It’s championship week in Canadian soccer!

This week, the Voyageurs Cup will be handed out, and regular-season winners in the CPL and NSL will be crowned.

We break all that down, plus the playoff races in those respective leagues in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

The winner of the 19th edition of the Canadian Championship will be crowned on Wednesday in Montréal.

CF Montréal, five-time Canadian Champions, host Forge FC, who are looking to become the first CPL club to win the competition.

It’s the sixth straight edition of the tournament in which the two sides have done battle. CF Montréal took the first three meetings. Forge took the most recent two.

But this is the most important meeting yet, with the Voyageurs Cup on the line. For Forge, this is the one domestic trophy they’ve never won, and winning it would be a massive statement of their standing within Canadian soccer.

For CF Montréal, this game is their season. Sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference, with just six wins all year, their MLS playoff hopes have been long gone. They will still be the favourite, however, at home and with the resource advantage over Forge.

But for Forge, who lost the 2020 Canadian Champions Final to Toronto FC on penalties, this might be their best-ever chance to win the competition.

Time flies when you’re making history, and the Northern Super League’s second regular season is already set to come to a close next week.

Three games remain, and all of them could be significant.

First, it’s the regular season title decider on Friday at Stade Boréale. Montréal Roses host Ottawa Rapid. The winner takes the Supporters’ Shield (or Montréal wins it with a tie, but that’s hella boring and doesn’t sound as cool).

Then on Saturday at Swangard Stadium, the defending playoff champions Vancouver Rise must win in order to keep their postseason hopes alive.

If Vancouver win on Saturday, suddenly Monday’s match between AFC Toronto and the Halifax Tides becomes must-win for Halifax as they try to secure a first-ever playoff position. They currently hold the goal difference tiebreaker.

By this time next week, we should have a good idea of what the playoff picture looks like, and who has won the regular season.

It’s possible that no CPL regular season game has ever been more significant than Sunday’s battle between Cavalry FC and Vancouver FC at ATCO Field.

If Cavalry FC win, they will hoist the CPL Shield on the ATCO Field grass as regular season champions. If Vancouver FC prevail, they will be heading to the CPL playoffs for the first time.

A draw does neither any good. Any dropped points for Cavalry and rivals Forge would win the CPL Shield with a victory over Pacific in Victoria. That would mean a CPL Shield three-peat.

If Vancouver FC can’t win in Calgary, newcomers FC Supra du Québec would make the playoffs in their inaugural season with a win in Halifax. So, much of the final chapter of an outstanding CPL season will be written in Calgary.

Meanwhile, defending champions Atlético Ottawa, who have locked up third, await to find out if they will play Forge or Cavalry in the opening round of the CPL Playoffs.

The CPL Shield winner gets a spot in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup and top seed going into the playoffs, meaning they would host the final if they beat whichever of Vancouver FC or FC Supra du Québec qualifies.

Every match in the CPL’s final weekend will be played simultaneously on Sunday, October 25 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, so make sure all of your screens are charged up and ready to go.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liam Millar is on fire. And all of Birmingham City’s opposition defenses have a right to be terrified. The Blues’ Canadian winger scored a brace at the weekend at home against QPR, and a third midweek as he haunted former employers Preston North End.

🇫🇷 Év with a goal and an assist. It was très V-iens from the Quebecer on Saturday, as she scored a goal and an assist for Paris FC in a 4-0 win over Toulouse. PFC sit second in the Première Ligue, as Ashley Lawrence’s OL smoked Florianne Jourde’s PSG.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Olivia Smith backs up Casey Stoney. After Stoney had some critical comments for Arsenal and their lack of giving Liv playing time, she was straight into the starting XI. It might be hard for the Gunners to take her out of the XI as well, as she scored a screamer from distance to equalize against Birmingham.

🇫🇷 Jacen Russell-Rowe scores. JRR re-joined the scoring contingent this week, racing into the penalty area and lofting this strike past the Le Mans goalkeeper in a 3-0 win for Toulouse.

🇳🇱 Charles-Andréas Brym strikes again. Tip the brym of your cap the next time he runs past you. Because if you’re an Eerste Divisie defender, there’s a good chance that’s going to happen. The Canadian scored his sixth goal in his last five matches in a 2-0 win over Helmond Sport.

🩼 Cyle Larin injured. Another week, another injury. Larin had to be subbed off as Southampton faced Theo Bair and Jayden Nelson’s Bolton. The match ended scoreless and Larin was later assessed to have “felt something in the back of his hamstring”.

🇸🇪 Benjamin Laturnus turns provider. The Swedish-Canadian dual-national kicked off a 4-2 derby win for Örgryte against Matteo De Brienne and Sam Salter’s GAIS with an assist via an incredible cross on the opening goal.

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Ⓜ️ GG CFM. Welp, the season is essentially over for Montréal, and truthfully it has been over for the last couple of weeks. MTL’s 0-3 loss to Atlanta United at home confirmed that their season is essentially over. Some may criticize Alexis Sanchez for having no goals or assists, but the team’s performance has clearly improved overnight. Also, relying on a 37-year-old forward to bail out a team is unrealistic.

🔴 Toronto goal bailouts are real. Lately, TFC have been on late-game clutch goals. Last week, they had two clutch goals in stoppage time against CF Montréal. This week, they hosted Orlando City at BMO Field, and the game went back and forth. Both sides had a series of equalizers, but as the game seemed to favour Orlando City, Matheus Pereira would bail out the boys in red at the 90th minute. Toronto draw 3-3.

