3 KEY Takeaways from leg 1 of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-finals
There are always different ways to approach leg one of a knockout tie.
Do you go for the knockout blow early and put your opponent on the ropes before thinking about leg two? Or do you play things safe and try to use the 180 minutes to your advantage?
Each team’s strategy can vary depending on what they want to get out of the tie, and that manifested itself across this week's slate of Canadian Championship leg one quarter-final matchups.
There, each scenario seemed to manifest itself, as some looked to settle the tie early, while others played cagier with leg two already on their minds.
Because of that, each tie is in a different spot heading into leg two, as some still have all to play for, while others feel more secure in their ability to advance to the next round.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the key storylines that stood out from those four matches, as the eight remaining teams continue to push to try and lift the Voyageurs Cup this fall.
CS Saint-Laurent’s special night:
It was the big storyline - how would CS Saint-Laurent, a semi-professional League 1 Québec side, who upset CPL side Halifax Wanderers to reach this stage, fare against Toronto FC and their MLS budget and roster?
That was the big question many asked as Saint-Laurent got set to host this game at Centre Claude Robillard in Montréal, in a game that promised to be special for many reasons.
To answer the first question, it turns out it’d be quite a competitive match. Naturally, the game finished about as one would expect, with TFC picking up a comfortable 3-0 win that should be enough to get them to the next round unless something surprising happened in leg two.
Despite that scoreline, it doesn’t tell the whole story of the match, as things remained close for much of the 90 minutes, as TFC only opened the scoring in the 50th minute, before finally pulling away with 59th and 76th minute goals.
And that was because, on the other side, Saint-Laurent threw everything they could at them, be it defensively or offensively, as they put in a performance to be proud. To give an idea of how so, look at the statistics - despite a clear edge in possession from TFC (66%-34%), the other key stats were close, such as shots (20-16 for TFC), shots on target (7-6 for TFC), Expected Goals (xG) (1.4-0.86 for TFC) and big chances (4-2 for TFC).
Considering the qualitative gap that exists because of TFC’s salaries, Saint-Laurent didn’t play like that was the case, as they went toe-to-toe with TFC, which is far from what anyone would’ve ever expected from them. For it to be as close as it was statistically is not something that’s supposed to happen, yet TFC weren’t able to pull away as Saint-Laurent were right on their heels every time they tried to.
In the end, the qualitative gap did show itself - TFC’s fitness was a huge advantage and allowed them to pull away at the end, as was their ability to finish their chances - but that’s often the biggest difference in levels, which comes down to fitness, execution and ruthlessness.
GOAL 🦝🦝#TFClive go up 2-0 vs. CS Saint-Laurent in Leg 1 of this TELUS #CanChamp clash as DeAndre Kerr hits on the counter-attack... but was that a handball in the box on the other end!? 👀
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 9, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/b5BWzrgFiy
Where Saint-Laurent can be proud is despite that, they showed the talent gap isn’t as big between them and a club like TFC, who rotated but didn’t play a full B-team, as several key pieces started or came off the bench for them in this game.
And that’s a huge endorsement for Saint-Laurent, showing why they believe they’ve got several players who should be playing at a higher level. Given that they were able to give Toronto a match like this amid the resource gap shows that.
Yet, this shows why this game was seen as a further win for the semi-professional pyramid, as there are several clubs across the country who feel that they’ve got players who can play at higher levels, but just need opportunities to push these players forward.
That’s especially the case in Québec, where the lack of professional infrastructure is a huge discussion point, one that was talked about a lot heading into this match.
Speaking of that, however, is why this game was seen as a big win for the hosts despite the result - they showed the hunger for this sport in the province.
Despite having less than a week to sell tickets for this game, just over 6400 fans showed up to support the local side, making for a raucous atmosphere, one that caught the eyes of many on social media.
