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October 27th Edition
The CPL Final is coming to Ottawa, Baby Reds top the group at U17 World Cup and CanWNT can't solve the Swiss
Happy Monday footy fans! It’s official: the 2025 CPL Final will be contested in the nation’s capital.
On Sunday, Atlético Ottawa defeated Forge FC in the league’s Championship semi-final to reach, and host, their second final. Forge, however, have a second chance at glory, and the first-ever CPL double.
Plus, CanWNT’s European trip it not going all that great so far, but the young reds are making up for it in Qatar at the U-17 World Cup.
Unfortunately, it was also a rough week of injuries for Canadian ballers, the latest on that and more in this edition of The Northern Pitch.
In this week's edition:
CanWNT
🇨🇦 CanWNT can’t solve the Swiss
Canada Soccer
A long-awaited return to action for the Canadian women’s national team didn’t go to plan with a disappointing loss in Lucerne.
Canada, who were back in action for the first time since early July when they were outclassed by the United States in Washington, they also couldn’t solve the Swiss in national team on Friday in 1-0 loss.
Canada conceded a disappointingly defended goal in the 12th minute. They had several chances to equalize, especially through Janine Sonis, but couldn’t buy a goal on the day.
The biggest worry, however, is for the health of Olivia Smith. Canada’s star forward had to be carted off the pitch in tears after suffering an injury, yet her latest knock while playing for her country. Canada Soccer has since confirmed that her, and Kaylee Hunter, have returned to their respective clubs.
Smith’s injury, per Canada Soccer, is a hip pointer. So it could be a lot worse, but still not ideal for a national team that is struggling to score goals right now.
The team is next in action on Tuesday (1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. ET) when they face the Dutch in Nijmegen. A loss, and they could slip out of the top 10 in the FIFA rankings for the first time since 2015.
CanW17
🏆 Thankfully, the U-17s got next
@CanWNT
Senior national team struggling? Well, at least the Canadian U-17s are proving that the future is bright.
Canada are off to a perfect start at the U-17 World Cup, topping Group D with dubs of Nigeria (4-1), Samoa (6-0) and, most impressively, France in their group finale by a score of 2-1.
Despite a late sending off, Canada held on to shock Les Bleus. That was a big result for the next round, as Canada avoided Spain in the Round of 16 and instead will play Zambia on Wednesday. Win that, and they reach the Quarterfinal on Saturday, where they meet the winner of Brazil and China. (We can’t avoid either, even at the youth level, it seems.)
There have been some impressive performances, including Melisa Kekić who has two goals, including one against France, and Julia Amireh who has three. Canada have also scored 12 goals already.
This team has already reached the knockouts for the first time since the 2018 tournament. Now they will be looking to improve on what that Jordyn Huitema-led 2018 side did — reach the semi-final and finish fourth — and be the first
CPL
🏟️ The 2025 CPL Final is coming to the nation’s capital
CPL
The 2025 North Star Cup will be lifted at TD Place in Ottawa.
Atlético Ottawa are off to the final after defeating Forge FC 2-1 in the Championship semifinal on Sunday in Hamilton. After David Choinière opened the scoring, Gabriel Antinoro equalized with an absolute Golazo early in the first half. Then, who else, Sam Salter scored his 24th goal of the season in all competitions which stood as the winner in the second half.
Atleti have never won the cup, but did host the final back in 2022. Forge have been in all six CPL finals to date, winning four, and will get another opportunity to reach the final, as they now host the Contender semifinal next weekend.
Overall, it was a crazy week in the CPL. The playoffs began with a bang. Wednesday night saw a crazy game in Halifax as the Wanderers took on York United. The hosts took the lead through Tiago Coimbra, and held it until the 86th minute, when Julian Altobelli equalized for York to force extra time.
Then came the lightning delays, sending fans out of the stadium and both teams back to their dressing rooms. When play finally resumed, Halifax struck again. But York refused to be beaten, equalizing once more in the 119th minute through Shaan Hundal. It went to penalties—and this time, York United took the lead and held it, booking their trip to Calgary.
But, that would be as far as York would get. Ali Musse began the goal fest with a beauty of his own, while a resurgent Tobi Warschewski picked up a brace. Hundal again got York back in the game at 2-1, but a Luke Singh OG helped seal the Nine Stripes’ 4-1 loss to end their season.
So, it’s Forge versus Cavalry once again. The winner of their semi-final on November 2nd at 4 p.m. ET will travel to Ottawa for North Star Cup glory.
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Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad
Feyenoord Rotterdam
🏴 Liam Millar scores his first of the season. Millar has looked no worse for wear since returning from his long ACL injury. He balled out, scoring the opener in a 2-1 win against Leicester in midweek…
🏴 Liam Millar comes off injured. …But, unfortunately, not all things ended rosy. Millar was one of two CanMNT players to pick up injuries this week. Millar entered in the 69th minute of Hull’s 1-1 draw against Charlton. Unfortunately, in the draw, Millar came off with a hamstring injury in the 82nd minute.
