| 2026 CPL Playoffs — Semifinal Leg 1 FC Supra du Québec vs. Cavalry FC Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PCT Stade Boréale in Laval, Que. Watch Live: OneSoccer, TSN, TVA Sport Direct Tickets available here |
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As FC Supra du Québec begin their maiden voyage in the Canadian Premier League playoffs, a colossus stands in their path.
Cavalry FC, the CPL's regular season winners, will be just a week removed from lifting the CPL Shield as they travel to Laval. Their next mission is history: becoming the first club to win both the regular season and playoffs in a single year.
Cavalry finished 22 points above FC Supra du Québec during the regular season -- the largest margin between two playoff opponents in CPL history.
But the slate wipes clean in the playoffs. Nobody in the CPL has been in better form over the past month than FC Supra du Québec, who went 4-1-0 under new head coach Kyt Selaidopoulos in October to come from eight points back to make a stunning rise above the playoff line on the final day of the season.
They've been playing do-or-die games for weeks now, and they've found ways to win them.
There is no replacing playoff pressure, however, and Cavalry have dealt with it in all eight of the CPL's seasons. They have been to the final the past three years, lifting the North Star Cup in 2024 at ATCO Field. Much of that team remains in Calgary, complemented by outstanding new recruits in each area of the pitch.
Supra do have proven playoff performers of their own. Attacker David Choinière is a four-time CPL champion and has four CPL playoff goals to his name, the second most all-time. Two of those goals came against Cavalry FC, including in the 2019 final. Aboubacar Sissoko also won a pair of CPL titles with Forge, and another last season with Atlético Ottawa. Selaidopoulos, meanwhile, won titles as an with Forge in 2022 and 2023.
Cavalry remains the only CPL team that Supra have never defeated. But both meetings in Québec this season were incredibly close. The first, back on May 3, was a 1-0 Cavalry win on an 88th-minute Tobias Warschewski penalty. The second, a 1-1 draw, saw Supra lead for eight minutes before Caniggia Elva equalized, again in the 88th minute.
Despite their tremendous regular season record, Cavalry have struggled a bit on the road recently, with just two victories in their past seven trips away from ATCO Field.
The change of playoff format also presents Cavalry with a challenge. Historically, the club has struggled in home-and-away ties, failing to advance in their past seven in all competitions, dating back to losing the first-ever CPL Final in 2019 to Forge on aggregate.
Their last victory on aggregate came in the 2019 Canadian Championship against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Supra, meanwhile, made the Canadian Championship semifinal in their first season as a club, beating Atlético Ottawa in the home and away quarterfinal.
Cavalry are chasing CPL immortality, and the dream of lifting another North Star Cup at ATCO Field.
Supra look to extend a magical run which has already surpassed most expectations. They know the need to take care of business at home before braving the fortress in Calgary.
The first leg will set the tone and could put one of these two clubs one step closer to reaching the 2026 CPL Final.
NEWS & NOTES
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The 2026 CPL Playoffs feature two-legged semifinal ties, with the winner on aggregate advancing to the CPL Final. The away goals rule is not in effect.
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Cavalry's Tobias Warschewski is the Canadian Premier League's all-time leading playoff goalscorer, with five postseason goals in five matches.
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FC Supra du Québec's Safwane Mlah is suspended for three matches after receiving a red card for violent conduct following the club's season finale in Halifax.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
FC Supra du Québec: Milli; Brault-Guillard, Auguste, Chrétien, Abzi; Biello, Sissoko; Choinière, Rea, Kwemi; Condé
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman, Didić, Klomp, Kamdem; Paton, Kobza; Musse, Warschewski, Ntignee; Elva
