April 15th Edition

Slowly but surely (for most of Canada at least) Spring weather is starting to show itself, which means the domestic soccer season is here at last!

The Canadian Premier League kicked off its sixth season over the weekend, and just like last year it looks to be as competitive as ever between all eight teams.

Plus, we’ve got another official Project 8 team, debuts, goals and some CanChamp drama all ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

In this week's edition:

• 🍁 CPL is back!

• 🥲 CanWNT lose on pens...again

• 🌊 Project 8 Halifax club leak?

• 📰 Other news this week

• 📺 Games of the week

• ☑️ Northern Picks

HEADLINES THIS WEEK

CPL

🍁 The CPL is back with a bang

CPL is back baby!

The league kicked off its sixth season this weekend with a coast-to-coast slate of games, and the race for the 2024 CPL Shield is already in full swing.

Atlético Ottawa’s super team took a little bit to get going in the season opener, with Austin Ricci scoring the first goal of the season for York United (after a stunning miss). However, a Manny Aparicio masterclass in the second half secured the turnaround and three points for Atléti to kick off 2024 with a 2-1 dub.

Then, in Hamilton, Cavalry once again faced its worst nightmare as, just as they did in the 2023 CPL Final, Forge came back to grab a 2-1 win at Tim Hortons Field. Not only that, but it was the exact same goalscorers who did it, Tristan Borges and Béni Badibanga.

Day one concluded in Victoria, where the silky Ayman Sellouf’s penalty was enough for Pacific to claim another dub at Starlight Stadium against Halifax Wanderers FC in a tight 1-0 affair.

On Sunday, the opening weekend finished off in Langley with a resounding 4-1 victory for Vancouver FC against Valour FC. After Jordan Swibel opened the scoring for the visitors, their all-time club-leading goalscorer, who now plays for Vancouver, scored against them as Moses Dyer equalized. The Eagles took flight in the second half, taking the lead through Paris Gee before Gabriel Bitar and David Norman added to the scoring. A second yellow for Valour’s Jordan Faria did not help.

All four home teams won this weekend, which didn’t happen much last season, so there was plenty for fans to cheer for across the league.

CanWNT

🥲 CanWNT lose to USWNT on Pens: The Sequel

STOP SHOOTING TO ALYSSA NAEHER’S RIGHT is a G-rated version of what Canadian soccer fans were screaming at their TV this past Tuesday as CanWNT once again fell to USWNT on penalties in the SheBelieves Cup final.

For the second time this year, Canada went toe-to-toe with the United States, fought back to tie the game 2-2, and then came up short from the spot.

The first 90 saw another Adriana Leon masterclass, as she opened the scoring in the 40th minute, before stepping up and scoring a penalty in the 86th minute to send the match to a penalty shootout.

With that second goal, Leon moved past Silvana Burtini and into third all-time in Canadian women’s national team goal-scorers, with 39. She will need another 151 if she wants to catch Christine Sinclair in first place.

The fightback from Canada was a major positive, as in recent months, they have shown an ability to dig deep even maybe when not playing their best. But this felt like a real chance to get a massive confidence boost heading into this summer’s Olympic games.

But WE MOVE (said through tears), with CanWNT expected to announce more friendlies in the coming months as they finalize their 18 for the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer. They will come into the tournament battle-tested and hopefully with a lot more practice spent on penalty kicks.

Project 8

🍁 Is the Tide Rising in Halifax?

Two weeks ago, Project 8 made a significant announcement in regards to the emergence of a women’s league in Canadian Soccer, scheduled to kick off in 2025, with six teams submitting for Canadian Soccer membership.

They also promised several other major announcements would be coming over the next few weeks and months, making good on that promise this week with confirmation that Halifax is the fourth official club to be joining the league.

Further potential leaks have already started, with internet sleuths discovering that the Atlantic Women’s Football Club group behind the Halifax club have already trademarked the name and logo for ‘Halifax Tides FC’.

While we hate when a good surprise is spoiled, we hope this one is real because the logo goes CRAZY. With the success of the Halifax Wanderers in CPL, we have no doubt that the city is ready to embrace another footy club.

The Halifax group currently has three investors, Courtney Sherlock, who is the co-founder and CEO, Miriam Zitner, and Adam Baggs — which is an unreal name for an investor, it has to be said.

League founder Diana Matheson already revealed that the league’s fifth and sixth franchises are working behind the scenes ahead of expected announcements later this year.

OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK

🏟️ Mark Noonan on CPL expansion. CPL Commish and CSB CEO Mark Noonan have stated that a CPL expansion cannot happen in 2025. Notably, Noonan drew parallels with early MLS, specifically pointing out the lack of motivation to build soccer-specific stadiums for expansion clubs. An example is Saskatoon’s unwillingness to invest in a soccer-specific stadium. With inflation and high-interest rates, Saskatoon’s council does not seem unreasonable. Noonan noted that MLS was able to grow when clubs started building soccer-specific stadiums and its effect on the local community both culturally and economically. We encourage everyone to read Thomas Hewitt’s story in full detail here.

😔 Victoria Highlanders are out. Damn. On Monday, the Victoria Highlanders announced they will not participate in League1 BC for both men’s and women’s divisions. After months of negotiation, the Highlanders failed to agree with League1 BC. As a result, Victoria Highlanders will not participate in the CanChamps, giving the spot to TSS Rovers.