🏴 Alistair Johnston subbed off with an injury. The other CanMNT player that came off injured this week was AJ. Celtic were at home against Austrian club Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday. Johnston made a surprise start, with many ending up calling his return from injury a rushed decision by manager Brendan Rodgers after sustaining a hamstring injury, 23 minutes in. Celtic would claim the win, 2-1.
🇳🇱 Cyle Larin scores in the Europa League. Feyenoord hosted Greek club Panathinaikos in the Europa League group stage. Cyle Larin started on the bench but came on the pitch in the 81st minute and found the net in the 90th minute. Feyenoord picked up a 3-1 win at full time.
🏴 A goal and an assist for Dan Jebbison. Maybe being snubbed by the CanMNT in October is a good omen? Jebbo followed in Junior Hoilett’s two-goal footsteps on Friday, getting two goal involvements, including the winning marker, in a 3-2 win against Sheffield United.
🇭🇷 Niko Sigur with a screamer. Hajduk Split travelled to face-off against HNK Gorica. Versatile CanMNT defender Niko Sigur scored an absolute stunner from the edge of the box in the 67th minute. This marked his first goal of the season.
☄️ Woobens Pacius with a banger. The Tampa Bay Rowdies hosted Detroit City FC. The away team were leading 1-0 since the 58th minute until former Forge baller Woobens Pacius scored a banger from within the box to finish the game at 1-1.
👹 CanMNT-eligible Gabriele Biancheri had a good weekend. Manchester United U21s defeated Tottenham 4-1 this past weekend. 19-year-old Biancheri registered a hat trick and an assist in their triumph over the Spurs. Biancheri, born in Wales, could also represent Italy or Canada through his parents. He was invited to the CanMNT training camp last May ahead of the Canadian Shield tournament.
🏴 Derek Cornelius opener. Rangers are back in the W column, thanks in part to DC. The centreback got up the pitch for a free-kick inside the first 15 minutes and nestled home the first goal in a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock with a bullet header.
🇨🇭 Theo Bair bags a brace. Something about the Bair and enjoying scoring against second-place in the Swiss Super League. After a hat-trick against Young Boys a few weeks ago, Theo scored twice against Basel on Sunday. Lausanne-Sport enjoyed the match, pasting last year’s champions, 5-1.
🇸🇪 Adisa De Rosario on trial. This one was a positive curveball to end the week. The junior DeRo was spotted on a test with Swedish giants AIK on Saturday. Long time Canadian fans will recognize Stam — Kenny Stamatopoulos — as the club’s GK coach.
MLS
⚽️ MLS News & Recaps
Portland Timbers
🪓 Kamal Miller, James Pantemis and Maxime Crepéau in the round of 16. The Portland Timbers hosted Diego Luna and Real Salt Lake in a must win, one-off wild card game to qualify for the next round of playoffs. James Pantemis started in nets with Maxime looking on from the bench. The Timbers walked away with a 3-1 lead after Kamal Miller came up big with a header in the 82nd minute to confirm Portland’s spot in the next round of playoffs. Despite conceding a goal, James Pantemis registered six saves in this game.
👨🚒 Joel Waterman and the Chicago Fire survive wild card. Chicago hosted Orlando City in the wild card play in round. CanMNT defender Joel Waterman started for the Fire and saw out a 2-1 win over Orlando.
🪓 San Diego chop down Portland in game one. It was always going to be an uphill battle for Portland against one of the best sides in MLS this season. Pants stood tall, making six saves yet again. But, it wouldn’t be enough as San Diego scored twice in the first half to secure a 2-1 dub, with the Timbers also hit by a second-half red to Jimer Fory. Kamal also started, with Max as the backup keeper.
👨🚒 Chicago doused by Philadelphia in penalties. It was more bad news on Sunday as Joel Waterman and the Fire fell to the Union on penalties. Chicago did well to force the extra frame on short rest, equalizing in the final 15 minutes with two goals. Waterman would end up having the decisive penalty, hitting the post, which allowed Jesus Bueno to clinch the win in game one for the Union, 4-2 on pens (2-2 AFT).
🌊 VWFC send Dallas packing. At least you can always count on the Caps. Canada’s team — at least for the play-offs — scored a big 3-0 win over FCD to kick off their best-of-three series. Ali Ahmed had an assist on Daniel Rios’ opener, while Ralph Priso and Belal Halbouni held down the CB spots in the shutout. A Thomas Muller pen and a Kenji Cabrera screamer rounded out the result.
