With eight games remaining in their 2023 Canadian Premier League regular season, Cavalry FC are at the top of the table.

The margins, admittedly, have never been smaller. Just four points separate the Cavs from the Halifax Wanderers, who currently sit in the league’s fifth and final playoff spot. But as the season reaches its final stages Cavalry are in pole position to win their second regular season title — with this one significantly more meaningful.

The story of Cavalry FC has long been this: despite being the league’s most successful regular season side, when the lights have been the brightest they have consistently failed to deliver. Cavalry are yet to win a CPL knockout match under the league’s various formats, losing to Forge in the inaugural finals, Pacific in the 2021 semis and to Forge again in the semis over two legs last season.

The Cavs did win both the fall and spring season in the league’s inaugural year, something the league rewarded retroactively, but that accomplishment was overshadowed by losing the final to Forge. This year, however, winning the regular season title would bring with it not only silverware and a financial prize, but a spot in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Winning this year’s regular season title, then, would go a long way toward Cavalry shedding their reputation as perennial underachievers.

As a result, the lights are about to get incredibly bright once more in Calgary. On Sunday, they host second-place Pacific FC in a top-of-the-table clash. Then in early September, it is an east coast road trip to play the three teams that currently trail them in the standings, Atlético Ottawa, Forge and Halifax Wanderers. Considering Cavalry have won just once in their last ten trips to Ontario, this stretch will be a significant opportunity to prove any lingering doubters wrong about their quality while creating crucial separation in the table.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Cavalry have all the attributes to finally lift a trophy this year. In his fifth year in charge, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. has successfully retooled and reinvigorated this side, who after a shaky start to the year are playing their best football as the 2023 CPL season begins what promises to be a thrilling final act.

Their run to the top of the table has seen Cavalry win seven of their last ten matches, picking up more points at home than any other club in the league this year, with 21 points from 10 matches at ATCO Field and a +8 goal difference. They have lost just a single match in Calgary. Cavalry have also scored the opening goal in 15 of their 20 matches played so far this season, allowing them to consistently play on the front foot.

In fact, the Cavs have been dominant in the opening half, in general, this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding just nine — the most and fewest, respectively, that any team has scored or allowed in the first 45 minutes. They also lead the league in goals scored in general, with 33, while only Pacific and Halifax have allowed fewer goals.

Whereas their attack faded toward the end of last season, scoring just 18 goals in their final 18 matches of 2022, it is starting to cook at the right time this season, with two or more goals scored in eight of their past 12 matches (23 goals in that span in total). In Myer Bevan, Cavalry have found a consistent goal threat who has already equalled Joe Mason’s team-leading 8 goals from 2022. Ali Musse, meanwhile, has discovered another gear in his gamebreaking ability, sitting fourth in the league in chances created (33), second in dribbles completed (54) while putting up five goals and two assists.

With a supporting cast of Sergio Camargo, Goteh Ntignee and Ben Fisk, Cavalry can roll out different offensive schemes and qualities based on their opponent. The addition of William Akio has provided Cavalry with another key game-breaker as well, and could be the offensive difference-maker they have been missing down the stretch in the past with four goals already in just five appearances for his hometown club since joining in late July.

In the middle of the park, Jesse Daley has been one of the league’s best ball-winning midfielders this season, while the addition of Shamit Shome is also offering quality and composure. Eryk Kobza, meanwhile, has been easily the best player to come out of the CPL – U SPORTS Draft this season, providing depth both in the middle of the park and at centreback.

Defensively, moving Daan Klomp centrally has meant they are now significantly better at moving the ball forward from the back, an issue at times last year. Klomp has completed a stunning 89.65 per cent of his passes this season, while ranking ninth in the league in terms of successful long balls (91) and has made 128 passes into the final third.

Fullback Bradley Kamdem, meanwhile, leads the team in passes into the final third with 130, and has been one of the team’s perhaps underappreciated consistent performers. The recent return from injury of Callum Montgomery adds yet another level of depth Montgomery’s long layoff through injury has been more the exception than the norm this year for Cavalry, a club who in the past have dealt with horrid luck on the injury front, another key to their success this season and a credit to their ability to rotate the squad throughout the season.

In goal, reigning CPL Goalkeeper of the Year Marco Carducci is quietly having another solid season. The 26-year-old has played every minute for the Cavs this year, allowing 2.83 fewer goals than expected. His distribution has also been excellent, completing just a shade under 80 per cent of his passes — including the second most successful long passes of any goalkeeper in the league with 120.

There have certainly been flaws in Cavalry’s game this season. They have left a league-leading 15 points on the table from winning positions this season, but notably have only done so once in their last 12 matches. They have also collected just 12 points in 10 away matches in 2023, the fewest among sides in the league’s top four.

How they distribute the final 731 U-21 domestic minutes (just over 90 per match) they require to qualify for the playoffs is another significant storyline over the final eight matches of the season. The good news is that 19-year-old Maël Henry looked quite good against York this past weekend and could be an important option while the club’s U-21 minutes leader Ntignee recovers from injury.

Should they top the table, Cavalry will also have an outstanding chance to go after another prize that has thus far eluded them: a playoff championship. It would mean a home match at Spruce Meadows, where they have been so dominant this season, and with a win in that they would host the 2023 final. But that is putting the cart before the horse, something that goes directly against Cavalry’s mantra this year of ‘never too high, never too low’. For now, it is about handling one upcoming test at a time, and proving that this reinvented Cavalry FC side is finally the group that can finally get the job done and bring a trophy to Calgary.