Calgary’s Cavalry FC to host Vancouver Whitecaps in Canadian Championship quarterfinals

It’s happened once before and history was made. Calgary’s Cavalry FC will be hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps for the second time in the club’s history.

Cavalry FC defeated provincial rivals FC Edmonton 2-1 on Tuesday evening, to lock hosting rights for the winner of Whitecaps-Valour in the second round of the Canadian Championship.

Wednesday evening in Vancouver, the Whitecaps scored early and coasted past Valour FC for their first-ever win against a Canadian Premier League team.

Vancouver will take on Cavalry on May 24 – subject to change – with the winner clinching semi-final hosting right against either Pacific FC or York United FC.

Prior to Wednesday’s match, Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini labelled that day’s game as the most important of the season and said following the win against Valour the trend will continue against Cavalry.

“I want to be very, very clear? of the next four games, the most important game is in Calgary.”

Last time: Cavalry versus Whitecaps

Last time the pair met was in the CPL’s inaugural season, with the matchup  labelled as David versus Goliath.

On July 10, 2019, in Calgary, both teams played to a scoreless draw.

Two weeks later they met again in the second leg, this time in Vancouver, where the magic happened.

In the 7th minute, Cavalry’s Nik Ledgerwood fired the ball deep into the Whitecaps’ half, where his teammate, Jordan Brown, managed to get to it ahead of the Whitecaps defenders. Brown then struck the ball into the top corner of the goal to give the visitors the lead in the series.

In the second half, needing a pair of goals — thanks to the away goal rule — the Whitecaps put the pressure on the Cavalry.

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In the 67th minute, following a blocked shot, Vancouver’s Inbeom Hwang tried putting the ball on goal. It took a deflection off a defender and managed to find the back of the net to level the game, but the Whitecaps needed to score again if they wanted to advance.

Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, just five minutes later, things got worse. On a Cavalry corner kick, Dominik Zator leaped over the defenders and beautifully tucked the ball away, once again extending the visitor’s edge.

Cavalry goalkeeper and former Whitecaps goalkeeper, Marco Carducci, stood tall for the red and white and the Cavalry managed to hold on for the 2-1 win.

Since then, the Whitecaps have also lost to reigning CPL champions Pacific FC, in a thriller that saw the islanders win 4-3.

Cavalry versus FC Edmonton

The Cavs topped their provincial rivals for the second time in less than a week on Tuesday.

Cavalry got off to a strong start to the match. In the 16th minute, Myer Bevan crossed the ball in front of goal for Jose Escalante, but Eddies goalkeeper Andreas Vaikla managed to scramble and get in the way of Escalante’s shot, putting the ball out for a corner.

On the ensuing set-piece, Bevan managed to rise above everyone and head the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring for the Cavalry.

Not long after the half-hour mark, Escalante was fouled in the penalty area and was awarded a penalty kick.

Bevan stepped up and took the penalty, fired it passed the outstretched Vaikla into the bottom right corner to double the host’s lead.

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In the second half, the Eddies managed to cut the lead in half on a penalty of their own. But they were not able to beat Carducci again to find an equalizer.

“Whoever is out there on the pitch, it just comes down to those boys. We just got to keep this momentum going forward and hopefully, we can do what we do and be up at the top,” said Bevan following the game.

“To have the opportunity to play at home, against our provincial rivals, beat them again and move forward, I think it’s a sweet victory,” added Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

POST MATCH

"To have the opportunity to play at home, against our provincial rivals, beat them again and move forward, I think it's a sweet victory."

Tommy Wheeldon Jr. talks victory in round one of the Canadian Championship and past runs at the Voyageurs Cup pic.twitter.com/9pzPELNEYW

— Cavalry FC (@CPLCavalryFC) May 11, 2022

Whitecaps versus Valour

The Vancouver Whitecaps ended their jinx against Canadian Premier League sides in the Canadian Championship, cruising to a comfortable win on Wednesday.

Russell Teibert scored his first-ever goal in the competition, and the match-winner, as the ‘Caps beat Valour FC to ensure their passage into the next round of the competition.

Teibert tucked away a rebound from a shot by Deiber Caicedo in the 19th minute to guarantee the win.

Fellow Canadian Ryan Raposo doubled the lead in the 22nd minute after Caicedo found himself clear of Valour’s backline.

The striker raced onto the ball, facing off against goalkeeper Rayane Yesli before opting to square the ball to Raposo who put away an easy finish.

“I just wanted more,” Raposo said after the match. “I think we could’ve gotten more (goals).”

“We had a very good first half,” Sartini said after the match. “I think we relaxed too much in the second half. I wanted to see more hunger from the players.”

It was a matchup featuring ex-Whitecaps assistant coach Philip Dos Santos, who is now the head coach of Valour FC and brother of former Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos.

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“When I look back? I’m proud of them,” Philip Dos Santos said. “There’s a lot for us to grab and grow from.”

Valour could have come in and sat back, but Dos Santos said he was pleased his team tried to push forward and attack.

Raposo said he believes his teammates will step up against the Cavalry in the next round of tournament action.

“It’s super important to not make them comfortable. I’m confident in the team and I’m confident we’ll go down there and get the job done.”

Vancouver resumes regular-season action on Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes.