We return to the Canadian Premier League for week three of the new season. Each week, we’ll discuss the games played the past weekend, the current league table, and the upcoming encounters, giving you a one-stop-shop where you can keep up on events and hear a bit of analysis.
Vancouver vs. Cavalry (1 – 1)
The first match of the weekend was Vancouver FC smarting after their 1-4 defeat at the hands of Atletico, while Cavalry was looking for their first win, having not played a game in week two.
I have said before that Vancouver is a team that is shaping up, and the first half really showed where that might go. The team pushed forward hard and with much better positioning in front of the Cavalry goal. They had numerous dangerous situations with passes almost always finding someone ready for them.
The first corner came within the first 5 minutes, and the press paid off with a goal, as Terran Campbell stole the ball and passed to Nicolas Mezquida who brought Vancouver their first goal at only 19 minutes.
Cavalry were reliant on their fast breaks down the right flank, with Ali Musse presenting some impressive speed. That said, the tenacious Vancouver defending and willingness to interfere with Cavalry’s plans kept them at bay until halftime. Physicality was not absent, as the first half presented 3 yellow cards.
We’ve seen Cavalry be thrown off guard by an opponent able to get inside their decision making space before, against Forge back in week one, so the second half would need a change of tactics for Cavalry to come back.
The second half opened with Cavalry pushing almost immediately and continually asserting a lot more control over the game. As the half went on, the Vancouver goal came under siege multiple times, with Vancouver trying to both contest the midfield and work in some chances of their own. One of the best looks came at the 80 minute mark, from a free kick near the Cavalry goal, but it did not amount to anything.
An extensive 8 minutes of stoppage time was added, and at 94 minutes, Cavalry finally sealed the deal: A long ball hoofed forward from the goalkeeper found Caniggia Elva, who headed it to Tobias Warschewski, as the golden boot winner from last season made no mistake and drew the match level at one.
Vancouver Thoughts: A much more convincing performance with Vancouver showing what is possible when they interfere and prevent the opponents from deploying properly in the attack. Long term endurance is perhaps still a question.
Cavalry Thoughts: Difficulties regrouping in the first half, but a very convincing and controlling game in the second half. Overall, a huge advantage in possession. I’d like to see more adaptation to the opposing team at times.
Pacific vs. Halifax (1-3)
The Wanderers got a home game in heavy (and cold) winds, as they took on Pacific FC for the first time in the 2025 season.
No doubt confident coming off two high-scoring games, it looked like disaster would strike as goalkeeper Rayane Yesli nearly fumbled the ball, but a quick recovery prevented a Pacific goal within the first minute.
Smelling blood, Pacific pushed, and got their first corner kick at 11 minutes, forcing Yesli into a save a minute later.
Halifax began to get their bearings a bit more and at 18 minutes, a Halifax corner kick was knocked out by the keeper and secured by Wesley Timoteo who fired off two shots, the first rebounding off a defender and the second finding the net, bringing the score to 1-0 Wanderers.
Pacific threw themselves back into the game to find an equaliser but had to endure an injury substitution as Daniel Oliveira twisted his ankle and was carried off the field. In spite of this disruption to the starting 11, the team continued to play hard, finding 9 shot opportunities and maintaining the majority of the possession, though several of the shots went quite high.
Halifax held their own, containing the most dangerous attacks, but having difficulty following up their success as several crosses into the Pacific box did not find anyone waiting for it.
The second half opened with the Wanderers on the offence, pushing Pacific back and giving them difficulty in trying to clear their lines. Giorgio Probo had a chance for the most impressive goal of the season, with a backwards bicycle kick at 57 minutes, but it was not to be.
However, with Pacific mostly pinned back, at 64 minutes a quick Wanderers play from Sean Rea to Probo eventually found Ryan Telfer at point blank range, raising the lead to 2-0.
This seems to have spurred Pacific into action, as the game was slipping from their grasp. Only 6 minutes later, a throw in from Marco Bustos was played back to him by Christian Greco-Taylor, and on to Dario Zanatta who brought the score to 2-1.
Halifax was forced into a save 4 minutes from that, but that would be the high watermark for Pacific. At 94 minutes and change, as the referee was no doubt eyeing the watch, an intense run from Yohan Bai made its way through the scattered Pacific defenders and produced the final score of 3-1.
Halifax Thoughts: Parts of the first half felt dicey as Pacific pushed hard and kept firing off shots at the Halifax goal, but over the course of the game, the interplay of the offensive line and some good initiative taking paid off in droves. Even so, there are definitely opportunities to improve some of the long crosses into the box.
Pacific Thoughts: Energy was not missing, but several of the shots taken went far too high. It felt like there was a tendency to take the shot at the earliest possible opportunity rather than try to build up a stronger position.
