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- September 15th Edition
September 15th Edition
CanMNT leave Europe with another dub, CanChamp Semis heat up and more fall Friendlies announced.
After an international break—and a great one if you are a CanMNT fan at that—club football is back in full swing.
The semi-finals of the Canadian Championship will be decided this week, with big matches on both coasts to determine who will meet in the 2025 finale on October 1.
Plus, both national teams announced exciting fall friendlies, the Caps beat the top team in MLS 7-0, and plenty more ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.
In this week's edition:
Canadian Championship
🏆 CanChamp Semis heat up
Canada Soccer
This week, we will find out which two teams will battle in the 2025 Canadian Championship final, and where.
The second leg of semi-final action goes midweek, with a pair of matchups that are full of intrigue for different reasons.
First, on Tuesday (10 ET / 7 PT), it’s a showdown at BC Place between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Forge FC. The first leg ended 2-2, and with no away goals in this year’s Canadian Championship, it is all tied up on aggregate.
Advantage, obviously, goes to the three-peat champs, who are at home no less. But Forge fear no one in this competition, and would love nothing more than to make a statement by knocking out the defending champs and reach their second final.
The winner of this match will host the 2025 Final, which will take place on Wednesday, October 1.
Then, on Thursday, attention turns to the nation’s capital, where yet another Vancouver side, Vancouver FC, who lead Atlético Ottawa 3-1 on aggregate in an all-CPL semi-final. Neither side have ever gotten this far in the competition before, but one of them will be in the final.
All the action will be live on OneSoccer, and TSN — who have picked up the rest of this year’s Canadian Championship.
CanMNT
🏴 CanMNT with a dub in Wales
Canada Soccer
CanMNT’s European tour ends with a dub. It has been a successful exhibition campaign and the boys have impressed. First with a convincing dub against Romania in Bucharest and now a close win against Wales.
Maple Leaf over Red Dragon. This was going to be a competitive fixture. The Welsh side have players performing in top English clubs like Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies at Tottenham.
Big names absent for Canada. Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito and Stephen Eustaquio are out injured. Despite those big-name omissions, Canada did the job.
Derek Cornelius take a bow. This was a tight game with abundant chances being created from both sides. What broke the deadlock? A free-kick banger from CB Derek Cornelius did the job.
Valuable experience gained. Jesse Marsch’s squad proved they can play at a higher level and without the big names. These are key exhibitions prior to the World Cup in 2026.
CanWNT
🇨🇭 CanWNT vs Switzerland
Canada Soccer
CanWNT are headed back to Europe in October for a friendly against Switzerland on October 24 in Lucerne.
The Swiss are currently ranked 24th in the world, and hosted this summer’s European Championship. They finished second in their group, before losing 2-0 to eventual finalists Spain in the quarter-final.
Canada are 4-0-1 against Switzerland all-time, the most recent meeting between the two countries came in 2015, when Canada defeated them 1-0 in the round of 16 at their home World Cup.
CanWNT have one final friendly yet to be announced before the end of 2025, as Canada Soccer confirmed they will play an additional friendly during that October window.
A previous announcement revealed that they will play their final set of friendlies of 2025 against Japan in Nagasaki on November 29 and December 2.
CanMNT
🇻🇪 CanMNT vs Venezuela and maybe France?
Canada Soccer
It’s a Copa America repeat. The last time CanMNT played against Venezuela was at the Copa America quarter-final in 2024. That was a spicy affair that ended in a Canada dub in a penalty shootout.
The game will be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 18. Florida is home to the largest Venezuelan population in the US. This will effectively be an away game for Canada.
An almost full squad. In Canada’s European tour, the boys were missing key player. With a mid-November match-up, Moise Bombito and Alistair Johnston are expected to return to the squad. Alphonso Davies is expected to return in December.
These friendlies are key for Canada, Jesse Marsch would want to continue the winning streak in order to get the team ready for the World Cup. A game against Venezuela away from home will be ideal. Moreover, it’ll give ample opportunity for younger players to fight for their spot in the squad.
