| Cavalry FC vs. Atlético Ottawa April 12 at 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. MT ATCO Field in Calgary, Alta. Watch Live: OneSoccer & TSN5 Tickets available here |
|---|
Cavalry FC's 2026 home opener will provide an early opportunity to exact a measure of revenge, as Atlético Ottawa come to town for the first time since last November's CPL Final.
The defending champions Ottawa will be in Calgary, but the team they put on the pitch will look fairly different to the one that lifted the North Star Cup last season. For one thing, two members of the championship squad — goalkeeper Nathan Ingham and defender Amer Didić — play for Cavalry now, and will take on their former club.
Ingham, Didić and the Cavs got their 2026 campaign off to a flying start in Matchweek 1, when they won 2-1 on Vancouver Island against Pacific FC. Now, they go into their home opener at ATCO Field with confidence, hoping to build on a strong opener.
A few new faces did make a huge impact for Cavalry in matchweek one —none more than Harry Paton, who scored amid a Team of the Week-worthy performance.
Atleti, on the other hand, head to Alberta still looking for their first win and goal of the campaign. They were in Hamilton last weekend, and struggled in a 2-0 loss to Forge FC. Coach Diego Mejía felt the team had played largely within his desired principles, possessing most of the ball, but they were lacking final third sharpness and attempted zero shots for the first time in club history.
There isn't necessarily bad blood between these sides, but memories of the snowy CPL Final — and of course, the Icicle Kick — nonetheless loom large.
Doubly so if, as the current Calgary forecast threatens, it snows on Sunday.
"It was snow joke of a final," quipped Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. this week. "Hopefully it's a bit better than those conditions and at least somewhat playable, because you've got a couple of good sides here who want to be competing for trophies again."
Ottawa boss Diego Mejía, meanwhile, is embracing the possibility of some wintry weather.
"We're going to try to recreate the same result, with the same conditions," he said. "We are capable of playing in any conditions."
All that said, this is a different matchup. The architect of that Icicle Kick, David Rodríguez, is no longer in Ottawa, nor is last year's leading scorer Sam Salter. So, Atleti are looking for new ways to create goals this season.
Cavalry have a largely familiar cast up front; Tobias Warschewski leads the line, with the likes of Goteh Ntignee and Sergio Camargo creating. Ali Musse, who joined pre-season late, wasn't quite ready to start last week but could be in the XI for the home opener, although it could be tough to drop Jay Herdman after he played well in his return to the club.
These sides were the last two standing in the CPL last season, and they'll be reacquainted with one another early in the 2026 campaign. Can Ottawa continue their traditional dominance against the Cavs, or do the Albertans continue to ride to the top of the table?
NEWS & NOTES
- This is the 22nd meeting all-time between Cavalry and Atlético Ottawa. Including last year's extra-time win in the CPL Final, Ottawa have won 12 of those games, with five draws and four Cavalry wins — just one of them at ATCO Field.
- According to Diego Mejía, Atlético Ottawa's only player unavailable due to injury is forward Ralph Khoury, who suffered an adductor injury.
- Cavalry have a mostly healthy squad; the most significant question mark would be Michael Baldisimo, who missed last week's match.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman, Klomp, Didić, Kamdem Fewo; Paton, Kobza; Herdman, Camargo, Musse; Warschewski
Atlético Ottawa: Crampton; Cloutier, Abatneh, Kozlovskiy; Antinoro, Castro, Aparicio, Coulanges; Garcia, Myklebust, Tabla
KEY QUOTES
"I think [now] we're more dynamic; we're more like us. We're a get after it type of team. We can play with the ball, we'll attack the spaces you give us. If you have the ball, we're coming after you. And I think that's basically what you'll see more of. " — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
"A lot of press talked about that this team didn't shoot on goal [last week], but if you analyze the game, Forge didn't shoot as well. They created chances in set-pieces. ... It was a weird match. I am pretty happy with the performance. We need to be more aggressive, we are working on new patterns for the new players." — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