🔵 CF Montréal hire Marco Donadel as full-time coach. In case you forgot, Donadel was an interim coach working at the capacity of a full-time coach. Now he will be the official coach of MTL. Seems a tad overdue but at least the club has recognized maintaining consistency in the leadership position to be an important factor.
👋 MTL have also said goodbye to a few players. Le Bleu-blanc-noir have decided to part ways with designated player Giacomo Vrioni after a single season. The club has also denied contract extensions of Bryce Duke and Fernando Alvarez. Also terminating Tom Pearce’s contract. Meanwhile, the club has exercised the contract extension options of Brendan Craig, Luca Petrasso and Matty Longstaff. While Sebastian Breza’s contract has been extended.
🔴 Toronto FC after Maxime Crépeau? TFC have also let go of players this past week, most notably the departure of Sean Johnson has caught everyone’s attention. With the #1 position available, rumours have circulated that a CanMNT player could end up in Toronto FC. GM Jason Hernandez did not dismiss the idea at a presser. With a goalkeeper position available, could TFC land Max? Especially since James Pantemis’ has become the favourite in Portland.
🏁 Drew Fischer is MLS Referee of the Year. Referees get a lot of smack in their line of work. It’s a tough job out there, not just managing two teams, but often, two opposing sets of fan bases. As such, it’s always good to recognize the best — and for the second time in two years, the best in MLS was Canadian Drew Fischer. ‘Grats, Drew.
MLS playoff fixtures:
Saturday, November 1st (Game 2)
FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (6:30 PM PT)
Canadian Premier League
🍁 CPL News & Recaps
TrueNorthFoot
⚓️ The Patrice Gheisar era comes to an end. After three years of serving the Wanderers, head coach Patrice Gheisar is out in Halifax. The news comes after the side crashed out against York United in the first round of the playoffs. No rumours have emerged who HFX next coach could be. But if we can start a rumour here, we want Ange Postecoglou in Nova Scotia. Why not? We’ve seen what Greek coaches can do in this league.
CPL playoff fixtures:
Sunday, November 2nd (Contender Semi-final)
Forge FC vs. Cavalry FC (4 PM ET @ Hamilton Stadium)
Northern Super League
🌌 NSL News & Recaps
Northern Super League
The NSL playoffs don’t start for another week due to the international break, but that doesn’t mean it’s not awards season. The league unveiled its inaugural list of award winners this past week, from stats leaders to players of the year in each position:
⭐️ Golden Boot: DB Pridham (Ottawa Rapid)
Pridham ran away with the goalscoring race this season, firing in 18 goals — nearly half of the Rapid’s 41 this season, adding the NSL’s only hat-trick to date. One has to wonder what she could do for a CanWNT struggling to score goals.
⭐️ Assist Leader: Esther Okoronkwo (AFC Toronto)
A much tighter race than the Golden Boot, Okoronkwo had seven helpers in 2025, barely beating out Vancouver Rise’s Quinn and fellow AFC Toronto forward Nikayla Small. It’s been an award-filled season for Okoronkwo, who helped her Nigeria to a WAFCON title and added eight goals to her NSL haul.
⭐️ Golden Glove: Morgan McAslan (Vancouver Rise)
Awarded for leading the league in clean sheets, McAslan beat Rapid goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais to the award with nine, to Dagenais’ seven.
⭐️ Rookie of the Year: Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto)
This one wasn’t all that surprising, it has to be said. Hunter burst onto the scene in her first professional season, earning a starting role in a crowded AFC Toronto XI. She deputized well when Okoronkwo was on international duty, and came second in scoring, enough to earn a senior international call-up to end the season. The future sure is bright here.
⭐️ Goalkeeper of the Year: Anika Tóth (Halifax Tides)
Tóth helped keep the Tides in a number of games this season that they would’ve otherwise had a tough time staying in. topping the league in saves. Her performances earned her recalls to the Slovak national team — and a contract extension through the 2027 NSL season.
⭐️ Defender of the Year: Jyllissa Harris (Ottawa Rapid)
Harris was a rock at the back for Ottawa all season. In addition to starting every match for the Rapid, coming just a half away from an iron season, Harris led the league in total passes and touches, showing an additional dimension to her star role in the league’s second-best defense in 2025.
⭐️ Midfielder of the Year: Emma Regan (AFC Toronto)
Regan brought experience and leadership as Toronto’s midfield engine, powering the side through a shaky start to the season. Her grit as AFC’s skipper earned her regular calls from Casey Stoney. Not to mention, the only player to play every single minute of the 25-game season.
NSL playoff fixtures:
Saturday, November 1st (Semi-finals, first leg)
Montréal Roses vs. AFC Toronto (12 PM ET @ Stade Boréale)
Tuesday, November 4th (Semi-finals, first leg)
Vancouver Rise vs. Ottawa Rapid (7 PM PT @ Swangard Stadium)