💰 Forge is looking to sell Triston Henry. The two-time CPL Goalkeeper of the Year is on the market. This is relatively old news. Henry had missed out on both legs of Forge’s Champions Cup game against Chivas Guadalajara earlier in the season due to “personal reasons.” The real reason for his departure is undisclosed, and perhaps we will never know. For the time being, Triston Henry is looking for a new home.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ismaël Koné scored against Southampton. Watford travelled to Southampton over the weekend. While the away team was trailing 2-1, the Montrealer baller Ismaël Koné levelled the game with a cool finish. Unfortunately, the game ended in a 3-2 loss for Watford.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Alistair Johnston was putting in another shift. Celtic FC has a massive love for CanMNT defender AJ. The Glasgow club defeated St. Mirren 3-0 at home, with AJ contributing two assists. Canadians in Scotland continue to ball. Celtic and Johnston were done a big favour by fellow Canadian international Victor Loturi and Ross County, who stunned Rangers 3-2 to give Celtic a four-point lead in the title race. Loturi went the full 90 and balled out.

👏 Zoe Burns makes her NWSL debut. The Canadian defender makes her first professional debut for the Utah Royals 1-0 loss to Orlando Pride. Burns came off the bench for club captain Page Monaghan in the 62nd minute. Despite the loss, the debut marks a major moment in her career. The next step is the CanWNT debut.

🇨🇦 Lucas Pos for Canada. Another player emerges from relative obscurity. The California-born defender recently received his Canadian citizenship. However, Pos is eligible to play for Canada due to his Canadian-born father. Pos is also eligible to play for the United States and Switzerland. Lucas Pos has expressed that he would “cherish” the opportunity to represent Canada.

💨 Moïse Bombito is fast AF. If you’re one of those weird hipsters living in the analog era, then you definitely missed this viral clip. GlassCity FC posted a compilation of Bombito being an absolute speed demon. If you think you have a breakaway, think again.

🍁 Gabrielle Carle was balling out. The Washington Spirit travelled to Houston and picked up a 3-1 win. Carle found herself among the stats as she provided an assist in the form of a perfect cross into the box for a Croix Bethune tap-in goal. Easy money.

🇵🇹 Olivia Smith is at it again. Derby days are always good, with Olivia Smith and Sporting Lisboa hosting Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Benfica. For this derby, it was Smith’s to enjoy. The North York midfielder registered an assist in the first half and a goal in the second. With Sporting Lisbon winning 3-1 over their cross-town rivals, Olivia Smith was actively involved with two of those goals. Easy work.

🇸🇪 Clarissa Larisey with the last-minute goal. Larisey and BK Häcken faced Norrköping in the opening match of the Damallsveskan, Swedish women’s league. The opening match was dramatic, where Clarissa Larisey scored in the 90+4 the minute. Only for BK Häcken to win the game with a late goal in the 90+6th minute by Felicia Schröder.

🔵 CF Montréal sold out home opener. Can he do it on a rainy night in Montréal? Josef Martinez can. After six matchdays away from home, CFM finally returned to Stade Saputo to a sold-out crowd to face FC Cincinnati. MTL's new boy, Matias Coccaro, picked up an injury in the first half, paving the way for a Martinez substitution. The MLS veteran showed his quality that night, putting in a goal and an assist. CFM ended with a 2-1 win, with Martinez officially introducing himself before the Montréal supporters.

🌊 The Whitecaps took an L at home. LA Galaxy travelled north to play Vancouver at BC Place. Canada’s most in-form team experienced an unfamiliar 3-1 loss at home versus conference rivals. Brian White is an absolute baller if there was any silver lining for the Caps. He never stopped and was a constant threat to the Galaxy’s backline. Despite his hard work, Vancouver was exposed on the counter. The biggest takeaway from the game is don’t let Riqui Puig cook.

🔴 TFC went down south to face Charlotte. This was a tough one for the Reds. The first ten minutes set the tone of the match as TFC was put under a lot of pressure. Despite the challenge, John Herdman’s team went out fighting. They played a better second half with two equalizing goals from Prince Kerr. However, Toronto had no answer for Charlotte’s attack. Many would argue that Insigne’s absence is the reason for TFC’s losses, but that does not explain the gaps in defence. TFC leave North Carolina with a 3-2 loss. 

Games of the week

📺 What we’ll be watching

Here are some must-watch games this week:

CPL 🍁
Atlético Ottawa vs Cavalry (Sat @ 2pm)
Forge vs York United (Sun @ 4pm)

*all times are ET

NORTHERN PICKS

This week’s picks come from The Northern Pitch team!

📚 What to read

If you’re looking for informative reading, we recommend David Epstein's The Sports Gene. The author is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and tackles the age-old debate of nature versus nurture in relation to athleticism. It makes you appreciate the science of the human body and sports.

📺 What to watch

If you’re an elder Millenial, you remember the original Ronaldo. El Fenomeno, the most entertaining #9 of the 2000s, the wunderkind, R9, Brazilian Ronaldo. He set the standards of a striker's expectations today, but his story is worth exploring. DAZN released a doc we highly recommend if you haven’t already watched it: “The Phenomenon: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of Ronaldo.”

🛍️ What to buy

“Angelo’s Soccer Shop” is back at it again, this time with a masterful collaboration with Aime Mbuyi of L’Art Suffit. A selection of chopped and remixed jerseys and reversible scarf tote bags are available in the shop now—but they won’t last long. Shop here.

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