RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Cavalry FC vs. Halifax Wanderers | August 9, 2025

Cavalry FC and Halifax Wanderers FC split the points in Calgary on Saturday evening, playing to a scoreless draw as neither side could break their winless streaks.

The first scoring chance belonged to Sergio Camargo, with the Cavs midfielder ripping a low shot from the edge of the penalty area that took a slight deflection before dribbling wide of the left post. Diego Gutiérrez struck a volleyed attempt from a well-worked set piece on the ensuing corner, but the Wanderers were able to get bodies in front of it and promptly cleared the ball away.

Fraser Aird tried to chip the ball over Rayane Yesli's head from a free kick on a tight angle, but the Wanderers goalkeeper used every inch of his six foot seven frame to tip the ball over the crossbar. Three minutes later, with the Cavs maintaining their early pressure, Guttierez skillfully brought the ball down out of the air and beat a defender with a cut to his left, before another low shot attempt was deflected wide of the mark.

Marco Carducci was called into action for the first time in the 21st minute, diving to his left to deny Lorenzo Callegari's powerful shot after a quick counter-attack by the Wanderers was nearly executed to perfection. Moments later the Wanderers went on the attack again, culminating in a powerful long-range effort from Sean Rea that nearly whistled into the top left corner of the Cavalry net.

The Wanderers thought they deserved a penalty when Gutierrez wrestled down Ryan Telfer as they were jockeying for position on a corner kick, but referee Sebastian Noshinravani waved away the protests -- for the second time in the half, after the ball seemed to strike the hand of Callum Montgomery in the box early in the game.

Yesli made a big stop on Camargo in the 35th minute to deny a hard shot as the Cavs continued to pile on the pressure, and a minute later made a more routine stop to deny a weak redirection from Montgomery. Tiago Coimbra had a golden opportunity to score at the other end of the pitch, running onto a perfectly-weighted through ball from Sean Rea and rounding the goalkeeper, but he was unable to find his footing and get a shot away.

Cavalry finished a strong half with a few minutes of pinning the Wanderers deep in their own half of the pitch, but despite their best efforts were unable to find a shot on target as the Wanderers sat back and defended -- and the first half ended scoreless as a result.

Coimbra had another massive opportunity to give the Wanderers the lead 59 seconds after play resumed for the second half, firing a shot wide from a few yards out after the ball landed at his feet following an early corner. In the 49th minute the Wanderers' leading scorer got onto the end of a floated cross into the box from Rea, but his headed effort was pushed away by Carducci.

The Cavs goalkeeper was called into action again in the 62nd minute when Vitor Dias received the ball at his feet before turning and quickly firing a shot on target. Seconds after coming off the bench, Ayman Sellouf tested Carducci's counterpart Yesli with a driven low shot that the Wanderer was able to save fairly comfortably.

The match started to open up a bit as both teams started to push harder for the opening goal, and Yesli was forced into making a big stop on Goteh Ntignee -- with the speedy Cavs winger charging up the pitch and attempting a low shot, instead of passing to the wide open Sellouf at the back post. Fraser Aird tried to pick out Camargo with a low cross moments later, but Yesli came out of his net and halted a promising attack from the hosts.

Tobias Warschewski thought he ended his long scoring drought in the 72nd minute, heading the ball in from another set piece play, but the goal was called off after Yesli made contact with a Cavs attacker and hit the turf, forcing the referee to blow the whistle. Ntignee thought he drew a penalty moments later when he too went rolling along the ground after some contact in the box, but the referee waved for him to get up after what he judged to be minmal contact.

The Cavs were on the front foot late in the game, and a mad scramble in the 81st minute saw the Cavs come agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock. Yesli came a few steps out of his net to deny Diego Gutiérrez, and the ball then fell to Ntignee who wasn't able to hit the gaping net, instead volleying the ball off the post.

Halifax came close two minutes into stoppage time, but Carducci lunged to his left to take control of the ball after Thomas Meilleur-Giguère redirected a corner towards the right post.

Despite the best efforts of both sides, the match ended scoreless. Cavalry is now winless in four matches while Halifax is winless in five as both sides failed to fully break out of their recent slumps.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird (Wähling 89'), Kobza, Montgomery, Kamdem (Sellouf 64'); Gutierrez (Chanda 82'), Baldisimo (Piepgrass 64'); Ntignee, Camargo (Laing 89'), Gherasimencov; Warschewski

Halifax Wanderers FC: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Alphonse (Timoteo 72'); Callegari, Dias (Baï 77'); Rea (Biello 85'), Telfer, Johnston; Coimbra (Bahamboula 85')

Goals

*n/a*

Discipline

13' — Yellow: Jefferson Alphonse (Halifax Wanderers FC)
34' -- Yellow: Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers FC)
36' -- Yellow: Eryk Kobza (Cavalry FC)
38' -- Yellow: Michael Baldisimo (Cavalry FC)
82' -- Yellow: Sergio Camargo (Cavalry FC)
86' -- Yellow: Wesley Timoteo (Halifax Wanderers FC)