🌊 The Whitecaps winless once again. The Caps travelled to Energizer Park to face St. Louis City and were held to a 0-0 draw, making it their fourth straight winless game. Despite the result, they remain top of the Western Conference, but supporters are starting to get a little concerned.

🔴 Toronto FC have finally won an away game. TFC travelled to New Jersey to play against the New York Red Bull. Toronto benefitted from the Red Bulls poor defending and punished them with each opportunity. However, there are small mistakes that TFC have done from the back that would’ve hurt them if they faced against a stronger opponent. But overall, a solid performance and a 0-2 dub away from home.

🌊 Yadaly Diaby! The Vancouver Whitecaps have finally broken their winless streak away at Austin. Both sides were even until Yadaly Diaby scored a beauty of a curler in the 71st minute. Vancouver win 1-2.

Ⓜ️ CF Montréal held to a draw at Seattle. Given the current season of the club, a draw away against a top side like the Sounders is a good result. The absence of Prince Owusu is felt as the club is missing their top scorer and a forward that has a killer instinct in front of goal. Alexis Sanchez is proving himself as a positive influence and elevating the team’s performance. The 1-1 draw against Seattle is a necessary scoreline as the club head’s into its CanChamp final against Forge FC.

🍁 Marcus Caldeira scored the game winner. The CanMNT scored the winner for Minnesota United against St. Louis City as he registered his 7th goal of the season and ended STL’s record-setting 21-game undefeated streak across all competitions.

😮‍💨 Luc de Fougerolles (not) injured. Moments before sustaining an injury, LDF scored an absolute beauty of a goal against San Jose midweek. After the goal, he was treated by the medical team and Real Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni was quoted as saying “doesn’t look good.” Luckily, it was better than RSL expected, with LDF going on to play 84’ in RSL’s 3-1 win over SKC on the weekend.

Saturday, October 24
CF Montréal vs. Nashville SC (1:30 PM ET @ Stade Saputo)
Columbus Crew vs. Toronto FC (3:30 PM ET) Colorado Rapids vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (7:30 PM MT)

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⚜️ Supra’s playoff hopes are still alive. Supra hosted Inter Toronto at Stade Boréale in a must-win game as they chase a playoff spot. Inter gave Supra a layup with Max Ferrari being given a preventable red card right before the half and an own goal from Kembo Kibato. Even with the red card and own goal, the momentum was in Supra’s favour, and Toronto’s midfield and backline were being exposed on both flanks. Supra won 3-0 and kept their playoff hopes alive.

🦅 Vancouver’s playoff spot will go down to the wire. VFC hosted the Halifax Wanderers in a match where the hosts aimed to retain their playoff spot against FC Supra. The Eagles had a slight moment of concern as they were held to a 1-1 draw from the 44th minute until Matteo Campagna scored a brilliant header in the 75th minute. Campagna’s goal confirmed VFC’s 2-1 win over Halifax. However, next game day, Vancouver will play Cavalry at ATCO Field while Supra will travel to Halifax. Statistically, the odds are in Supra’s favour.

🔨 Forge reigned supreme in Ottawa. Atlético Ottawa hosted the Hammers under a beautiful, sunny fall day. Despite the on-point weather, the result didn't match the vibe. Ottleti went down 0-2 by the 53rd minute, and Diego Gutierrez received a red card in the 61st minute. Despite the consolation goal from Gabriel Antinoro, the game ended 1-2 for Forge. On the bright side, Ottawa’s playoff spot is confirmed.

🐴 ATCO Field is a fortress. This season, no matter the strength of the team, Calvary is unstoppable at home. This past weekend, Pacific FC visited Calgary and were handed a 4-2 defeat against CPL favourites Cavalry. 10 wins, three draws and zero loss at ATCO Field for the Cavs. Troubling news for Vancouver next weekend.

This week’s CPL fixtures:

Sunday, October 25
Cavalry FC vs. Vancouver FC (2 PM MT @ ATCO Field)
Halifax Wanderers vs. Supra du Québec (4 PM AT @ Wanderers Grounds)
Inter Toronto FC vs. Atletico Ottawa (4PM ET @ York Lions Stadium)
Pacific FC vs. Forge FC (1PM PT @ Royal Athletic Park)

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🌊 Halifax come back at home. The Tides hosted the Montréal Roses at Wanderers Grounds, and the first half did not go to plan as the away team went up 0-2. The second half told another story, the Tides came back with a banger in the 70th minute from Jordyn Rhodes and a brilliant chip goal from Tiffany Cameron in the 86th minute. Halifax ended the game 2-2. With this draw, the Tides hold onto their playoff spot, but they are not tied on points with 5th-placed Vancouver.

🦉 Calgary play spoiler for Toronto. Toronto’s hopes of repeating as Supporters Shield winners came to an end up against the much-improved Calgary Wild side. Jorian Baucom stunned the hosts early on and the Wild held on to a 1-0 win for the final 85 minutes as Toronto couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn door.

🪽 Ottawa storm back. If Halifax’s remontada was a comeback, then Ottawa’s was something else. Hoping to keep their own chances of winning the Shield intact, they had to find a way to beat Vancouver. And beat them, they did, after an initial stumble put them 2-0 down. DB Pridham and Florence Belzile both had braces, and Elise Bell added the fifth goal as the Rise were shocked into no response in a 5-2 final.

This week’s NSL fixtures:

Friday, October 23
Montréal Roses vs. Ottawa Rapid (7 PM ET @ Stade Boréale)

Sunday, October 25
Vancouver Rise vs. Calgary Wild (1 PM ET @ Swangard Stadium)

Monday, October 26
AFC Toronto vs. Halifax Tides (7 PM ET @ BMO Field)

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