2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #92
York United FC vs. Cavalry FC
September 20, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

The title race continues at York Lions Stadium on Friday night, when York United host Cavalry FC for the final time in the 2024 regular season.

Both sides find themselves alive in the fight for the CPL Shield, but desperately in need of points in order to keep pace with the top of the table. With only four games left to play after this one, there will be perilously little margin for error.

York enter this game as the side with a slight advantage in that race. They’re third in the table after 23 games, with a 10-6-7 record and 36 points — two back of Atlético Ottawa in second, and five behind first-place Forge FC.

The Nine Stripes are hoping to improve on last season’s club-record 36 points and 11 wins; they finished fourth in 2023 but have a chance to land higher than that and give themselves a better shot at a deep playoff run.

They come into Friday night after splitting the points with Valour FC a week ago; although they played well and generally dominated against the visitors from Winnipeg, York were unable to find a second goal to make it all three points..

Meanwhile, Cavalry are one point behind York in fourth place, their record being 8-11-4. They’ve got a comfortable eight-point cushion above fifth so won’t be much worried about falling out of the top four, but the Cavs still have ambitions of retaining their regular season title from last year — or at the very least, moving up the table to avoid the fourth-versus-fifth opening playoff match.

Cavalry have yet to win in September after going almost perfect in August; they’re 0-2-1 in their last three, including draws against Valour and Atlético Ottawa and a loss to Forge. Last Sunday, they took on Ottawa at home and had to fight for the point, clawing back to level footing twice after falling behind.

So, the Cavs will look for a turnaround result in much the same vein of their last visit to York Lions Stadium, just over a month ago. In that game, they scored a pair of excellent goals in a 2-1 win over York as part of their five-game winning streak in August.

The season series between York and Cavalry is currently even, with one win apiece and a draw between them. With the sides currently separated by one point in the standings, that head-to-head record could become very important as a tiebreaker come the end of the year, so expect both teams to be keen on taking all three points from Friday night.

A few absences may loom large in this game, and none more so than Daan Klomp. The Cavalry centre-back and defending CPL Player of the Year will miss out due to suspension for yellow card accumulation, breaking an ironman streak of 68 games in all competitions. Meanwhile, the likes of Eryk Kobza, Charlie Trafford and Lowell Wright all missed the Ottawa game with injury, and Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said Wednesday he doesn’t think he’ll get anybody from last weekend’s injury report back for this game.

For York, the biggest question will be the fitness of defender Noah Abatneh. He has missed the past two games with injury. However, in better news, Brian Wright could be ready to make his return after missing the last three games, having returned to full training this week. Benjamín Mora said both Wright and Salanovic are “ready.”

Finally, it’s worth noting that either of these teams could clinch a playoff spot this weekend. York or Cavalry would clinch their place in the postseason with a win on Friday as well as a Halifax Wanderers draw against Valour, and a Vancouver FC loss to Forge. York would also clinch if they win, and Halifax and Vancouver both lose.

By the end of Friday night the regular season title race may become a lot clearer; will either of these two sides make or break their hopes of lifting silverware in October?

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

• Cavalry faced with tough defensive decisions: For the first time since Aug. 27, 2022, Cavalry will not have Daan Klomp in the squad on Friday night. The reigning CPL Player and Defender of the Year has been stapled to the team sheet for the last few years, but after receiving his sixth yellow card of the year last Sunday, he’ll be suspended for the match at York. That makes things exceedingly tricky for Tommy Wheeldon Jr., who’s not only missing one of his best players, but is also without some other defensive pieces anyway, including Eryk Kobza. Callum Montgomery will likely be the one to get the not alongside Tom Field in a centre-back partnership, but Montgomery hasn’t played a ton of minutes recently so this will be a tough test for him — but also an opportunity to prove he can be counted on in big moments.

• York finding confidence in tactical fluidity: York were excellent for the most part against Valour, although they were frustrated not to be able to find a second goal and emerge with a win they needed quite badly. Still, some of the tactical features of their play recently has shown a team truly coming into its identity at the most important part of the season. With some injuries at the back, Elijah Adekugbe did well in a hybrid role, occasionally forming part of the back three but also stepping into midfield in possession. Meanwhile, the attacking and pressing fluidity between players like Mo Babouli, Juan Córdova and in that case Shola Jimoh allowed York to rotate players across the pitch, with very few defined positions. It’s looking increasingly like a team that knows each other well, knowing when to cover for teammates or slide into different spots while someone else carries the ball or presses the opposition. Cavalry have become quite familiar with York under Benjamín Mora, with three meetings so far, but Mora has likewise come to know how Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s side plays.

• Cavalry’s fresh face Herdman could add a boost: Cavalry handed out another club debut on Sunday when Vancouver Whitecaps loanee Jay Herdman came off the bench for the five added minutes of stoppage time. Herdman had only trained once with Cavalry before playing on Sunday, so Wheeldon Jr. admitted it was a gamble to put him on the pitch, but he said that seeing Herdman’s brief cameo made him feel he should’ve introduced him 10 minutes earlier. Don’t be surprised if Herdman is an important figure for the Cavs over the last few weeks of the season, especially with the injury crisis the team is facing right now. “He’s a bit of a hybrid between what Maël Henry brought to us and what Jesse Daley brings to us,” Wheeldon Jr. said. “He’s got that turn of energy, the drive; Maël will contribute more so to the goals and Jesse more to the defence, and [Herdman] is a great fusion of that, plus bringing his own qualities. He’s a terrific character, he strikes the ball very cleanly and he’s willing to work.”

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

York United: Vincensini; Ferrari, León, Higgins, Adekugbe, Botello; Márquez, Córdova; Babouli, Wright, Guzmán

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Montgomery, Field, Kamdem; Gutiérrez, Shome; Musse, Camargo, Wähling; Warschewski

ALL-TIME SERIES

York United wins: 4 || Cavalry FC wins: 13 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

Aug. 16, 2024 — York United 1-2 Cavalry FC

KEY QUOTES

“It has an extra spice. We are very balanced, we are very close between each team — two great teams, York and Cavs. … It’s a great game, it’s a good final, it’s a great vibe. These are the games that everyone, every coach wants to play. We expect nothing but a good game, we expect nothing but a good fight, and of course we expect nothing but to win in our home.” — York United head coach Benjamín Mora

“Just play the team in front of you. The minute we get carried away by league placement and qualification for playoffs is the minute we start to second-guess things. At this stage of the season, we’ve been it five seasons in a row and this is our sixth; you just play the team in front of you. We know York, they’ve been well-coached, they’ve had a great turnaround with Benjamín Mora. We know we’re in for a really tough game, but we relish it. The better the game, the better we’re able to rise, and that’s what we’re really leaning into right now.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.