2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #96
Atlético Ottawa vs. Pacific FC
September 22, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT
TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

Yet another high-stakes clash rounds out Matchweek 24 in the capital, as Pacific FC pay their third visit of the year to Atlético Ottawa.

The Tridents arrive in Ontario after playing on the east coast midweek, when they salvaged a point at the death thanks to Thomas Meilleur-Giguère’s last-minute equalizer for a 2-2 draw against the Halifax Wanderers.

As a result, Pacific find themselves back above the playoff line for the first time since Week 15, having moved ahead of Vancouver FC on Wednesday night. With a 7-6-10 record and 27 points they’re only one clear of VFC, but control their own destiny in the final five games of the regular season.

Meanwhile, Ottawa are in a different kind of race, well ahead of Pacific in second with 38 points. The weekend began with Atleti sitting three points back of Forge FC for the league lead, but Carlos González’s side has major ambitions of toppling the Hammers and taking the regular season title for themselves.

Ottawa are unbeaten in their last five games, but have settled for draws in their last two. On Sunday, they took the lead twice at ATCO Field against Cavalry FC, but conceded an equalizer both times in a match that ended 2-2 — the reverse of how Pacific’s midweek game played out.

These sides have already seen each other five times this year, with three matches in league play — two wins for Ottawa and one for Pacific — as well as a two-legged Canadian Championship quarter-final tie, which Pacific won 2-1 on aggregate. For the most part, they’ve been close contests, but the most recent meeting was less so; Atlético won 3-0 on the road at Pacific, thanks to a trio of goals, all from set-pieces, within the first 22 minutes of the game.

That was a frustrating afternoon for the Tridents, and it sat in the middle of what turned into a seven-game winless run in league play, but they’ve since turned things around significantly.

Sunday could be a big day for Ottawa, because a win in this match would not only clinch a playoff spot, but a top-four finish and therefore a home playoff game. They can also clinch their place in the postseason with a draw or loss, if results fall their way earlier in the weekend.

Both sides have a lot to play for in this one, and come into the match in goalscoring form. Could we see some theatrics at TD Place?

All CPL and Canadian Championship matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Set-pieces must be taken care of: The memory of that latest defeat to Atlético Ottawa will loom large in Pacific’s memory as they arrive in the capital. On that occasion, the Tridents found themselves out of the game almost immediately, conceding so cheaply from three set-pieces in the first 22 minutes. Pacific have generally been strong defensively this year, but it seems the dead ball has given them a little trouble — maybe in part due to last off-season’s departure of Amer Didic, who will play against them for Ottawa this weekend. One of Halifax’s two goals on Wednesday was from a free kick where Pacific didn’t mark Nassim Mekideche well enough. So, it’s probably fair to say James Merriman and co. have been hammering home the importance of staying switched on in those moments from here on out. “We need to tidy that up, that detail, and carry on,” Merriman said on Friday. “But overall over the course of the season we’ve been quite strong [on set-pieces].”

• Atlético starting to get healthier: The past few weeks have seen a few majorly positive signs for Ottawa, as a handful of players have started returning to the pitch after missing weeks or even months with injury. In the past three games, players they’ve got back from injury include: Kevin Dos Santos (22 games missed), Maxim Tissot (15), Liberman Torres (three), Kris Twardek (three), and Luke Singh (two). Plus, they handed a club debut to summer signing Jésus del Amo last weekend in Calgary. All those fresher legs at this important time of year will be a boon to Carlos González, who likely won’t be changing much in his starting XI but certainly has a wealth of options to bring off the bench now to change a game in the later stages. “It’s great. Part of the competitive image we’re showing at the moment is because we have more tools,” González said on Friday. “We’re in the most important moment of the season, and it’s important everybody is on the same page with the correct mentality.”

• Cagey or explosive? Both sides capable of either: A few of the games between Ottawa and Pacific this year have been a little more on the conservative side — none more so than the 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Canadian Championship tie. Both these teams are in the top half of the league in fewest goals conceded (Pacific second with 25, Ottawa fourth with 28), but the Tridents have also scored by far the fewest goals themselves, with just 22 in 23 games — eight of them in their last three. However, Atleti have the second-highest scoring side in the CPL including Golden Boot leader Rubén del Campo, and Pacific’s attack has exploded in the last few weeks with Moses Dyer, Dario Zanatta and Andrei Tircoveanu all finding form. This truly could go either way; if there’s an early goal, expect an explosion of a few more. If not, then perhaps it’ll only take one moment of magic to bag three points. “I understand [Ottawa] are expecting a big crowd, they’re making a push to try to finish as high up the table as they can,” Merriman said when asked if this might be a cagier affair. “I don’t know if that’s the way the game is going to play out. I think it’s going to be another exciting, high-energy match right from the beginning to the end.”

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Morer, Walker, Didic, Iliadis, De Brienne; Bassett, Sissoko, Aparicio, Tabla; Del Campo

Pacific FC: Gazdov; Dada-Luke, Meilleur-Giguère, Ceceri, Greco-Taylor; Young, Dominguez, Toussaint; Tircoveanu; Dyer, Zanatta

ALL-TIME SERIES

Atlético Ottawa wins: 6 || Pacific FC wins: 7 || Draws: 6

Last meeting:

Aug. 17, 2024 — Pacific FC 0-3 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“[Pacific] have evolved, they bring new players, we bring new players, so it will be a completely new game. I don’t expect many different things they’ve been doing in the last games; I think they’ve increased the competitive level in the last three games and it’s going to be a tough game. I’m sure they’re fighting for a playoff spot, we’re fighting for the title race, so it’s going to be a good party over here.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González

“We got above the [playoff] line, so we’re not relying on anybody else, which we were for a couple weeks, where whether you admit it or not you’re looking for other results to go your way. Now we’re back in control, which is most important, and that’s why you see the celebration to tie a game when you’re up a man. It’s not about that, it’s a lot bigger than that in terms of what our ambition is right now as a team.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman