| Atlético Ottawa vs. Pacific FC July 23 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT TD Place in Ottawa, Ont. Watch Live: OneSoccer Tickets available here |
|---|
Terry Dunfield will finally take charge of a Pacific FC match on Sunday afternoon in the capital, as his Tridents take on a rejuvenated Atlético Ottawa under their own new coach Gustavo Leal.
It'll be Pacific's first action since July 5, after last Thursday's scheduled game against Forge FC was postponed due to air quality concerns. So, this will be new head coach Dunfield's first opportunity to command the technical area in the Canadian Premier League after he arrived at the club on July 7.
Ottawa, meanwhile, began life under Leal last Friday night. The Brazilian coach arrived in the capital just in time to see his new team draw 1-1 with Inter Toronto, in a match where Atleti dominated the ball with a CPL-record 77 per cent possession — but couldn't find a second goal.
Both these sides arrive at Sunday's match hungry for a victory.
Pacific sit at the bottom of the CPL standings after 12 matches; they have just three points, and haven't won a game yet. They've lost three straight matches and are in desperate need of some positivity, which Dunfield will aim to create.
Atleti find themselves higher up the table in third, one ahead of fourth-place Vancouver with 18 points. They've got a strong grip on a playoff spot, but need to string some wins together to keep it. Ottawa are winless in their last three, including a TELUS Canadian Championship loss, but they beat the Halifax Wanderers convincingly back on Canada Day.
Sunday will mark Pacific's first trip to the capital in 2026, although they did host Atlético at Starlight Stadium earlier this year.
That particular match was a heartbreaker for the Tridents, who had a 2-0 lead shortly after halftime only for Ottawa to come back and snatch a 2-2 draw. Pacific went down to 10 men in the 89th minute, and Atleti ultimately tied it with a Ballou Tabla penalty kick in the 11th minute of stoppage time.
Ottawa won all four of their games against Pacific in 2025, and will be particularly hungry to bank their first victory under Leal this weekend.
Pacific, however, will try to jumpstart their season and begin the Dunfield era on the right foot.
NEWS & NOTES
- Atlético Ottawa will be without defender Sergei Kozlovskiy, who is away at the Concacaf U-20 Championships with Canada.
- Terry Dunfield, former Canadian national team midfielder, will officially begin his tenure as the fourth permanent head coach in club history. Assistant Yiannis Tsalatsidis, who has been in charge on an interim basis since late May, remains on the bench.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Kalongo; Mbomio, Cloutier, Abatneh, Timoteo; Aparicio, Aguilar, Castro; Antinoro, Tabla, Villal
Pacific FC: Himaras; Chung, Belluz, Konincks, Lajeunesse; Gomulka, Baldisimo; Kratt, Bustos, Toualy; Díaz
