Welcome to As It Stands. At the start of each week through the end of the season, we’ll bring you this easy-to-digest wrap-up of everything you need to know from the weekend that was in the Canadian Premier League, and keep tabs on how each team is progressing in its hunt for silverware.

The middle of the Canadian Premier League standings are as close as ever after matchweek 11, with a couple of teams picking up huge results to keep pace in what’s shaping up to be a heck of a race for the top five.

We began all the way back on Wednesday, when York United won their second in a row with a convincing 2-0 result over Pacific FC, surviving a first-half red card to Austin Ricci thanks to goals from Brian Wright and Mo Babouli. Friday night saw Cavalry FC take a very early lead thanks to Tobias Warschewski, but Atlético Ottawa ended up splitting the points via Alberto Zapater’s equalizer shortly before halftime.

Sunday’s doubleheader featured Forge FC at home against Valour FC, as Kwasi Poku continued to thrive in a striker position with a first-half brace. Abdul Binate brought the Winnipeggers within one with his first professional goal, but Forge held off for a 2-1 win at Tim Hortons Field.

Finally — and finally — the Halifax Wanderers collected their first win of 2024, and did so in spectacular fashion in Langley against Vancouver FC. Ryan Telfer got them on the board twice in the first half, before Dan Nimick, returning from injury after two games away, added two of his own in the second half as Halifax scored four goals in a game for the first time in club history.

After all that movement, here’s where the league table stands right now:

It was an entertaining week in the CPL, with three different players scoring braces and a number of other highlight-reel moments. The Golden Boot race is heating up too; York United’s Wright leads with seven goals, but right behind him are Warschewski on six, and Valour’s Jordi Swibel and Atlético Ottawa’s Rubén del Campo on five each.

Perhaps it’s worth noting that all four of those contenders are currently on pace to top last year’s Golden Boot-winning total of 11.

Some congratulations are in order to Binate for his first pro goal on Sunday, as well as to Cavalry’s Exceptional Young Talent signing Chanan Chanda, who made his pro debut off the bench at age 17.

On the international stage, we of course saw the Canadian men’s national team going toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi and Argentina at Copa América last week, and their performance in Atlanta has provided plenty of optimism ahead of their next group match againts Peru.

Canada’s U-20 side took on Paraguay in a friendly on Sunday, and two CPL players got the start in a 2-1 win: Pacific FC’s Christian Greco-Taylor and Forge’s Khadim Kane.

And finally, on a more sombre note: the Canadian soccer family is mourning the passing of Dylon Powley. The former Calgary Foothills, FC Edmonton and Atlético Ottawa goalkeeper was a beloved part of every club he’d played at, and he was continuing to give back to the Alberta Soccer community as a coach and referee. Dylon will be missed.

Monday Reading

If the playoffs started today…

Ontario supremacy at the top? The first three clubs in the standings are all from the same province, with the same true of the next two from B.C. Atlético Ottawa hosting Forge in the qualifying semifinal would be a rematch of the 2022 CPL Final, and should be a fun one.

Meanwhile, who wouldn’t want a B.C. Derby in the play-in game to open up the playoffs?

U-21 minutes watch

Pacific are incredibly close now to hitting their 2,000-minute mark, which they should do this week. Meanwhile, Forge got a significant bump this week from Kwasi Poku’s outstanding 90 minutes.

Cavalry, likewise, shot up the table, with Lucas Dias getting the start and Chanan Chanda making his debut.

For the full player-by-player breakdown on the Jones Deslauriers | Navacord U-21 Minute Leaderboard, click here.

Here’s how all eight teams are progressing toward the 2,000-minute threshold:

Coming up next…

Thursday, June 27

Valour FC vs. York United FC (6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET)
Pacific FC vs. Vancouver FC (7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET)

Friday, June 28

Atlético Ottawa vs. Forge FC (7 p.m. ET)

Monday, July 1

Halifax Wanderers FC vs. Cavalry FC (4 p.m. AT/1 p.m. MT)

(Watch all four games live on OneSoccer)

Photo of the Week

I think this new role is suiting Kwasi Poku just fine.