With another two weeks of Canadian Premier League games played, and with half the season gone, I thought I would take a moment to do something a little different: Step back and get the larger picture, and perhaps ask some questions. So get your coffee and a scone and settle in. Let’s talk about the 2025 season!

The big shocker I suppose was Vancouver and Pacific playing out their derby game for a 4-4 result. A constant back and forth and with Mezquida’s goal in stoppage time, it seemed like the Eagles finally had their big, hard fought win. And then they didn’t. I felt absolutely gutted on their behalf watching it. 

The June 28th contest between Cavalry and Ottawa was two of the top dogs grinding it out. It was Cavalry’s home turf, but no matter: Ottawa pulled out a 2-0 win.

June 29th saw York fend off a usually confident Forge in a 2-2 match, while July 1st had Halifax beat Valour 3-1. The following weekend had Forge play Vancouver and return to form with a 2-1 win.

So where do we stand right now? 

Let’s take a look at each team, where they are, and where they are going.

Atletico Ottawa

Ottawa remains in the top spot and seem to be able to fend of all comers at this point. A season with 8 wins, 1 loss and 4 draws has given them a solid 28 points (for comparison they only got 36 total in the 2023 season). Can this form continue? Well, I don’t see any reason why not: They have scored an astounding 30 goals while only conceding 15, and the record so far shows they have dialed in how to deal with foes like Cavalry.

Forge remains the toughest opponent for them and they are in nearly as strong form. Will Ottawa make playoffs? Yeah, almost certainly. That part is probably not in question at all at this point.

What IS in question when a team is this hot, is whether they can sustain it for the remaining half of the season. Running hot also burns players out and exhaustion can start to creep in. In that case there starts to be questions to answer for the coach. Do you rotate more and hope to be able to take it easier in some of the games you expect to win handily? Do you push on and hope that points accumulated will see you through when you eventually have to just concede a game you no longer have it in you to win? Or perhaps you just roll right through all of it? Time will tell. 

Of course this weekend they will get another show down with Forge, a draw last time and this one is guaranteed to be hotly contested. 

As a side note for those follow the Canadian Championship (and why on earth would you not?) Ottawa has fended off League One Scrosopi and then CPL competitors York, putting them on good footing here as well.

Forge

If Ottawa is the unstoppable force, Forge has very much been the immovable object. The only league team to elude defeat, they have 6 draws and 7 wins to their name, placing them at 27 points, just one behind Ottawa. Conceding only 10 goals while still being dependable scorers shows that good defence and a willingness to grind it out can pay off handsomely. 

It is perhaps notable that they only have a single player in the top 11 scorers. Brian Wright is a fantastic player but it does mean they are a little less likely to run rampant score-wise compared to Ottawa.

But then, in a league where breaking down defensive blocks systematically is hard and with a team that is very resistant to being pulled out of formation, Forge seems like they are unlikely to finish the season outside the top 3. The upcoming match against Ottawa will probably be a statement of intent as much as it is anything else, particularly as Forge no doubt seeks to establish themselves firmly above their long time top of the league rivals in Cavalry.

Of course the Championship has also been kind to the Hammers as they have faced off against Halifax and Montreal. A CPL side taking on an MLS side? More likely than you think in 2025!

Can Forge go the distance in the cup? I think a lot of people would say if any team has the chance to do it, Forge may be the one. 

HFX Wanderers

One of the exciting surprises has been to see the Wanderers return to form after a weak 2024 performance. Currently third with 7 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties granting them 24 points, they have conceded only 3 more goals than Forge. They are in a position where they have some hard work to catch up and get into the second position, while still having to keep an eye towards Cavalry below them. 

Their next match is against Pacific, a game they no doubt look forward to as a chance to keep padding their numbers and practice their particular style of play. Whether you are first or second at the end of the season has no effect on playoffs but whether you are second, third or fourth is a huge factor. Should Wanderers finish out third, they basically get to skip one match in the play off sequence, greatly improving their chances of making it to the final.

Can they gain on Forge? A 3 point difference is a single game you win while they lose. But with Ottawa lurking in the future, the Tridents will need to pull out all of their tricks. Still, I feel strongly that Wanderers will keep the pace. In a manner, while being eliminated from the Championship is of course disappointing, it does leave them free to focus on the League and get sufficient rest. Every little edge can end up making the difference. 

Cavalry

I am not ready to write “oh how the mighty have fallen” stories yet because Cavalry is a team that plays extremely well, but they are in a situation where the competition is also tougher than it has been in a long time. The Cavs have not finished below third in a couple of years but are currently in fourth with 21 points (6 wins, 3 losses and 3 draws) and a full 7 points behind the league leaders.

