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- November 3rd Edition
November 3rd Edition
NSL Playoffs kick off, Cavalry return to CPL Final, CanW17 fall on penalties to Brazil and more.
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Let’s be honest, sports weren’t the most fun this week.
But hey, at least Canadian soccer playoffs mean something to be happy about (if you’re a Cavalry or AFC Toronto fan especially).
The CPL Final has been decided, and it won’t feature Forge. Plus, a historic first NSL playoff match, CanW17 fall on penalties, and much more ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.
In this week's edition:
CPL
🐎 Cavalry return to CPL Final
CPL
Forge FC will miss its first CPL Final. For the first time in CPL history, Bobby Smyrniotis’ squad will not reach a post-season final after Cavalry FC dispatched Forge FC 1-0 at Hamilton Stadium to make it to their 4th final in 7 seasons. Standing in the way of a second straight trophy are Atletico Ottawa who will host Cavalry in the final this coming Sunday.
Can Calvary go back-to-back? As Forge’s finals run comes to an end, can a new dynasty begin? The Calgarians went through a baptism by fire defeating York United and Forge FC, so this team has momentum—but Ottleti are not an easy challenge.
TD Place Stadium is a fortress. If there’s one thing Atletico can guarantee, an away team getting a dub in Ottawa is almost impossible. Ottleti have 10 wins, five draws, and no losses at home. That momentum will not stop at a final.
The x factors: Tobias Warschewski and Sam Salter. This will be the battle of forwards. Sam Salter broke the CPL record with 20 goals and four assists, while Tobias Warschewski has experience and scored in last year’s final. The German has scored 10 goals and five assists this season, and will likely need to deliver again to secure the win.
Who has the most pressure? It appears that teams with the most pressure often choke at the finals. Example: Every time Chelsea won the Champions League, they were underdogs who were happy to be there. Their opponents had all the pressure. In this case, it is hard to tell. Perhaps the Cavs have the most pressure to retain their championship? Or Ottleti to go on and not be defeated at home. It feels like a flip of a coin, which means, this will be a good game.
The final will take place at TD Place Stadium on November 9th at 10PM ET.
NSL
🌌 NSL Playoffs kicked off
NSL
The first-ever NSL playoffs kicked off this weekend in Montreal with a rivalry match between Montréal Roses and AFC Toronto at Stade Boréale in the first leg of their semifinal.
Just as they have all season, top-seed AFC Toronto demonstrated their class early. Just eight minutes into the match, Nikki Small turned in the box and beat Anna Karpenko to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.
In the 71st minute, Kaylee Hunter added an important second with a clever strike across the box. As luck would have it, DARBY Magazine caught up with both Small and Hunter before the playoffs. Read that here!
Playoff action continues this week, as the other semifinal between Vancouver Rise and Ottawa Rapid kicks off on Tuesday in Vancouver (10 PM on TSN). They then play their second leg in the nation’s capital on Saturday, November 8th (3 PM).
The second leg of the AFC Toronto-Montréal Roses clash is on Sunday, November 9th (2 PM on TSN) at York Lions Stadium.
CanW17
🏆 CanW17 fall on penalties to Brazil
Canada Soccer
It was a heartbreaking end to a promising tournament for Canada.
The Canadian women’s U-17 side fell in penalties in the quarter-final of the 2025 FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup to Brazil on Saturday. The match ended 0-0 after regulation, with Brazil prevailing 5-4 on penalties.
After a record-setting tournament where they reached the quarter-finals with 18 goals scored and four straight wins, Canada showed that there is a lot of promise in the next generation. All this without their star player, Kaylee Hunter.
This was the first time Canada had reached the knockout stages at the U-17 World Cup since 2018, and a good momentum boost for the program at the youth level—especially given how they performed against nations like France (2-1 win) and Brazil.
Needless to say, the future looks bright.
CanWNT
🇨🇦 Where’d the goals go for CanWNT?
Canada Soccer
For three straight games now, there were no goals for the Canadian women’s national team.
Canada wrapped up their disappointing October window with a second consecutive 1-0 loss, this time to the Netherlands in Nijmegen. In a performance that Canada manager Casey Stoney called “not good enough”, Canada were once again outclassed by a top nation.
In particular, Stoney was incredibly disappointed with the team’s departure from its identity as a physically dominant side. “I’ll be honest, I feel like we looked like little girls against women out there, at times, in terms of the duels. They looked sharper, they moved the ball quicker, and then we got into the duels and got pushed off the ball.”
Sheesh. Canada did put the ball in the back of the net during the match twice, technically, but both were ruled offside.
Stoney has been clear that experimentation with her roster is over for the time being, and she has found the eleven that she believes is her best right now. But after those recent performances, it might be time to get back into the lab.
It doesn’t get any easier for Canada to end the year. They will face world #8 Japan in a pair of friendlies on November 29 and December 2. Hopefully, after this team takes a good hard look in the mirror, they will be able to finish 2025 on a high note.
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Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad
Villarreal CF
🇪🇸 Hat-trick, Tani Oluwaseyi. Okay, yes, it was against a fifth-tier side in the first round of the Copa del Rey. But three goals in a single match are still three goals no matter who they’re against. Villarreal would end up putting three more past Ciudad de Lucena in a 6-0 final.
🇧🇪 Promise David scores. On the topic of strikers getting back on the score sheet, Promise delivered an insurance marker from the bench for USG on Saturday. It was a good cameo, capped off by netting the 4-1 goal in stoppage time.
🏴 Rangers tripped up in Old Firm Darby. It wasn’t the best outing for Derek Cornelius’ club against their Glasgow rivals. DC went the distance as Rangers forced extra time in their league cup semi-final by making it 1-1, only for Celtic to hit back twice to knock the Gers out of contention, 3-1.