🔥Centre Claude-Robillard#CanChamp pic.twitter.com/yrEbFlwshv
— Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) May 8, 2024
Naturally, some will point at that and indicate that many of those fans could’ve been there as CF Montréal fans who wanted to cheer against Canadian Classique rivals TFC, but even so, that sort of support can’t be ignored, as it shows the hunger to consume soccer that exists in the province.
Because of that, look for this game to potentially help jumpstart the potential of a CPL club heading to Québec. The need is there from a player perspective, and when seeing that sort of support on short notice, one can only wonder what that could look like if those fans had something of their own to regularly get behind and support.
So while Saint-Laurent’s immediate focus will now be to try and finish this quarter-final on a high note as they get set to head to Toronto in two weeks, that crowd will be a big talking point for weeks to come, and rightfully so given what it could mean for the sport in the province. 
Forge, Cavalry get mixed results against MLS opposition:
It was a good test for Forge and Cavalry this week, as they got set to take on MLS opposition, with Forge taking on CF Montréal for the fourth time in this competition, while Cavalry got set to play the Vancouver Whitecaps for the third time.
Armed with that experience from past matches, could they use that to surprise their MLS foes, allowing them to nab an upset?
And so far, after leg one, the perspective depends on where your allegiances lie. .
First, there’s Forge, who will be pleased with what they showed against Montréal. In fact, they went toe-to-toe with Montréal for large parts of their game, opened the scoring early and seemed poised to add to their lead, which forced Montréal to adjust and make a crucial quadruple substitution at half time to try and get something out of the match.
GOAL 🔨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 7, 2024
IT'S DAVID CHOINIERE 🔥@ForgeFCHamilton take a 1-0 lead over #CFMTL just after the half-hour mark as the #CanPL champs strike on the counter-attack 🪽
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/09vSAHsvKO
To Montréal’s credit, that plan worked perfectly, as they were able to equalize, and then they were able to grind out a draw despite a late Forge push that nearly saw them grab a winner.
Because of that, Forge must now score in Montréal to have a chance at advancing thanks to that away goal from Montréal, which now gives the MLS side the edge as they head back home.
BUT 🔔#CFMTL score vs. @ForgeFCHamilton as Bryce Duke follows up his deflected shot with a quick pounce to equalize, 1-1 ✨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 7, 2024
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/BLGoWeIWn9
Despite that, Forge will feel they’re in a pretty good position to surprise in leg two. As seen with this game, Montréal felt ripe for the picking at times, with Forge just unable to punish them for their mistakes.
On the flipside, Montréal also showed what they can do when everything clicks for them, as they also had stretches where they could’ve taken over the match, but Forge did well to ride that out and not suffer any knockout blows.
Therefore, while Montréal enters that second leg in a comfortable position, it feels like if there’s a team that can push them out of that comfort zone, it’s Forge, especially if they can build off this match.
Moving to the other tie, Cavalry will have less optimism as they head into leg two against the Vancouver Whitecaps, as two moments of magic from the Whitecaps were enough to get them two away goals, which may prove to be too large of a mountain to climb.
To Cavalry’s credit, they made things interesting at the end, as after going 2-0 they managed to claw things back to 2-1 and nearly made it 2-2 late, but ultimately the Whitecaps were able to hold onto their 2-1 lead, which means Cavalry will need at least two goals at BC Place in leg two to dream of advancing.
Yet, Cavalry saw first-hand why this Whitecaps team has been doing well in MLS play, as they were excellent defensively for most of the match, doing well to slow down the game and not let Cavalry play at the pace that they can play at until the end.
It was the prototypical road match, and the Whitecaps, who have won three and drawn one on the road this year in MLS play, showed why they’ve got one of the best road records in the league in 2024.
GOAL 🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 8, 2024
Right at the stroke of half-time, it's LEVONTE JOHNSON with a thunder-strike to give #VWFC a 1-0 lead over @CPLCavalryFC in this TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final, Leg 1 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/whsXYI1Cef
So seeing that they were able to get this win, and rotate their squad while doing so, it’s a big win for them, especially heading into leg two, which comes at a congested bit of their schedule.