France looking for a friendly in North America. French publication L’Equipe, have reported that les Bleus are looking to play a friendly in March against the United States, Mexico or Canada. A worthy exhibition match leading up to the World Cup. Canada last played France to a 0-0 draw in Marsch’s second match in charge back in 2024.
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Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad
@jayderiviere
🏴 Jayde Riviere scores. It was the big 5-0 for Jayde, celebrating a half-century with Manchester United. She marked the occasion with her first club goal… and wow, was it golden. An absolute thunderbolt from an impossible angle against London City Lionesses.
🇩🇪 Vanessa Gilles header. Vanessa Gilles has been a shrewd signing for Bayern Munich. Of course, as shrewd as signing one of the best centre-backs today can be. Gilles now has two goals in two games. It was a carbon copy of last week as well, coming off a corner in stoppage time of a 3-0 win over RB Leipzig.
🏴 Olivia Smith assist. It’s been one heck of a start to life at Arsenal for Liv. A stunner last week, and this week, assisting a different Gunners wondergoal from Alessia Russo against West Ham. She also made some time on Sunday, being snapped in the stands watching her former Liverpool side.
🇮🇹 Jonathan David assists against Inter Milan. Even off the bench, JD makes magic happen. It was a simple helper, and an important one. It helped cap off a 4-3 win for Juventus over Inter, and again, what a goal it turned out to be.
👸 Cloé Lacasse from the corner. It was a week of Canadians playing a helping hand. In Utah’s 2-0 win over the Houston Dash, it was Laclasse with the back-post delivery getting the party started for the Royals. Despite the loss, it was also a milestone for Allysha Chapman, the newest Dash centurion. And, we got some CL-on-CL action.
🇫🇷 Luka Boiteau makes his Ligue 2 debut. After an unexpected promotion, it’s been a difficult start to life for Boulogne. Boiteau, 19, checked off another milestone in a 2-1 loss to Stade Laval. The Lille-born midfielder made his first appearance, subbing on in the 84th minute.
🏴 Sabrina D’Angelo ruled out. The injury woes continue for CanWNT players. Sabs was ruled out of club action for Aston Villa this week against Chelsea due to a concussion suffered last match. With Switzerland just over a month away, hopefully she’s back sooner rather than later.
MLS
⚽️ MLS News & Recaps
Whitecaps FC
🌊 Thomas Muller with a hattrick. The Caps are fighting to confirm their spot in the playoffs and the Union were in the receiving end of a 7-0 beat down. Please note, Philadelphia are first in the Eastern Conference. The biggest highlight of the night, it was Thomas Muller’s birthday and he picked up a hattrick and assisted Emmanuel Sabbi’s top bins curler. Vancouver are locked into playoffs and now third in the West.
🔴 TFC, you almost made it out. Oh so close, Toronto travelled to New England and took the lead in the 75th minute with a Theo Corbeanu goal. Alas, TFC would not walk away with all three points as New England salvaged a late goal in the 90th minute from Luca Langoni. Ending the game in a 1-1 draw. Despite not earning all three points, it wasn’t as bad as MTL’s night.
🔵 Another night to forget at Stade Saputo. This was Ivan Jaime’s home opener in CF Montreal’s game against St. Louis FC. Both sides have never faced each other in MLS and MTL lost 2-0 in this inaugural meeting. Defensive lapses and the inability to finish were the main culprits. On the bright side, the front three of Ivan Jaime, Prince Owusu and Dante Sealy has potential.
This week’s MLS fixtures:
Saturday, September 20
CF Montreal vs. New York Red Bulls (7:30PM ET @ Stade Saputo)
Columbus Crew vs. Toronto FC (7:30PM ET)
Sporting Kansas City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (8:30PM CT)
Canadian Premier League
🍁 CPL News & Recaps
Valour FC
🌾 Valour did what? Perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the season, Valour defeated Forge, 2-1 at home. The game followed the expected script as Forge took the lead with a goal from Tristan Borges in the 22nd minute. However, Valour’s attack was relentless and continuously created chances. Kianz Froese broke free and equalized in the 57th and scored a brace in the 64th. Both goals, absolute stunners.