🇮🇹 Évelyne Viens with two assists. And both were well worth the price of admission for Roma fans on Sunday. After starting both CanWNT friendlies this window on the bench, Viens proved maybe she should’ve, with the helpers on the second and third goals of a 3-0 win.
💙 Nichelle Prince scores on Decision Day. There’s never a bad time to score your first goal of the season. That includes on the final day of the regular season — and against your national team keeper — with the winner for KC in a 2-1 result against San Diego.
MLS
⚽️ MLS News & Recaps
Vancouver Whitecaps
🌊 The Whitecaps are through to the next round. Vancouver are the first team in the Western bracket to qualify to the conference semifinal. The Caps travelled to Texas and defeated Dallas FC 4-2 in PKs. However, this game was very close going to game three as Dallas was leading 1-0 the majority of the game. Until Ralph Priso scores in the 90+3rd minute. Nail bitter of a game. The Caps will host LAFC on November 22nd. Thomas Muller vs. Son Heung-Min. LFG!
🪓 James Pantemis and Kamal Miller are going to game three. What a game. The energy of Providence Park in a play-off game is the best in the league. Moreover, this game had it all. Bangers, a come back and a late goal equalizer. The Portland Timbers tied 2-2 against san Diego FC but defeated the West coast top seed 3-2 in penalties. The final game will be held in San Diego.
🧯Joel Waterman and the Fire are out. Chicago hosted the Philadelphia Union and the game did not start well. The Chicago Fire conceded all three goals in the first half starting with a howler of a mistake from Chicago’s keeper Jeffrey Gal in the seventh minute and another mistake in the 35th minute. Philly’s pressing was relentless and it affected Chicago’s defensive structure. The Union confirm their spot in the Eastern conference semifinal with a 3-0 win over the Fire. Here’s a hilarious moment caught on the Chicago Fire radio.
🟡 Maritime Messi has one more shot against original Messi. Nashville SC played Inter Miami at home in the second game of play-offs. Jacob Shaffelburg started on the bench for Nashville but came on in the 63rd minute. Nashville defeated Miami 2-1 and will take it to game three in Florida. The only goal from Miami was a vintage Messi banger from outside the box. Taylor Twellman’s “Oh no” is a thing of beauty.
👷🏾♂️ Jacen Russel-Rowe helps the Crew secure a dub. FC Cincinnati travelled to the Midwest to face-off against Columbus Crew. Wilfried Nancy’s Crew dispatched the away side 4-0. Cincinnati’s Yuya Kubo earned a red card in the 38th minute. After that, the flood gates opened and JRR came off the bench in the 61st and registered an assist in the 65th and a goal in the 69th. A good night for the young Canadian. The series will go to a decisive game three. As of the time of writing, the date is November 8th but time is TBD.
MLS playoff fixtures:
Saturday, November 22nd (conference semifinal)
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LAFC (Time TBD @ BC Place)
Canadian Premier League
🍁 CPL News & Recaps
CPL
It’s award season time! As the regular season comes to an end, awards will be dished out to individuals who had an outstanding season. The nominees of differing categories have been announced.
🏅 Coach of the Year: Mauro Eustaquio (York United), Diego Mejia (Atletico Ottawa) and Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC).
🏅 Player’s Player of the Year: Julian Altobelli (York United), Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers), Ali Musse (Cavalry FC). Nana Ampomah, Kyle Bekker and Daniel Nimick (Forge FC). Manuel Aparicio, David Rodriguez, Samuel Salter and Ballou Tabla (Atletico Ottawa).
🏅 Defender of the Year: Noah Abatneh (Atletico Ottawa), Daniel Nimick (Forge FC) and Rezart Rama (Forge FC).
🏅 Golden Glove: Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC), Nathan Ingham (Atletico Ottawa) and Jassem Koleilat (Forge FC).
🏅 Best Canadian U21 Player: Noah Abatneh (Atletico Ottawa), Gabriel Antinoro (Atletico Ottawa), Thierno Bah (Vancouver FC), Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers) and Hoce Massunda (Forge FC).
⚜️ FC Supra has appointed Nick Razzaghi as head coach. Quebec’s first CPL club has officially announced its first head coach. The club has appointed former L1 QC CS Saint-Laurent manager Nick Razzaghi. The club has also appointed Mateo Cabanettes as Sporting Director and Head of Operations, another CS Saint-Laurent figure. Razzaghi enjoyed a successful 2024 as he caught the attention from Canada while leading CS Saint-Laurent in the iconic CanChamp run.
CPL playoff fixtures:
Sunday, November 9th (Final)
Atlético Ottawa vs. Cavalry FC (5 PM ET @ TD Place)
Northern Super League
🌌 NSL News & Recaps
Northern Super League
🪽 Pridham wins POTY, Forward of the Year, and Golden Boot. Pridham might as well have won everything she was eligible for, after the NSL’s final player awards were announced this week. She also received a Team of the Season nod, as voted on by the players. Now all that’s left is a Diana B. Matheson Cup (and maybe a CanWNT nod?)
NSL playoff fixtures:
Tuesday, November 4th (Semi-finals, first leg)
Vancouver Rise vs. Ottawa Rapid (7 PM PT @ Swangard Stadium)
Saturday, November 8th (Semi-finals, second leg)
Ottawa Rapid vs. Vancouver Rise (3 PM ET @ TD Place)
Sunday, November 9th (Semi-finals, second leg)
AFC Toronto vs. Montréal Roses (2 PM ET @ York Lions Stadium)