Calgary’s Cavalry FC hosts MLS side Montreal Impact at Spruce Meadows Wednesday for the second-leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal series.
The first match took place in Montreal last week with the Impact winning 2-1. The winner of this semifinal will advance to the final to face either Toronto FC or Ottawa Fury.
For those who are new to the Canadian Championship and the concept of two-legged soccer, here’s a quick guide to how it works and what Cavalry FC and the Montreal Impact need to do to advance.
Canadian Championship format
The Canadian Championship is a knockout soccer tournament open to all professional Canadian clubs, and a couple semi-professional clubs, that runs separate but parallel to the league season. The concept is similar to England’s FA Cup. The Canadian Championship is also known as the Voyageurs Cup.
Loading ...The 2019 Canadian Championship has featured 13 clubs from five leagues, the most in its history – three clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), seven from Canadian Premier League (CPL), one from United Soccer League (USL), one from League1 Ontario and one from Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.
Cavalry FC is the only representative from the new Canadian Premier League remaining in the 2019 Canadian Championship.
Winner determined by aggregate score
Each round of the Canadian Championship is a two-match series with the winner decided by aggregate score. The team to score the most goals over the two matches advances.
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If the clubs score the same number of goals over the two matches, the away goals rule is applied. Under this rule, the team to score more away goals advances.
If the series is still tied after application of the away goals rule, the second game goes straight to penalty kicks. No extra-time is played.
Away goal important for Cavalry FC
Cavalry FC were down 2-0 with 20 minutes left to play in the first-leg when attacking midfielder Sergio Camargo scored for the visitors. The goal not only reduced the aggregate deficit to one goal, it also gave Cavalry FC a possible vital away goal.
It’s one of the reasons Cavalry FC manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. remained positive after the loss in Montreal.
“We’re still in the fight,” Wheeldon Jr. was quick to say following the game in Montreal last week.
Possible score lines and what they’ll mean
Cavalry FC will advance to the final with a 1-0 victory in Wednesday’s game or any victory by more than a single goal (example: 2-0, 3-1, 4-2, etc.).
The Impact will advance with a win of any score line, a draw or any single-goal loss other than 1-0. Penalty kicks will only be needed if Cavalry FC wins 2-1.
Toronto FC (MLS) and Ottawa Fury (USL) are contesting the other semifinal with the second-leg also going Wednesday. Toronto FC hold a significant advantage having won the first-leg in Ottawa 2-0.
Where and how to watch
A few tickets are still available for Cavalry FC’s match against the Impact – purchase here.
All Canadian Championship matches are shown by OneSoccer. The new soccer streaming service is available here and offers a free one-month trial period.
