, and Forge FC playing Atlético Ottawa. That's a pair of fascinating matchups.

Awards Watch

The Player of the Year race may honestly be wrapped up already. Tobias Warschewski has eight goals and eight assists, and has pulled pretty convincingly ahead of Sean Rea with his six assists in August.

The Golden Boot race has been fun to watch, with Loïc Kwemi still leading the way. Ballou Tabla won't let him get away, though; the Ottawa forward also scored again this week to keep the gap at just one goal.

In the Coach of the Year conversation, keep an eye on Gustavo Leal. Atlético Ottawa would have to have a pretty special end to the season for him to get nominated, but it's not impossible considering how much they've improved in the last month. It's unlikely, but not impossible that Leal gets in the mix somehow.

U-21 Minutes Update

Four teams are above the 2,000 mark now, with Vancouver soon to follow.

Inter Toronto will hopefully get Shola Jimoh back from injury soon, which will allow them to rocket up this leaderboard — and maybe the standings too, if he can make an impact in the attack.

Coming up next…

Saturday, Sept. 5

Atlético Ottawa vs. Pacific FC
4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (OneSoccer, TSN)

Forge FC vs. Inter Toronto
7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (OneSoccer, CBC Gem)

Sunday, Sept. 6

Vancouver FC vs. FC Supra du Québec
6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT (OneSoccer, TVA Sports 2)

Monday, Sept. 7

Halifax Wanderers vs. Cavalry FC
3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT (OneSoccer, TSN)

Photo of the Week

Pacific FC finally got to taste three points again, and Yann Toualy was loving it.

(Photo by Sheldon Mack)