Cavalry FC and Pacific FC players will be scratching their heads Wednesday wondering how their side didn’t come away victors in a 1-1 draw at Spruce Meadows.

Cavalry gifted their opponents an opener in the seventh minute when Jay Wheeldon coughed up the ball to Terran Campbell as the last defender back. Campbell made no mistake to score his league-leading ninth goal of the campaign.

The Tridents proceeded to have the run of play for much of the first half before the home side rebounded with a smart set-piece play in the 34th minute. Jose Escalante’s near-post delivery was flicked on across goal by Julian Buscher to Oliver Minatel at the back post, smashing home an equalizer.

PFC goalkeeper Mark Village came under pressure in the final 15 minutes of the half, especially in the 37th minute, when another smart delivery from Escalante found Dominick Zator, whose open header from the penalty spot was parried.

Second half play continued nervy, with both sides threatening. Recent Canada call-up Marco Carducci denied a screeching attempt from Zachary Verhoeven in the 70th minute as the start of a late push from both sides.

Minatel resurfaced late on when his attempt off a low cross went just wide at the near post. Substitute Jordan Brown came centimetres away minutes later when, in on Village, the Cavs striker rolled a ball across the face of goal, marking the last big opportunity of the match.

Pacific will now head back to Westhills Stadium where they’ll take on Forge FC next Wednesday, September 4 (10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. PT, on OneSoccer) to begin a three-game homestand. Cavalry will be back on the road, going to Winnipeg to play Valour FC on Labour Day Monday (3:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. CT, on OneSoccer).

Box Score

Goals
7′ – Terran Campbell (Pacific FC)
34′ – Oliver Minatel (Cavalry FC)

Discipline
82′ Yellow – Kadin Chung (Pacific FC)

Three Key Performers

Terran Campbell (Pacific FC)

As a pressing striker in PFC’s 4-4-2, Campbell quite literally created his league-topping ninth marker on his own. Statistically, Campbell recorded three tackles and gained possession more times (seven) than he conceded (six) – something rare for a player at any position, let alone a striker.

Jose Escalante (Cavalry FC)

Some great service from the Honduran winger. His pinpoint corner was step one of a well-executed set piece and one of several chance-creating passes on the night.

Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC)

“Canada’s Carducci” came up big in his first match since being called up by the national team. Five saves, including that aforementioned leaping second-half stop, reminded supporters why he’s the first CPL called up to the CanMNT.