Pacific FC and Atlético Ottawa combined for one of the most entertaining matches of the 2026 Canadian Premier League season on Saturday, as they traded goals in a 2-2 draw at Starlight Stadium.
Unfortunately for Pacific, it was a bittersweet result, because while they'll be pleased to earn the point, just their second of the season, they'll feel that they should've gotten their first win of 2026 after taking a 2-0 lead in this game.
Yet, credit has to be given to Atlético Ottawa, who, in their last game under manager Diego Mejía, managed to claw back two late goals to earn the 2-2 draw.
Because of that, Pacific will have to return to the drawing board as they search for their first win, even if they can be encouraged by what they showed in this game. Meanwhile, Ottawa will look to take this point in stride as they continue to push up the table, having found a bit of form lately after a slow start to the season.
Following their 3-0 defeat against Cavalry, in what was interim head coach Yiannis Tsalatsidis's first game in charge after a recent coaching change of their own, Pacific made three changes to their lineup in this one, bringing in Alejandro Díaz, Marco Bustos and Eric Lajeunesse for Aidan Daniels, Matthew Baldisimo and Christian Greco-Taylor, as they opted for a more aggressive lineup. Ottawa, meanwhile, made no changes to the team that beat Forge 2-1, as they looked to build on what worked well for them in that impressive home victory.
Clearly, that proved to be a good decision, as Ottawa came strongly out of the gates right from the first whistle, doing well to push for an early goal.
As a result, they were able to put Pacific under all sorts of pressure in the opening 10 minutes, generating a flurry of chances.
After a couple of blocked shots from Gabriel Antinoro, Jean-Aniel Assi, and Manny Aparicio, Juan Castro finally tested the hands of Pacific goalkeeper Eleias Himaras, firing a powerful shot that Himaras just tipped over the crossbar, before Noah Abatneh had a good chance slide just wide of the goal on the ensuing corner.
Then, moments later, Emiliano Garcia had an even better chance for Ottawa, as he found himself in an excellent chance to shoot on a half-breakaway, but his low attempt was denied by an excellent save from Himaras.
Having survived that early siege, Pacific managed to quickly turn things around and sting Ottawa with a response at the other end. It all happened in an instant, too, as Josh Heard did well to find Ronan Kratt with a nice ball into the box, and Kratt managed to control the ball and then slot it into the bottom corner to give his team a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
Moments later, Pacific almost found a second, too, as Marco Bustos found himself in an excellent position at the edge of the box, but despite firing the ball with his preferred left foot, he curled the ball just over the goal.
Continuing this lively run, Kratt came close to finding his brace in the 29th minute, as he danced his way into the box before firing a low shot that Ottawa's Tristan Crampton had to get down quickly to save. Then, Yann Toualy had an even better chance in the 40th minute, as the ball found him at the back post, but he was just unable to keep his first-time shot on target.
Their flurry wouldn't stop there, as Pacific did well to nearly score off a corner in the 45th minute, as a wide-open Joshua Belluz met a good cross from Taras Gomulka, but he sent his header right at Crampton.
To Pacific's credit, though, while they were unable to find a second goal before the halftime break, they picked up where they left off in the second half.
After a long ball from Himaras in the 50th minute, Kratt managed to win a second ball and drive into space, finding Toualy with a nice pass, and Toualy did the rest, cutting inside from the left before curling the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Not done there, Pacific continued to push for a third, as they looked to cap a strong performance with a win. As a result, Alejandro Díaz had a couple of close calls around the 65th minute, as he first sent a dangerous header just wide before nearly curling a shot into the top corner less than a minute later.
Finally, though, having absorbed all that pressure, Ottawa managed to respond with a game-changing goal in the 78th minute. After a perfect corner delivery into the six-yard box from Wesley Timotéo, Loïc Cloutier managed to get to the ball first, poking home from close range to cut Pacific's lead to 2-1 in an impressive bit of link-up play between a pair that had only come onto the pitch as substitutes minutes before the corner.
All of a sudden, that turned momentum in Ottawa's favour, and that ended up creating a nervy finish for Pacific - and that only got nervier when Belluz, who was already on a yellow card, was sent off for a second yellow in the 90th minute.
As a result, Ottawa looked to finish the game on a high note and find a late draw, and they almost punished Pacific right after the red card, as Roni Mbomio found the space for a free header, but his seemingly goalbound attempt hit his own teammate, Cloutier, before staying out.
Eventually, though, Ottawa would find their equalizer deep into second half stoppage time. After Ballou Tabla had done well to navigate his way into the box, he managed to win a penalty, as he got on the wrong side of Pacific's Bul Juach, who took him down.
From there, Tabla stepped up to take the penalty, and he made no mistake, tying the game at 2-2 right in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
The game would end that way, too, leaving both teams to split the points in a game where they'll each feel they could've won, showing why it was one that will have been quite entertaining for any neutrals tuning in.
Box Score
Starting XIs
Pacific FC: Himaras; Heard, Konincks, Belluz, Lajeunesse; Chung, Gomulka; Kratt (Keshavarz 71' (Marshall 90+2')), Bustos (Juach 90+7'), Toualy (Edwards 71'); Díaz
Atlético Ottawa: Crampton; Mbomio, Abatneh, Aguilar (Cloutier 75'), Assi (Coulanges 46'), Aparicio, Castro, Antinoro (Timotéo 75'); Villal (López 53'), García (Habibullah 71'), Tabla
Goals
13' -- Ronan Kratt (Pacific FC)
50' -- Yann Toualy (Pacific FC)
78' -- Loïc Cloutier (Atlético Ottawa)
90+10' -- Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)
Discipline
17' — Yellow: Joshua Belluz (Pacific FC)
69' — Yellow: Emiliano García (Atlético Ottawa)
89' — Second Yellow: Joshua Belluz (Pacific FC)
90+7' — Yellow: Bench (Atlético Ottawa)
90+9' — Yellow: Bul Juach (Pacific FC)
90+13' — Yellow: Yiannis Tsalatsidis (Pacific FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Ronan Kratt, Pacific FC
Kratt was extremely lively on the right wing for Pacific, scoring a goal and adding an assist in his 70 minutes on the pitch. He also generated three shots, created two chances and completed two dribbles to cap off a strong offensive showing.
What's Next?
Pacific will head out east for their next game, as a matchup with FC Supra du Québec awaits at Stade Boréale on Saturday, June 6th (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET). Ottawa, meanwhile, will return to British Columbia for a matchup with Vancouver FC on Friday, June 5th at Langley Events Centre (7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET).
The Eagles, meanwhile, host Atlético Ottawa on Friday, June 5 at the Stadium at the Langley Events Centre (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT).