RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific FC vs. Atlético Ottawa (June 7, 2025)

Atlético Ottawa provisionally extended their lead atop the Canadian Premier League table to four points on Saturday, as they defeated Pacific FC 1-0 at Starlight Stadium.

After finding the net late in the first half, Ottawa did what they needed to do to grab a crucial victory, one that pushes them to a record of 6W-3D-1L already in 2025. Meanwhile, for Pacific, a tough start to 2025 continues with this loss, as they remain in a tie for sixth place with a record of 2W-2D-6L and are winless in their last four games.

Marco Bustos almost opened the scoring for Pacific in this game with a beautiful goal in the 12th minute, as he played a nice 1-2 with Kadin Chung at the edge of the box, but his acrobatic swing at Chung's cross sailed just over Ottawa's goal.

Just minutes after generating that chance, however, Pacific nearly put themselves down a goal in the 14th minute, as Aly Ndom had a mix-up with goalkeeper Max Anchor, with neither claiming a bouncing ball in the box, which nearly led to Ndom scoring into his own net, if not for a good recovery save from Anchor.

Then, Ottawa had a glorious opportunity of their own creation in the 18th minute, as David Rodríguez set up Sam Salter for a great chance with a tidy reverse pass, but Salter sliced his shot well wide of the goal.

Continuing a busy start to the game, Pacific had another good chance in the 30th minute. After some nice play at the edge of the box, the ball fell to Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt, and the Pacific midfielder caught all of his shot, forcing an excellent save out of Ottawa's Nathan Ingham.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Ottawa had a great chance in the 39th minute, as Kevin dos Santos found Rodríguez with a nice cutback that caught Anchor out of position, but a fantastic block from Eric Lajeunesse would keep out Rodríguez's goalbound shot.

In the 42nd minute, however, Ottawa got the best chance of the game, as Rodríguez slalomed into the box with the ball at his feet, winning a penalty after dodging a tackle from Pacific's Aly Ndom. From there, Ballou Tabla stepped up to take the spot kick, and he made no mistake, finding the bottom right corner with his shot to put his team up 1-0.

After a lively first half, however, the game would slow down in the second half, as Ottawa tried to protect their lead. As a result, they started to take more time on the ball and got numbers behind the ball whenever they lost it, as they tried to make life difficult for Pacific.

As a result, they limited Pacific's ability to get back in the game, doing well to defend their net. Not only that, but Ottawa did well to keep generating chances of their own, too, as they nearly put the game away via a dangerous Monty Patterson shot in the 96th minute .

Eventually, however, Pacific did generate two dangerous chances late, as Ndom caught all of a free kick in the 97th minute, forcing an excellent fingertip save from Ingham. Then, right after, Sami Keshavarz had a nice chance off the ensuing corner, but he curled his shot just wide.

From there, however, the final whistle blew shortly after, allowing Ottawa to pick up a crucial road victory despite Pacific's late scare.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Pacific FC: Anchor; Chung, Machado, Ndom, Lajeunesse; Young (Schiavoni 87'), Browning Lagerfeldt (Daniels 87'); Bustos, de Pauli (Toualy 64'), Heard (Greco-Taylor 70'); Montejano (Keshavarz 87')

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Cloutier, Abatneh, Duhaney-Walker; Antinoro (Sissoko 74'), Aparicio, Castro, dos Santos; Rodríguez (Patterson 84'), Tabla (Zapater 74'); Salter

Goals

44' -- Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa) (Penalty)

Discipline

39' -- Yellow: Tyr Duhaney-Walker (Atlético Ottawa)

45' -- Yellow: Sean Young (Pacific FC)

47' -- Yellow: Juan Castro (Atlético Ottawa)

52' -- Yellow: Sam Salter (Atlético Ottawa)

65' -- Yellow: David Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)

68' -- Yellow: Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt (Pacific FC)

68' -- Yellow: Gabriel Antinoro (Atlético Ottawa)

68' -- Yellow: Bench (Pacific FC)

89' -- Yellow: Matteo Schiavoni (Pacific FC)