The goal performance has been solid: 20 scored, 11 conceded is only inches worse than Forge, but of course in football it also matters WHERE you score your goals and 3 losses is something that hurts them here. It should be noted that they do have a game in hand, having played only 12 so far. A Sunday the 13th encounter with Vancouver is probably something the Cavs look forward to more than Vancouver, as the calendar ticks on. 

As I said above, the exact positioning matters tremendously between third and fourth when going into the playoffs. It seems unlikely that a squad as hard working and energetic as Cavalry will let Halifax push them out of the way. 

Is the Championship loss to Vancouver a sign of the squad wearing a little thin? Or just one of those things that happen in football? Hard to tell, but certainly Calgary will be all hands on deck in the next few weekends.

York United

York finds themselves in the fourth position with 15 points (4 wins, 6 losses, 3 ties) and is the lowest ranked team to still have a positive goal difference (19 went out, 18 went in). They are in a difficult spot to advance as they are a full six points behind Cavalry (and Cavalry are hardly slouches) while also being fairly secure with six points separating them from Pacific below.

Assuming form remains constant, this is a position that gets you into the playoffs where you can begin to make your own luck. 

York is out of the Championship after a spirited effort against Ottawa (scoring 4 goals across the two legs). 

Do you lock in to just defend your position? Do you push hard to try and gain some of the ground above you? Altobelli is certainly eager to secure his name as a top scorer this season, but can he pull that weight alone? Over a third of the goals York has scored have his name on it after all. 

Pacific

The Tridents are currently 6th with 9 points resulting from 2 wins, 8 defeats and 3 ties. Goals have been hard to come by with Ndom accounting for 4 of the 12 scored, while 24 have gone past the defenders. 

6th doesn’t net you anything for the playoffs: A position that would be uniquely difficult as they made it in both ’24 and ’23. 

It is at least six points to get into contention (and remember when we are talking league standings, its not just that you have to score six points, you have to be gaining six points MORE than the teams above you are gaining). This means taking on some difficult opposition with a Saturday Halifax game coming as a way to test the determination and willpower of the squad. 

Pacific fans will no doubt see the 4-goal game against Vancouver as vindication that the team has broken their low-scoring ways: Prior to that they had no game above 2 goals in the season and 6 where they had no goals at all.

Then, as that game showed, perhaps what Pacific needs is a bit of fire to get the best out of the squad. James Merriman certainly seems eager enough.

Valour

In 7th we find Valour with 2 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses behind them (and a game behind most of the rest of the league). They have scored 10 times with a league high 29 goals conceded, though I suppose if you want to be mercenary, if you lose, it often doesn’t matter if it is by 1 as against Halifax or by 4 as against Cavalry.

The good news in the standings is that overtaking Pacific is only a point away. However, it is a long 7 points to get tied with York and contest the playoffs.

Valour finished last in their prior two seasons, so slugging it out for the bottom three positions is perhaps not something the fans were hoping to see, but I think there are also some things to be proud of so far. They went toe to toe with the dreaded Whitecaps, tying them once and only losing by 1 the second leg. Hardly an easy task and certainly something to soothe the mood a bit after recent encounters with Cavalry and Forge.

However, the immediate future holds games against York and Vancouver: Match-ups that the team should find eminently contestable to get some confidence back into things. 

Vancouver FC

At the bottom we find the boys out of Langley, with a single league win, 4 draws and 8 losses for a grand total of 7 points. A grim story for a team that finished in the bottom two positions in their first two seasons in the league. 

However, as with Valour there are some moments to be proud of the performances. The recent nail biter against Pacific showed that the team can score goals and fight to the end when pushed hard enough, and a rather unexpected encounter with Cavalry in the Championship is more proof of that, pushing Vancouver through to the semifinals.

As with Valour, it is probably a difficult discussion if playoffs are realistic, but certainly fighting to the end in the Championship is worth a lot and I think everyone would love to see a Vancouver versus Langley…I mean a Vancouver showdown. 

Never underestimate the morale boost from a big cup performance. 

Do you want to make predictions about the final standings? Go ahead and drop them in the comments below.

CPL Golden Boot Competition

9 Goals – Salter (Ottawa)

7 Goals – Altobelli (York), Wright (Forge)

6 Goals – Coimbra (Wanderers)

5 Goals – Musse (Cavalry), Rodriguez (Ottawa), Warschewski (Cavalry)

4 Goals –  Camargo (Cavalry), Ndom (Pacific),Santos (Ottawa), Tabla (Ottawa)

Salter continues his climb towards 10, while Coimbra shoots up into a 4th position.  

Did You Know?

In 2024 the final winner (Cavalry) finished second in the regular season, while in 2023 Forge won the playoffs, but Cavalry had the most points in the regular season.