The 2023 Canadian Premier League playoffs are upon us, and five teams have earned the right to battle for the North Star Cup. This season’s innovative new format gives each side a chance, but rewards regular season success with increasing benefits for higher places in the standings.

With the postseason kicking off on Oct. 11 and running to the end of the month, the team at CanPL.ca has put together comprehensive previews for each of the five playoff-bound clubs. To read the rest of them, click here.

York United FC – 5th place, 38 points

Record (W-D-L): 11-5-12
Goals For/Against: 35/44
Top Scorer: Mo Babouli, Osaze De Rosario, Kevin Dos Santos (6)
Assists Leader: Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (5)

The Nine Stripes find themselves in the CPL postseason for the second time in club history, and the first time under current head coach Martin Nash. Their playoff journey begins as the fifth seed, meaning they’ll have to win four straight games to lift the North Star Cup, beginning with a Wednesday night tilt at Pacific FC.

York have been a tough team at moments throughout this year, though, and can go toe-to-toe with anyone. The plucky side from York Region in the north of Toronto will enter the playoffs with a healthy amount of fire, hoping to beat the odds and lift the first trophy in club history.

How They Got Here

For quite a while in the last few weeks of the season, York did not look like a team destined to be in the postseason. They had a stand of four consecutive home games in the final stretch of the year, and it began disastrously, with losses to Valour FC, Pacific FC and Cavalry FC — the first two in heavily decisive fashion.

However, they stayed alive — in part due to a similar poor run by Atlético Ottawa, who squandered several chances to put some distance between themselves and York. The pivot point was on Oct. 1 (the second-last weekend of the season), when Ottawa travelled to York Lions Stadium to play the Nine Stripes in a match where a York loss would have eliminated them from playoff contention. Instead, Martin Nash’s side held firm for almost 90 full minutes and Kevin Dos Santos finally broke the scoreless deadlock with a lovely goal to win it 1-0 for York.

From there, the Nine Stripes controlled their own destiny and knew if they beat Vancouver FC in their final regular season game out in Langley they would clinch fifth place — which they did, thanks to a brace from Osaze De Rosario.

York have returned to the playoffs this year by proving they can match up against any other team in the CPL on their day. The only CPL opponent they haven’t beaten at least once this year is Pacific, which they can change when it matters most in their first playoff game.

3 Key Players

Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Midfielder)

The Québécois midfielder has been one of York’s most consistent players this season, having helped solidify Martin Nash’s midfield after signing for the club from Halifax Wanderers in the off-season. Gagnon-Laparé is one of the best ball-movers in the league, with the ability to pick out a pass to anywhere with his paintbrush of a left foot.

He was York’s assists leader with five this season, also contributing a ton off the ball with his ability to win duels and recover the ball, which is key to launching attacks. In playoff football, Gagnon-Laparé’s calm composure will be a major asset to help York relieve pressure.

Paris Gee (Defender)

Gee is a true Swiss Army Knife-type player, having slotted into a number of different positions this season including both fullback spots, centre-back, and defensive midfield. The 29-year-old Burnaby, B.C. native first signed for York midway through last season and stuck around for 2023, quickly becoming one of the club’s most important players.

With a litany of injuries across the backline for York, they’ve had to chop and change the lineup a lot this season but Gee has been a constant. He leads the team with 2,240 minutes played — 320 more than his closest competition — and he also led York in recoveries with 145. Gee’s workrate and energy help drive this club, and his attacking upside if he’s played in his natural right-back position can help progress the ball.

Mo Babouli (Attacker)

It hasn’t been an easy year for Babouli, who was expected to be an MVP-level player in the CPL this year after his unplayable form in the second half of last season. Babouli has missed nine games though, due to a variety of different injuries and suspensions, which has prevented him from finding his rhythm.

Still, Babouli has scored six goals and added two assists for York, and when he’s on form there might not be a more dangerous attacking player than him in the entire league. He’ll likely sit just behind Osaze De Rosario in the number 10 role for playoff games, where he can create chances with clever passes and his ability to beat defenders on the dribble.

If Babouli finds his form in the playoffs and plays like the dominant force he is when he’s at his best, don’t rule out a very deep run for the Nine Stripes.

What They’re Saying

“I think we like playing on the road, that kind of road dog mentality. We’ve got to fight, make a run in this playoffs, but it’s our fault really for not finishing higher up in the table. Let’s see what happens.”

— York United goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos

“I don’t think any team wants to see us [in the playoffs], because we’ve been really good on the road. For whatever reason this year, our road record; we got our seventh win on the road to go with only four at home. It’s been a comfort zone for us to be on the road. The run is not going to be easy, no matter where we go; it’ll be difficult game after difficult game, but we believe in ourselves and the players we’ve got, so we’ve just got to have that belief and approach every game.”

— York United head coach Martin Nash

York United will win the North Star Cup if…

…they embrace the chip on their shoulder and play spoiler on the road. York’s path to the trophy requires them to win four games in a row, all of them away from home, so they’d need to dampen a few parties along the way.

Fortunately for Martin Nash’s side, that seems to be where they thrive. York led the league in points away from home (24), with seven of their 11 wins in 2023 coming on the road. This is a team that seems to travel with a defiant edge, feeling as though nobody wants to see them succeed and relishing the opportunities to prove people wrong.

If they can continue to do so, don’t be surprised if the Nine Stripes go on a Cinderella run from coast to coast.