2020 CPL regular season (The Island Games) — Match #17
Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC
August 27, 2020 at 3:00 p.m ET/4:00 p.m. AT
UPEI Artificial Turf Field in Charlottetown, PEI
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

The math is simple for Cavalry FC: Win and they’re in.

A victory by the table-topping Cavs against Atlético Ottawa on Thursday would ensure they become the first CPL team to qualify for the second round of The Island Games.

Cavalry is coming off a very stiff test, as HFX Wanderers FC played them very close for 90 minutes before eventually succumbing 2-1 to the Calgary-based club last weekend.

That result, coupled with Forge FC’s 3-2 loss to York9 FC on Wednesday, means the Cavs head into this showdown with Ottawa atop the standings (with 10 points from four games) and can advance to the next round should they secure their third win of the campaign.

Atlético Ottawa is still searching for its first victory in franchise history after throwing away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw against FC Edmonton on the weekend. Mista’s men looked a sure thing to collect three points, but a late collapse allowed the Eddies to collect a share of the spoils, and leave the capital club fuming over what went wrong.

RELATED READING: 2020 CPL regular season: The Island Games

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Awesome Acuña: Francisco Acuña has firmly established himself as one of the CPL’s top newcomers during The Island Games. The Mexican has looked very solid in his three appearances, and is coming off a two-goal performance for Ottawa in which he set a new record for the fastest goal in league history at 22 seconds. Acuña has popped up all over the pitch in showing support for his teammates as an outlet and has looked to lead the attack forward with a dangerous run or pass.

• Cavs’ flexibility: To counter HFX’s press, Cavalry switched from a back three to a back four in the second half, adding Elliot Simmons as an extra midfielder. It proved a wise move, as Simmons and Elijah Adekugbe dominated the midfield with their physical presence and created chances for Marcus Haber and Jordan Brown. Just when you think you have the Cavs, coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. switches things up.

• Can Ottawa rebound?: Atlético was on the verge of recording its first win on the weekend. But they conceded twice in the last two minutes of regulation and ended up settling for a draw with Edmonton. How will Ottawa respond against the first-place Cavs? “It’s worse than a loss in a lot of ways,” Ottawa winger Ben Fisk said after the game against FCE. “To be honest, the last five minutes was disgraceful, how we finished the game. We have a lot of work to do going into the next game.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“We need to improve from that, can’t let that happen again because we’ve obviously done that in a couple games now where we conceded at the end of the game.” – Ottawa captain Ben Fisk, after the Edmonton game.

“I think what we’ve shown is we’ve got different layers to us. But we’ve kept rotating the team, which isn’t always easy because you lose a bit of rhythm. But I think we’ve found a way to create the freshness against teams that perhaps have played a game less than us.” – Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr., after the HFX game.

ALL-TIME SERIES

This is their first meeting.

REFEREES

Referee: Myriam Marcotte
ARs: Lyes Afra & Travis Lefebvre
4th Official: Yusri Rudolf