| Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT TD Place in Ottawa, Ont. Watch Live: OneSoccer, CBC Gem Tickets available here |
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Defending CPL champions Atlético Ottawa look to book their return to the CPL playoffs on Wednesday as they host Cavalry FC at TD Place.
With a victory, they become the third team to clinch a spot in this year's postseason, joining their opponents on Wednesday, Cavalry and Forge FC.
Atlético Ottawa hosted and defeated Cavalry in last year's final. But after going unbeaten against the Calgary club last season, Cavalry have flipped the script this year. Cavalry have won all three meetings in 2026, and scored three each time.
It is the first time in club history they have ever won consecutive matches against the capital club, who before this year had regularly been a thorn in Cavalry's side.
Cavalry arrive at TD Place confident as ever, following a 6-0 win over FC Supra du Québec last Friday, despite leading goalscorer Tobias Warschewski and key starters Sergio Camargo, Caniggia Elva and Harry Paton being unavailable.
Warschewski is back on Wednesday, where he looks to continue an incredible run of form, in which he has put up 11 goal contributions in his past 11 appearances. He is one assist away from setting a CPL single-season record for assists, with 10 and two goals behind the CPL Golden Boot lead.
Wednesday's match begins a crucial road trip for the current league leaders as they search to secure this year's CPL Shield. They also play in Toronto on Saturday, before travelling to Halifax on Thanksgiving Day. Currently six points ahead of rivals Forge,
Atlético sit ten points behind the top two, and can no longer catch Cavalry. Now their focus is on maintaining that third position, and the possibility of bringing the CPL Final back to the capital.
A 1-0 victory over Halifax on Saturday was a good step in that direction, a solid road result with a good defensive display. A win on Wednesday could extend the gap between them and fourth-place Vancouver to seven points.
The match is also about getting the team into playoff mode, and a first win of the season against, Cavalry FC, the only team who they have not beat yet this year and are on a 10-match unbeaten run, would be a big statement of intent.
NEWS & NOTES
- Tobias Warschewski and Harry Paton have both served their 1-match suspension and are available for selection on Wednesday.
- Roni Mbomio (Equatorial Guinea) and Ralph Khoury (Lebanon) are unavailable for Atlético Ottawa due to international duty, Caniggia Elva (St. Lucia) is also away for Cavalry.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Kalongo; Coulanges, Kozlovskiy, Dunn, Assi; Gutiérrez, Aparicio; Antinoro, Tabla, Habibullah; Fleuriau Chateau
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman, Didić, Klomp, Kamdem; Paton, Kobza; Edwards, Musse, Ntignee; Warschewski
KEY QUOTES
"I said to the guys that we need to turn on playoff mode now. Sometimes we have a plan to the game, but the games have another plan for us. It's so important in these moments; we read the game. We know as fast as possible what we need to do to win the games and do it." - Atlético Ottawa head coach Gustavo Leal
"They were better than us last year, I think this year we've clearly shown that we're better than them, and I think what we've got to do is our best against their best, the results will go our way, and I think that's what we've shown so far." - Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
"When you win three games against a team, it's the consistency that prevails. Each game we put in three goals against Ottawa, so it shows we can score against them, and we are finding ways to break through them and capitalize on our opportunities." - Cavalry FC defender Amer Didić