Cavalry FC Wins The Canadian Premier League Fall Season

Just as Cavalry FC claimed the first-ever spring season title in the newly-founded Canadian Premier League, the Calgary-based club has now claimed the fall season, too.

Securing three points against FC Edmonton in the year’s final Al Classico matchup saw Cavalry FC slide up ahead of Forge FC to the top spot of the league table, right on deadline day.

With the game deadlocked well into the second half, a crowd of 3,492 spectators at Spruce Meadows watched Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s side do what they always do: find a way to win. A long ball from Calgarian goalkeeper Marco Carducci eventually found Sergio Camargo in the 76th, and he buried the shot past Eddies goalkeeper Dylon Powley to give the home team the league-winning lead.

Four minutes later, substitute striker Jordan Brown doubled the home side’s lead with an absolute rocket that struck the crossbar and found itself beyond the goal line. The Al Classico matchup got even more lopsided courtesy of a late penalty goal from Jose Escalante, though Eddies youngster Easton Ongario would get a consolation goal for FC Edmonton in the 90th minute – his tenth league goal of the season.

After the match, Sergio Camargo spoke about the faith his team had in securing itself the fall season title:

We wanted to win this game to ultimately give us the overall in the season, the fall season. We handled that pressure the right way. We’re a good team. We play under pressure every time we play because we’re always looking to win. And that’s what makes us special.

Sergio Camargo

The Canadian Premier League fall season had long been a two-horse race between Cavalry FC and Forge FC, though this race was close enough that it took the final matchday to settle things for good: Cavalry FC secured the top spot with 38 points, just a single point ahead of Bobby Smyrniotis’ Hamilton-based club – though Cavalry scored thirteen more goals than Forge throughout the eighteen-match fall season.

Cavalry FC will now aim to best Forge FC in the two-legged Canadian Premier League finals, where all the marbles are on the line. The club travels away to Hamilton next Saturday before playing its home leg on November 2. It’s bound to be a fiery affair on the pitch, albeit one that’s likely to be cold in the stands.

To that end, the trophy for the league itself has yet to be revealed. Fans can likely expect that to come during this Friday’s live OneSoccer panel in Hamilton ahead of the first leg, or perhaps in the prematch ceremonies of the first leg itself. However it gets unveiled, 180 minutes of Canadian soccer history will see two class teams compete to hoist the trophy for the first time ever.

The Canadian Premier League recently confirmed that away goals will come into effect for the CPL finals. Should both sides be all square at the end of regular time in the second leg, the match will advance straight to penalties. The league also confirmed that the golden boot race will not end with the regular season, with the CPL Finals now representing a race between Tristan Borges and Dominique Malonga.

Both matches of the Canadian Premier League finals will be available to stream one OneSoccer, and will also be broadcast live by CBC Sports.

Source: Canadian Premier League