It’s playoff season in the Canadian Premier League and the top five finishers from the regular season are set to battle for the North Star Cup.
Starting on Wednesday, Oct. 23 and culminating in the CPL Final on Nov. 9, the CanPL.ca staff preview each team’s postseason hopes. Find all team previews by clicking here.
The Story
York United FC — 4th place, 39 points
Record (W-D-L): 11-6-11
Goals For/Against: 35/36
Top Scorer: Brian Wright (9)
Assists Leader: Brian Wright (6)
York United put together the most successful season in club history this year with a record 39 points, surpassing their previous best of 38 set last season, and clinching a playoff spot with three weeks to spare.
Under Benjamín Mora, who took over as head coach from Martin Nash in early June, this team has proven they can beat just about anyone on their day. Solid recruitment, including bringing in goalkeeper Thomas Vincensini, central defenders Oswaldo León and Frank Sturing, midfielders Juan Córdova and Josué Martinez and attacker Jorge Guzmán have made this the most talented Nine Stripes team in club history.
After finishing fourth in the table, they hosted a playoff match for the first time in club history and subsequently defeated Pacific FC 2-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
There were certainly moments this season where it looked like the club could finish higher in the standings — as they even rose to the top of the table on August 11 following a 1-0 victory over Valour, which came during a seven match undefeated streak. In their following ten matches, however, they won just twice, and scored just seven goals during that stretch.
As such, they arguably came into the postseason in the worst form of any of the five teams that qualified for the 2024 playoffs. This is a team under Mora, however, with genuine belief that they have the talent to win it all — now it comes down to demonstrating that when the games matter most.
The Stats
859 successful long passes
York led the league in successful long passes in 2024, showing how dangerous and direct they can be when playing out of the back.
18.23% shot conversion rate
York United have struggled at times this season, especially in the last few months, to create chances and shooting opportunities. When they do, however, no team has been more lethal, as 18.23 per cent of their shots on target (roughly 1 in 5) end up in the back of the net.
87 Yellow Cards
York United led the league in bookings this year, with 87 yellow cards and three red cards. While yellow card suspensions reset for the playoffs, discipline will be an important factor in this team’s success as temperatures increase during postseason meetings.
The Stars
Thomas Vincensini, Goalkeeper
In his first Canadian Premier League season, Vincensini has been essential to York United’s success. His quality at not only stopping shots (73 saves, third most in the league), but also breaking up chances behind York’s high line (34 clearances, tied first among goalkeepers) and top-quality distribution (182 successful long passes, second most) make him perhaps the league’s most complete goalkeeper.
Mo Babouli, Forward
The York captain’s season has been heavily interrupted by injury, but when he is at his best he is one of the most dangerous attackers in the entire league. He scored five goals this year, had two assists and finished fifth in passes played in the opposition box with 131.
Brian Wright, Forward
Wright was York’s main attacking threat this season, and one of the most lethal strikers in the Canadian Premier League. His nine goals were the third most any player managed this year, and he tied for second in assists as well, with six, making him the league leader in goal contributions in 2024 with 15.
The Soundbites
“I think the mentality is very different. It’s easy to say that you want to be a champion but I think we really do believe it in this locker room. If you go through the 23 players and the coaching staff and the people behind the scenes. It’s that mentality that we really want to win and we really want to thrive and we’re looking forward to the playoffs.”
— York United FC defender Max Ferrari
“This is one of those years where we realized, we went through a lot to get to here. But this year is where things started to go right. Not only for the individuals in the team, but also for this club.”
— York United FC Midfielder Elijah Adekugbe
The Scenario
York United began the playoffs with a historic 2-0 victory over Pacific FC, their first-ever postseason CPL victory in their first-ever home playoff match.
Now, Nine Stripes will have to figure out how to win away from home. The 15 road points they collected in 2024 are actually the fewest in club history. They also need to find more goals, and in a hurry. They scored just 13 goals in 14 matches away from home in 2024, with only Pacific FC finding the back of the net on the road less.
Their attack has been getting healthier in recent weeks, however, with Mo Babouli playing 90 minutes and scoring against Pacific in the 4th vs. 5th game, and Dennis Salanović starting for the first time since June 1. If they can get their best eleven on the pitch, this York team will be a formidable opponent for anyone they come up against.
