2023 CPL Regular Season — Match #112
Cavalry FC vs. Pacific FC
Saturday, October 7 at 3 p.m. MT/5 p.m. ET
ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here
In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.
There’s sure to be a festive atmosphere around Spruce Meadows this weekend, as regular season champions Cavalry FC take on Pacific FC at ATCO Field in the final match before the 2023 playoffs.
Cavalry will lift the CPL Shield as title-winners after the game, but before they can do that there’s some serious business to be conducted on the pitch. Of course, the Cavs have nothing tangible on the line in this match as they’re locked into the top seed and will begin the playoffs the following weekend at home. They don’t want a sour taste in their mouths when they celebrate with the Shield, though, and they certainly don’t want to roll over against a Pacific side they may well see again right away in the postseason.
Entering the final weekend, Pacific sit third in the league with 40 points. They’re two points behind second-place Forge FC, and just one ahead of fourth-place Halifax Wanderers, who play the night before in Winnipeg.
James Merriman and the Tridents were in the top two for most of this season, only slipping out when they lost to Forge two weeks ago. They don’t entirely control their own fate in the table, with Forge taking on Atlético Ottawa at the exact same time on Saturday, but they’re desperate to win and take second place if the Hamiltonians don’t win their match. Playing in the first vs. second playoff match, with a chance to host the CPL Final, would be a far better situation for Pacific than coming third and needing to win two knockout games just to get to the final.
Even worse would be landing in fourth, which Pacific could do if Halifax win and they don’t. That would mean they’d return home to play a Wednesday night match against the fifth-place side.
Unfortunately for Pacific, they’re not exactly entering this game brimming with confidence. They’ve lost their last two matches, beginning with the defeat at Forge and following that up with a lacklustre 2-1 loss at home against B.C. rivals Vancouver FC. Pacific have only won two of their last nine games, and they’ll need to find themselves — especially in the attack — if they’re to build some momentum heading into the playoffs.
Cavalry have already won the season series between these sides this year, having won twice and drawn once, although Pacific advanced from their Canadian Championship matchup on penalties. The last meeting was a 1-0 Cavalry win at ATCO Field in late August, where Myer Bevan’s penalty was all the hosts needed to take three points.
The title-winning Cavs have won four games on the bounce, and they’re unbeaten in their last eight, most recently seeing off Valour FC in a 2-1 comeback win at home last Friday. They’ll offer some stiff competition to Pacific, knowing that if they lose to the Tridents they might well have to play them again the following week.
It’s always special when these sides meet under the lights in Calgary, and Saturday will undoubtedly be quite the show in front of a boisterous crowd anticipating a trophy lift. Their hometown Cavalry will be keen to entertain before they get their hands on that silverware.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Aparicio available to play after knock: The biggest on-pitch story heading into this match might be the fitness of Pacific star Manny Aparicio, who might be the club’s most impactful difference-maker. The 28-year-old missed out on the loss to Vancouver FC last weekend, not even making the bench after starting Pacific’s prior 12 matches. The Tridents have only been without Aparicio four times this season, but they haven’t won any of those — two draws and two losses. On the only occasion he came off the bench as a substitute (May 1 against Forge), Pacific also lost. Suffice it to say: Aparicio is incredibly important to Pacific’s success. James Merriman said on Thursday that Aparicio was kept out against Vancouver because of a “very minor” knock, and that he’s fully available for selection this weekend, which is welcome news for Pacific fans.
- Cavalry trying to build momentum before playoffs: The home side will, no matter what happens, lift a trophy after this game. That’s Cavalry’s reward for a season’s worth of consistently strong play. However, that won’t matter next week, when the playoffs begin and Cavalry have to compete in high-stakes games to try and win another trophy. That’s why Tommy Wheeldon Jr. will not want his team to take Saturday off in anticipation of the party after the whistle; they need to maintain form so they enter the postseason with as much momentum as possible. Cavalry played well (after an early hiccup) in their game against Valour last week, which had no playoff stakes whatsoever; knowing that Pacific have a lot to play for on Saturday may also help raise Cavalry’s level.
- Pacific desperate for fast start: After last weekend’s loss to Vancouver, Pacific coach James Merriman called his team’s first half “unacceptable,” saying they’d strayed from the game plan and as a result found themselves 2-0 down at halftime. Starting games poorly has been a recurring problem for the Tridents this year, with just 15 first-half goals in 27 league matches. The Tridents have taken a while to find their attacking rhythm in some games this year, which they can’t really afford against a Cavalry side that will prove difficult to break down later in the game. “We’ve had too many games where we start and, in our opinion we had some really good patterns, good attacking moments, we create a good chance or two chances and we don’t take those early chances,” Merriman said this week. “And then maybe the other team starts to settle in and the game starts to turn, which is very normal. But the consistency of us creating those moments and not taking those moments, if that becomes a pattern it’s not easy to move past. But we don’t have any time to waste.”
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Cavalry FC: Carducci; Kobza, Klomp, Montgomery; Aird, Shome, Daley, Kamdem; Musse, Bevan, Camargo
Pacific FC: Gazdov; Mukumbilwa, Didic, Meilleur-Giguère, Vliet; Yeates, Young, Aparicio; Heard, Ongaro, Sellouf
ALL-TIME SERIES
Cavalry wins: 12 || Pacific wins: 8 || Draws: 4
Last meeting:
August 27, 2023 – Cavalry 1-0 Pacific
KEY QUOTES
“Whatever happens in and around us is exciting. I think it is exciting for the playoff implications, playoffs as I’ve always said are an exciting thing for the fans and media. We’ve got our one foot in Concacaf, but we will just play the team in front of us which happens to be Pacific. We know that they are going to give us their best effort which is great to see, because if you want to be the best you’ve got to play against the best. We are looking forward to what James is going to put out in front of us tomorrow.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“We need to show a response. We set a goal of trying to go after the league the entire season and it’s been difficult to watch Cavalry take that away over the last few weeks… We very much have to focus on ourselves, and also take in the moment; they’re going to lift the Shield and be crowned as league champions, really for the first time in the CPL. We need to take in that moment. It guarantees them a Concacaf opportunity and we have to respect that as well, because that was a goal of ours. We have to take that in now and for the future.” — Pacific head coach James Merriman