Defending Canadian Premier League (CPL) champions Cavalry FC got their Canadian Championship campaign off to a cracking start with a thumping 6-0 win over current League1 Alberta champions Edmonton Scottish at the ATCO Field in Calgary Tuesday.
The all-Alberta battle – the first one since the former FC Edmonton team dissolved at the end of the 2022 season – saw the Cavs start with five Calgarians in their starting 11.
While goalkeeper Joe Holliday made his Cavalry debut, midfielder Shamit Shome wore the captain’s armband. Defenders Levi Laing, Mihail Gherasimencov, and forward Caniggia Elva all made the starting 11 too, earning their first starts with the team.
Having gotten off to a rough start in the current CPL season, this cup tie was a great chance for the Calgary team to take a step towards getting their season back on track and building some momentum. Needless to say, they made no mistakes in accomplishing that mission.
“It was a rather competitive football match. We did not take [Edmonton] Scottish lightly. It was a cup game that we needed to win and advance. And we did,” said Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“But what pleases me is that we had six different goalscorers and several with their first hit of the season and that only bodes well for confidence. Now it’s about translating that and putting it into our regular season and starting to put points on the board.”
Early Cavalry charge leaves Edmonton clueless
Cavalry took the lead in the 9th minute when Elva guided a corner kick into the net with a terrific header. The 28-year-old, who followed up with an acrobatic celebration, scored his second goal in all competitions this season after also scoring in the 3-1 defeat against Atletico Ottawa this past weekend.
The Cavs then doubled their lead in the 18th minute through midfielder Niko Myronuik who blasted a thunderous shot past Edmonton goalkeeper and skipper Steven Bohrson to score his first goal for the team.
The Canadian was assisted by defender Mihail Gherasimencov, who made a dazzling run to split open the Edmonton midfield and find Myronuik unmarked inside the penalty box.
The Cavs almost tripled their lead in the 39th minute when Jay Herdman fired a shot high and wide off the crossbar in a bid to bury the ball in the top-left corner just before Myronuik’s quest for a brace went in vain after he hit a shot just wide of the net in the 41st minute.
Cavalry show no mercy as Edmonton crumble
Cavalry deepened Edmonton’s misery further in the 61st minute when Nicolas Wähling found himself completely alone at the front after receiving a piercing through ball from Elva.
Despite the Edmonton appeals for an offside, the German professional kept his composure to score his first goal for the Cavs after netting a beautiful right-leg curler past Bohrson.
Second-half substitute Ali Musse then breached Bohrson’s defense yet again with a deft goal after the Somalian nonchalantly scored using the outside of his left boot just before local Calgary lad Max Piepgrass buried a long-distance screamer to make the score 5-0.
“I just wanted to play and get on the field for the first time this season. When I got the ball, I just took the shot. I don’t know, I just took the chance,” said Piepgrass after the match.
The 20-year-old, who recently signed a CPL-U Sports contract for the 2025 season with the Cavs, hit a banger from 40 yards out to leave fans and the opposition mesmerized.
“It was a huge opportunity. I was waiting for this for a while and I’m happy that I was on the field. It gives me confidence. It reassures me that I can play at this level and I’m happy that I took my opportunity,” he further added.
And if that wasn’t enough, reigning CPL golden boot winner, Tobias Warschewski, hammered the final nail in the Edmonton Scottish coffin when he scored Cavalry’s sixth and final goal in the 87th minute to help the Cavs seal their spot in the quarter-final.
Cavalry, who were left heartbroken last year after having their cup run ended in the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Vancouver Whitecaps, will now play either Pacific FC or Vancouver FC in a two-legged tie.
The Cavs will next be in CPL action this Friday when they face York United in Toronto.