As for Cavalry, they’ll be frustrated with how this one unfolded. At the end of the day, the Whitecaps didn’t have the greatest performance, but Cavalry were unable to get going until it was too late, and while that was enough to grab a goal that could potentially make leg two interesting if they can get an early goal at BC Place, this hole might be too big to overcome.
But much as Cavalry learned earlier in the year in the Champions Cup, that can be the tough thing when playing an MLS side - you might have a relatively even game, as the stats suggested it was (despite a 12-6 shot advantage for the Whitecaps, the xG was only 0.62-0.56 and the possession was dead-even), but the Whitecaps managed the bigger moments better.
Sometimes, that can be the difference in these games, and Cavalry was on the wrong end of that ledger at the end of this one.
GOAL 🐎@CPLCavalryFC pull one back late vs. #VWFC as Malcolm Shaw finds an impossible angle to cut the Whitecaps' lead to 2-1 📐
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 8, 2024
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/ICk8IKMTGz
Pacific and Ottawa leave the drama for leg two:
Naturally, that leaves only one match that wasn’t discussed, and some might say that’s not unwise - that was Atlético Ottawa and Pacific’s 0-0 draw on Wednesday.
There, both teams seemed content to settle for the draw and focus on leg two, as Pacific mustered up just four shots on the road, while Ottawa didn’t do much more by generating just nine, although one of them hit the woodwork.
With a cumulative xG of 0.71 between both (0.46 for Ottawa, 0.25 for Pacific), and no big chances, neither team were able to get a breakthrough, and neither seemed to search for it, with Pacific playing especially defensive as they seemed content with the result.
Now, it’ll make for an interesting leg two, however, as Pacific’s approach could come back to bite them if Ottawa is able to get any away goals, with the 0-0 looming large. Given that Pacific has now kept clean sheets in five of their six games (all competitions) this year, only allowing one goal in their other match, their preliminary round tie against the TSS Rovers, they’re betting that they can keep that up and stay tidy at home. 
There, they’ll look to emulate the formula they’ve had in their three home games so far in CPL play, where they beat Halifax 1-0, Valour 2-0 and York United 2-0, keeping things tidy defensively and then punishing their opponents at the other end when they did get chances.
Against this Ottawa side, it’ll be tough to keep them off the board, as they’ve got goals in them - they scored 15 goals in 5 games before this 0-0 - but Pacific’s confident their defence can go up against anyone, which they did show in this strong defensive performance.
Only the first time Ottawa’s been shut out this season, that could light a fire under their offence heading into leg two, as they look to show that came down to their performance and not how Pacific defended.
So safe to say, there will be a lot to watch out for in leg two, making up for the quieter nature of this first leg, one where both sides seemed to be focused on the long-term implications of this tie.
Speaking of, keep an eye on both team’s schedules ahead of leg two on May 29th - Pacific play all three of their league games in BC, playing two at home and one on the road against rivals Vancouver, while Ottawa play their next two games on the road in BC against Vancouver and Pacific, but then have to head across the country to play at home against Forge on May 25th before returning to BC to play Pacific.
That travel could give Pacific a slight edge, which is something they’ll have perhaps considered in their planning, although Ottawa’s depth might help them overcome that. Either way, it’s something to watch heading into leg two.
Schedule update:
As a reminder, the schedule is a bit staggered for the second leg, as Toronto will host Saint-Laurent and the Whitecaps will host Cavalry on Tuesday, May 21st, while Montréal will host Forge on May 22nd, leaving Pacific and Ottawa’s tie to be played on its own a week later.
From there, the final four sides will be redrawn ahead of the semi-finals, which are two legs, with that draw also determining which of the two semi-final matchups will also provide a host for the final, which will be a single-leg match in September.
BEST XI:
Lastly, here’s a look at those who stood out among these leg one quarter-final ties in OneSoccer’s Best XI. 