Ottawa vs. York (3-2)
Ottawa came out the gate trying to establish the upper hand, but their offensive efforts were bogged in a midfield fight from a tenacious York side.
York turned the tide at 11 minutes, as a long ball found Max Ferrari, who laid it up for the head of Julian Altobelli, making it 1-0 for York.
The early goal seemed to have knocked Ottawa off their balance slightly, though chances materialized at 24 and 35 minutes, they were not able to make much of them, and the attempts at setting up attacks with long balls did not come to fruition.
At halftime the York United midfield had held the game mostly away from the York box, and all they would have to do was to keep things under control in the second half.
Ottawa seemed to regroup at the break, and came back swinging in the second forty five, with Samuel Salter finding an opportunity in a tussle near the York goal and equalising to 1-1. A few minutes later, Juan Castro found Manny Aparicio, who fired the ball into the York goal with a bomb of a shot from range, bringing the score to 2-1 for Ottawa.
York was forced off balance and seemed to be struggling to get back the initiative, as a number of attacks came apart in the Ottawa penalty box. However at 82 minutes, Riley Ferrazzo managed to steal a ball kicked out by the Ottawa goalkeeper and launch it on goal, rebounding off the post and into the net. Only a handful of minutes left and the score was now 2-2.
The contest continued into stoppage time, with both teams missing back to back opportunities, before a final free kick allowed Kevin Santos to find Noah Abatneh, who calmly scored a match winner at the death for Ottawa, sealing a 3-2 win.
Ottawa Thoughts: An impressive performance creating and making the most of opportunities, coming from behind not only to equalize but win. An impressive rally after a first half that was rather shaky.
York Thoughts: Until the final minute, it looked like York was going to walk away with the first and last goals of the match, with a sturdy defence having allowed them to defang many of the Ottawa attacks. That it came to a loss in the end should not take away from a team that felt in control most of the match.
Forge vs.Valour (1-1)
The second match of the season for Valour, looking to get on the scoreboard, while Forge was looking to claim a third win.
With Forge the likely favourites and playing in front of a home crowd, Valour opted for a high pressure tactic to try and disrupt Forge and make them unable to really build up solid attacks. The early aggression paid off for Valour, with a volley of opportunities in succession before at 11 minutes, a bicycle kick from Kris Twardek handed the ball to Shaan Hundal, who scored at point blank range bringing the score to 1-0 Valour.
Forge tried to push up field in the middle of the half, earning credible shots at 23 and 29 minutes, but still struggling to untangle the Valour squad despite having possession of the ball far more than their opposition. As the half wore on, the physicality also increased. The final minutes of the first half had another Valour shot, but the chance to finish the half up a second goal did not materialise.
The second half opened with an unexpected goal, as Mo Babouli sent the ball sky-high in a tussle in front of the Valour goal. As it finally came back down, Brian Wright was able to knock it to equalize the score.
With the game now in the balance, Forge began asserting themselves, unable to quite choke out Valour’s opportunities, but definitely confining them more with their possession-based style, using lots of long passes to manoeuvre. Wright almost managed to make it 2-1 at 70 minutes from a corner, but it was not to be.
At 82 minutes, the first penalty kick of the season occurred, but Jonathan Viscosi saved it, keeping the score at 1-1. Forge had another missed header in the final minutes, but as the clock finally reached the 99th minute, it was over. Battered and bruised, both teams would have to settle for a draw.
Forge Thoughts: When they get going, they are incredibly tough to beat. They were taken aback in the first half by a team that was able to interfere with their game plan, but when all was said and done, 57% possession throughout the match gave them the tools to build a lot of chances. If only precision had matched initiative.
Valour Thoughts: A team that is capable of contesting a game while being off the ball so much is an interesting team to watch. They matched Forge in shots but the ability to disrupt them did start to fade as the match wore on.
Looking Ahead
At the end of week three, Ottawa, Halifax, and Forge are all sitting on 7 points at the top of the table. York and Pacific bring up the midfield at 3 points, while Cavalry, Vancouver and Valour are all sitting at a single point (bearing in mind that Valour and Cavalry have one less game played).
Next week will see Valour versus Wanderers. This should be an interesting match, as both teams try to have fluid style, and the Wanderers defence has performed rather well.
Cavalry will face Ottawa. Cavalry have an impressive record against Ottawa historically, but the Cavs have been off to a bit of a slow start, while Ottawa has been flying.
Vancouver and Pacific will also meet for this first Salish Sea Derby of the season. Last week was interesting as Pacific had a setback, and although Vancouver blew a late lead, there is a lot they will like from that showing and will hope to carry forward.
Finally York and Forge will meet. Interestingly, York has scored more goals so far, but Forge has an incredibly stingy defence. Can York unravel the Forge passing game?