🐎 Cavalry keep Halifax in fourth place. The Haligonians visited Calgary and were dispatched with a 3-1 loss against Cavalry. Halifax had no answers from Cavalry’s attack. It was back firing, counting three different goalscorers. Moreover, Halifax struggled to finish their chances, but at least denied Cavalry of a clean sheet.
🦅 Vancouver FC hold PFC to a draw. Pacific hosted Salish Sea Darby rivals VFC at a new venue, Royal Athletic Park. The move to hold the game in downtown Victoria was to engage with new fans and that they did that in front of a sold out stadium. Despite the over 3,000 in attendance, Pacific had to rescue their 1-1 draw against basement dwellers Vancouver with a last-minute equalizer.
🏟️ Missed opportunities in North York. An all-Ontario battle capped off the week. The result, a 2-2 draw, was one that more or less helped neither team in the table. Beyond the chance to catch the teams in front of them, both teams also struggled to finish on the pitch. Far from a shooting clinic, this one could’ve seen six or seven goals.
This week’s CPL fixtures:
Saturday, September 20
Halifax Wanderers vs. Pacific FC (4PM AT @ Wanderers Ground)
Cavalry FC vs. Valour FC (4PM MT @ ATCO Field)
Sunday, September 21
Atletico Ottawa vs. Forge FC (3PM ET @ TD Place)
Vancouver FC vs. York United FC (3PM PT @ Willoughby Community Park)
Northern Super League
🌌 NSL News & Recaps
AFC Toronto
❎ AFC Toronto clinch. AFC Toronto’s big result over Vancouver (more on that in a bit) means the unofficial Finals hosts are the first in the NSL to guarantee a postseason berth. With four games left in their season, they lead the table by nine points. Regular-season title coming up next?
🟰 Tides and Rapid equal. Halifax were up for this one, but so were Ottawa. The Tides carried over their bright finish from last week, opening the scoring in the first half. Alas, the result wouldn’t stick as Rapid struck back to start the second half. That’s how this one would finish, in a 1-1 stalemate.
🤯 AFCT padding the stats! Toronto made a statement, the only winning footy team in the city is AFC. Toronto hosted the Vancouver Rise and dispatched the third placed team with a 7-0 thrashing. Unsurprisingly, the result set a new NSL single-game record. A record that Rise themselves last held with a pair of 6-0 wins this season, including over Montréal last week. Talk about a taste of their own medicine.
🌹 The Roses run wild in Calgary. It was a tough game for the Calgary Wild, Montreal came to Alberta and punished the home side’s backline. Calgary have been struggling defensively as this loss is their fourth straight loss. For MTL, it is about sharpening the attack in preparation for playoffs. The game ended 5-0 for MTL in the second rout of the NSL’s Super Saturday.
This week’s NSL fixtures:
Wednesday, September 17
Calgary Wild vs. Ottawa Rapid (7PM MT @ McMahon Stadium)
Thursday, September 18
Montreal Roses vs. Halifax Tides (7PM ET @ Stade Boréale)
Saturday, September 20
Vancouver Rise vs. Ottawa Rapid (1PM PT @ Swangard Stadium)
Sunday, September 21
AFC Toronto vs. Halifax Tides (2PM ET @ York Lions Stadium)
Northern Picks
✅ Northern Picks
@darbymag
🎽 What to win
We’re giving away a signed match-worn Ali Ahmed kit from their massive win over Inter Miami. Details on how to enter and win are all here.
🎧 What to listen to
Some of our friends have a new podcast on the horizon, with Episode 1 of the Canadian Kickabout set to land this week. If you’re looking for a podcast with a focus on the CanPL and domestic footy, give it a listen on Spotify and Apple!