Cavalry FC are off to a flying start in 2026, improving to 2-0 on Sunday as they beat Atlético Ottawa 3-1 in a heated rematch of last year's CPL Final.
In their first meeting with Atleti since losing that snowy CPL Final in November, the Cavs were ruthless in their home opener, extending their unbeaten streak at ATCO Field to eight games.
Cavalry took an early stranglehold on the game, punishing Ottawa for making the biggest mistake a team can make against the Cavs: conceding a set-piece.
Less than 20 minutes in, Cavalry opened the scoring in trademark fashion. Tobias Warschewski whipped a free kick into the box and Daan Klomp, cutting between two defenders, rose to head it emphatically into the net.
The hosts made it two just five minutes later, this time from open play thanks to a superb passing sequence. Warschewski played through to Sergio Camargo, who fed it back across to a late-arriving Harry Paton to score his second of the season.
Cavalry's onslaught continued in the second half; they were decisive and aggressive with the ball, not needing many passes to get forward and challenge the goal.
The third tally arrived shortly; Paton was again the architect, collecting in the right half-space and dancing toward the middle then finding Bradley Kamdem-Fewo. The left-back flicked a shot at goal that goalkeeper Tristan Crampton couldn't collect, and Goteh Ntignee scored the loose ball to make it 3-0.
Ottawa did manage to claw one back late, as Kamron Habibullah opened his account with the club in the 88th minute with a shot that deflected off Klomp and in.
However, the late consolation marker wouldn't dull the sting of a second straight loss for the CPL champions, who once again finished with almost two-thirds of possession but couldn't muster enough in the attack.
The flipside of the story is a Cavalry side that looks like a potential juggernaut early in this 2026 season. With 36 touches in the box and three well-taken goals from just 34.4 per cent possession, the Calgary side are looking like a force to be reckoned with already.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman (Laing 72'), Klomp, Didić, Kamdem Fewo; Paton (Baldisimo 72'), Kobza; Ntignee (Musse 72'), Camargo (Myroniuk 76'), Edwards; Warschewski (Elva 81')
Atlético Ottawa: Crampton; Duhaney-Walker (Stojadinovic 61'), Abatneh, Kozlovskiy; Coulanges (Habibullah 80'), Castro (Aguilar 68'), Aparicio, Timoteo (Assi 61'); Antinoro, Myklebust, Tabla (Garcia 80')
Goals
17' — Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)
22' — Harry Paton (Cavalry FC)
67' — Goteh Ntignee (Cavalry FC)
88' — Kamron Habibullah (Atlético Ottawa)
Discipline
24' — Yellow: Harry Paton (Cavalry FC)
75' — Yellow: Sergio Camargo (Cavalry FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Harry Paton, Cavalry FC
The Kitchener, Ont. native continued his outstanding start to life as a Cav, scoring the second goal before setting up the third with a great run through the attacking third. Paton created three chances and won seven out of nine duels, also making three interceptions in an all-around strong performance.
What’s next?
Both sides head on the road for a big game in Matchweek 3. Cavalry will be in Hamilton next Saturday, April 18 to take on Forge FC (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT). The following day, Atlético Ottawa will be in Montreal to take on FC Supra du Québec, in the CPL newcomers' first ever home match (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT).
For broadcast details of the 2026 CPL season, go to cplsoccer.com/watch.