RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Vancouver FC vs. Cavalry FC | 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship | May 21, 2025

They left it late, but Cavalry rescued an important 1-1 draw vs. Vancouver FC in the first leg of their Canadian Championship quarter-final tie at Willoughby Community Park on Wednesday.

After David Norman Jr. had opened the scoring in the first half for Vancouver, it seemed like they were on track to pick up a multi-goal victory, but they weren't able to capitalize on some chances to go up 2-0, which then allowed Cavalry's Tobias Warschewski to spoil those plans with a late equalizer.

In the end, that didn't change much for both teams - with away goals being scrapped in this competition this year, it means that they now head into leg two with a fresh slate, instead of with Cavalry narrowly in the lead.

No doubt, Cavalry likely will still have the advantage in leg two, given their proficiency at home, but Vancouver will feel confident they can go to ATCO Field and get a result, especially if they play like they did in this first leg.

Speaking of, Pathe Ndiaye almost had the hosts in front after just 2 minutes, as he snuck in behind Cavalry's defensive line to latch onto a pass from David Norman Jr., but his low shot sliced just wide of the goal.

At the other end, Shamit Shome almost found a goal in the 6th minute, as he too found himself in a good position to shoot, but his attempt was nicely saved by Vancouver's Callum Irving.

Soon after, Vancouver had a fantastic chance in the 16th minute, as they came inches away from scoring. After a dangerous ball into the box from Elage Bah, Terran Campbell did well to flick it towards the back post, finding a wide-open Alejandro Díaz, who thundered a first-time half-volley just over the crossbar from close range.

Continuing a lively start to the match, Cavalry had a pair of decent chances around the 20th minute, as Max Piepgrass was denied from close range by Irving, before firing a dangerous long shot just over the goal on the next play moments later.

Following that, however, the next chance wouldn't come until the 40th minute, but it'd be a big one for Vancouver. After a perfect set-piece delivery from Vasco Fry, he found Matteo Campagna in a great area inside the box, but his goal-bound header would only be kept out by a flying save from Cavalry's Marco Carducci.

Vancouver would make the most of the subsequent corner, however. There, Fry whipped in another perfect cross, one that bounced around Cavalry's box for a few seconds before falling to David Norman Jr., who slotted home from close range to put his team up 1-0.

That score would hold until half time, too, which allowed both teams to regroup.

For Vancouver, they knew that they were in a good position, but had to find a second goal to put Cavalry away, allowing them to pick up a massive result. Meanwhile, Cavalry were calm despite feeling they weren't at their best, knowing that they had difference-makers on the pitch and on the bench who could break the game open at a moment's notice.

One of those players nearly found a key equalizer in the 64th minute, as Nicolas Wähling danced through Vancouver's defence and fired a dangerous low shot, one that forced Irving to stretch out to get his fingertips to the ball and keep his team ahead. Then, a few minutes later, Fraser Aird had a crack from distance, but his shot would also be saved by Irving.

Eventually, however, Cavalry would find their goal, coming in the 84th minute. Despite having a quiet game by his lofty standards, Warschewski was able to step up at a big moment for his team, dancing through a couple of Vancouver defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot to tie the game at 1-1.

From there, that's how this game would finish, as neither side were able to grab a late goal that would've completely changed the complexion of the tie heading into leg two. Instead, they were left to settle for a result that fairly reflected how the day went.

Now, that gives both teams a fresh slate ahead of leg two, which essentially becomes a one-off knockout, which, if this first leg was to mean anything, should be a pretty feisty and tightly-contested match in Calgary.

No doubt, however, Vancouver will leave this game feeling like they could've gotten more out of it. That they had more xG (1.13-0.54), shots (13-9), shots in the box (10-5) and big chances (3-2) despite holding just 38.9% of the ball is impressive, as they defended quite well and had opportunities to put this game away.

Yet, they let Cavalry hang around, and you just can't do that against a team with their quality, as the late Warschewski marker showed.

"I'm very proud of the performance, the grit and the effort of our players," Vancouver FC's head coach, Afshin Ghotbi, said. "I feel that we were the better team from the beginning to the end, but unfortunately, these are the games you have to find a second goal."

"I felt there was a period in the last maybe 20 minutes we dropped too low, as I wanted us to step up higher and play (aggressively), instead of trying to squeeze out a victory."

As for Cavalry, they'll be quite pleased with this result, even if they struggled to find their typical rhythm on the night. In the end, there's no such thing as a bad draw on the road in a cup game, especially when it's the first leg. Given that Cavalry were able to rotate their squad, and showed good mentality to claw back a late result, they'll have plenty to take back with them as they return home.

In the end, these are the sort of games where good teams still find a way to leave with something, and the 2024 North Star Cup champions once again showed that they can get the job done in tough circumstances.

"Yeah, it was just about bringing the result back," Cavalry's head coach, Tommy Wheeldon Jr., said. "As soon as we found out that there weren't away goals, it was about staying in the tie in the first leg and winning the second leg, knowing that it's back at ATCO Field, and we're certainly in a position to (find that win) now."

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Vancouver FC: Irving; Dada-Luke, Campagna, O'Connor, Bah; Essoussi (Fotsing 59'), Norman Jr., Fry; Díaz (Enyou 73'), Ndiaye, Campbell (Batista 86')

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Wähling, Laing, Kamdem Fewo, Gherasimencov; Shome (Myroniuk 76'), Piepgrass (Daley 59'); Musse (Aird 59'), Henry (Camargo 67'), Herdman (Chanda 76'); Warschewski

Goals

42' -- David Norman Jr. (Vancouver FC)

84' -- Tobias Warschewski (Cavalry FC)

Discipline

21' -- Yellow: Aidan O'Connor (Vancouver FC)

25' -- Yellow: Mihail Gherasimencov (Cavalry FC)

28' -- Yellow: Elage Bah (Vancouver FC)

29' -- Yellow: Max Piepgrass (Cavalry FC)

51' -- Yellow: Vasco Fry (Vancouver FC)

51' -- Yellow: Alejandro Díaz (Vancouver FC)

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

David Norman Jr., Vancouver FC

Norman Jr. stepped up with a big performance in a hybrid midfield/centre back role for his club, scoring a key goal while also completing 31/41 of his passes (76%), and adding two shots, one chance created, 12 passes into the final third, and four long balls offensively, as well as two tackles, two clearances, six recoveries and three out of five duels won defensively.

What’s next?

Both teams will meet in the second leg of this Canadian Championship quarter-final tie on Tuesday, July 8th at Cavalry's ATCO Field (6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET).

Meanwhile, in Canadian Premier League play, Vancouver will be away to York United at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, May 25th (11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET, and Cavalry will host Valour FC at ATCO Field later that same day (3:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. CT).

Watch all 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship, Concacaf Champions Cup and CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.