| Cavalry FC vs. Inter Toronto April 25 at 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. MT ATCO Field in Calgary, AB. Watch Live: OneSoccer, CBC Gem Tickets available here |
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On Saturday, Inter Toronto travel to the stadium where their 2025 season came to an end.
In last year's playoffs, they suffered a 4-1 loss in the semi-final qualifiers at ATCO Field at the hands of eventual finalists Cavalry FC.
The two sides meet for the first time in 2026, both carrying an unbeaten record heading into the match.
For Inter Toronto, this is their first away match of the season after playing their first two matches at York Lions Stadium -- a 1-0 win this past weekend against Vancouver FC, and a 2-2 draw with the Halifax Wanderers in their home opener.
This is a major area for Inter to improve on in 2026. Just three regular-season away wins last season were the fewest in club history. Only Pacific scored fewer goals on the road than Inter Toronto's 15 in 2025.
ATCO Field, however, is a venue where they've had success in recent years. Inter Toronto are the only club in the league that has won in Calgary in each of the past two campaigns.
Last year, they won 1-0 on July 26 courtesy of a goal from Julian Altobelli. That is also the last time that Cavalry FC lost at home, as a 3-1 win over Atlético Ottawa in this season's home opener was their eighth straight match unbeaten at ATCO Field.
Cavalry extended their unbeaten record to begin the 2026 season this past Saturday, drawing 0-0 with Forge FC in Hamilton. It was the first time this season that their high-powered attack had stalled a little bit, however, as despite Forge going down to 10-men in the 56th minute, they did not manage a shot on target.
Instead, it was heroics from Cavalry goalkeeper Nate Ingham -- who began his CPL career with Inter Toronto -- that stole the show as he made six saves, especially during an early onslaught from the hosts.
Dating back to last season, however, they have been lethal at ATCO Field. The three goals they scored against defending champions Atlético Ottawa in their lone home game so far of 2026 made it 23 goals scored in their past seven games at ATCO Field. Tommy Wheeldon Jr. has always taken pride in his club playing an entertaining brand of football at home, and it looks like that will be no different in 2026.
Seventeen of those goals during that seven-match stretch were either scored or assisted by Cavalry's high-powered attacking trio of Tobias Warschewski (5 goals, 2 assists), Sergio Camargo (2 goals, 4 assists) and Ali Musse (2 goals, 4 assists). Through three matches, Musse has yet to make a start this season, playing only five minutes off the bench against ten-man Forge this past weekend. But as he regains fitness, those minutes are sure to increase -- perhaps starting on Saturday.
"[Musse's] looking at me a lot more now, catching my eye a lot more, as if to say he's ready," said Wheeldon Jr. "And there's the glimmer in his eye, a little bit of steam coming out of his nose. And I think that's where Ali excels."
Can Cavalry continue their home dominance and strong start to the 2026 season, or can Inter Toronto make an early statement of intent and win at one of the CPL's most difficult road venues?
NEWS & NOTES
- Inter Toronto captain Oswaldo León has two matches remaining in his suspension.
- Inter Toronto are expecting international signings Raúl López, Ariel Almagro and Sebastián González to arrive soon, but not this weekend.
- Midfielder Kembo Kibato is getting closer to returning, but is still unavailable for Inter Toronto.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman, Didić, Klomp, Kamdem-Fewo; Paton, Kobza; Edwards, Camargo, Ntignee; Warschewski
Inter Toronto: Urtiaga; Singh, Gómez, Sturing; Ferrari, Córdova, Yeates, Bitar, Jimoh; Skublak, Altobelli
KEY QUOTES
"They've made a couple of really good signings in Badibanga and Bassett. They've played in this league. They've been successful in this league. So I think anytime you add those to your team, you become a better team. We've got to expect that they have some magic in their boots." — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
"It's always hard to go into ATCO Field when they feel comfortable in their field with their fans. But we've gone there, we've got positive results, and we're going to go there again with the same mindset." — Inter Toronto head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"We've added some big additions in our team, especially in attack. They're now coming back to full fitness and I think the quality that they have is something different than we had last year. [Béni] Badibanga and [Ollie] Bassett, those are proven guys in the league and I think it's going to be a good showing on Saturday." — Inter Toronto defender Luke Singh