What we learned in leg two of the 2024 Canadian Championship quarter-finals
The Canadian Championship quarter-finals are now in the books, as the last of four semi-finalists were confirmed this week.
Following an entertaining preliminary round marked by a memorable upset and some new records, it was going to be interesting to see how the quarter-finals would live up to that hype, and it turns out it’d do so pretty well, providing another upset and some more new records.
Despite worries that a return to a two-legged format for the first time since 2019 would limit entertainment and the possibilities of any upsets, that didn’t end up being an issue across the four ties, which is key to note.
With that, it’s now set up two intriguing semi-finals, which will be played out later this summer, as this competition rolls on.
Before then, however, here’s a look back at what stood out from the second leg of the quarter-finals.
Forge finally gets upset against Montréal:
Could the 4th time be the charm? Forge were hoping that could be the case for them, as they got set to face CF Montréal for a fourth straight year in this competition.
Having fallen in each of those three previous matchups, doing so by a combined score of 5-0, it left them with a lot to do as they got set to do battle again, this time across two legs after each of their previous meetings were in single-elimination match-ups.
After leg one, they put themselves in a decent position with a 1-1 draw, too, although it meant they needed to score at least one to have a chance of advancing as they went to Montréal for leg two.
Despite that, they still had belief, especially as they faced a Montréal side that was licking their wounds after a hefty 5-1 defeat to Toronto FC in MLS play just days prior.
And as it turns out, that belief would lead to a win for the ages from Forge. Thanks to a clear and effective game plan, they were able to grab two early goals from Daniel Parra and Kwasi Poku, which put the away goals tiebreaker in their favour, meaning that Montréal then needed three goals to win.
GOAL⚒️@ForgeFCHamilton have opened the scoring in leg 2 of their #CanChamp QF tie vs #CFMTL, as Daniel Parra powers one past Sebastian Breza to give his team a 2-1 aggregate lead over MTL
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
🔴Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/kzy91EwDwp
Despite having the advantage of a lengthy weather delay at half time which reset the game’s momentum, Montréal would be unable to find those goals they needed, breaching Forge’s goal just once amid a late push.
With that, Forge became just the third CPL side to eliminate an MLS opponent in this competition, and the fourth to win a game, joining Cavalry and Pacific as the others to complete the former.
Not only that, but they were full value for the victory with their leg two performance, too. Having targeted a few weaknesses in Montréal’s backline, both in terms of how aggressively they use their wing backs and how high they set their defensive line of engagement, they were able to use that to their advantage when crafting their game plan.
They showed that on both of their goals, which came from swift Forge attacking moves instead of any Montréal errors, which is a credit to Forge.
GOAL⚒️⚒️@ForgeFCHamilton are flying in Montréal🪽
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 23, 2024
Kwasi Poku has made it 2-0 in leg 2 of Forge's #CanChamp QF tie vs #CFMTL, putting them up 3-1 on aggregate
CFMTL now needs at least 3 goals to win this tie👀
🔴Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/VAnj4A3lD3
Yet, this has been a long time coming for Forge, who now return to a second straight Canadian Championship semi-final. Armed with big game experience from their past runs in this competition, as well as in Concacaf League, Concacaf Champions Cup, and of course in CPL play, they’re not scared by these sorts of big occasions.
From head coach Bobby Smyrniotis down to his squad, they’ve got the desire and mentality of a side that doesn’t just want to compete in these games but wants to win them, and a performance like this backs that up.
Now, they’ll look to carry that over into the semi-finals, as they hope this is just the beginning of what’s to come in this competition.
Whitecaps narrowly survive against Cavalry:
As defending champions last year, the Whitecaps path to a second straight Canadian Championship was relatively straightforward, as they cruised past York United 4-1 in the quarter-finals, defeated Pacific FC 3-0 in the semi-finals, and then defeated CF Montréal 2-1 in the final.
Because of that, it filled them with confidence as they began their quest for a threepeat against Cavalry.
After a commanding leg-one victory on the road, that confidence seemed deserved as they got set for leg two with a 2-1 lead and two away goals in their back pocket.
Perhaps, however, it ended up giving them too much confidence, as Cavalry nearly pulled off the remarkable in leg two. Needing at least two goals to have any hope of advancing or bringing the game to penalties (if the Whitecaps scored one), Cavalry made things interesting with a first-half own goal to tie the series on aggregate at 2-2, still trailing on the away goals.
OWN GOAL 😱#VWFC go down 1-0 to @CPLCavalryFC as Willy Akio's cross deflects off Ranko Veselinovic and past the 'keeper
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
It's 2-2 on aggregate now, but the Whitecaps have the away goals advantage at this point in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final clash 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Mk5D7AG2Lj
That led the Whitecaps, who rotated their squad heavily for this match, to have to bring in some big names off the bench to try and shut down the tie.
Despite that, Cavalry kept pushing while keeping the Whitecaps at bay, and that saw them nearly score the goal that would’ve sent them to the semi-finals through Jesse Daley, who was denied by a fantastic late save from Isaac Boehmer.
Thanks to that stop, the Whitecaps were able to advance despite putting up what Vanni Sartini deemed as one of their worst performances under his leadership, avoiding disaster.
As for Cavalry, it’s a heartbreaking ending, especially given how close they were to winning, but it was a good experience for them. Having beaten the Whitecaps before across two legs in 2019, for them to nearly pull off the feat against a much-improved side is a sign of the growth Cavalry’s had over the last five years, too.
In terms of the Whitecaps, however, they’ll be pleased that they survived at all costs. Sometimes, that’s what cup soccer is, and if they do go on and win a threepeat, their near-disaster here will be quickly forgotten.
Certainly, this match will be a good lesson for them as they get set for the semi-finals.
TFC cruise past Saint-Laurent:
After a 3-0 Toronto FC road win over CS Saint-Laurent in leg one of their quarter-final, it felt like the tie was over heading into leg two, even if Saint-Laurent believed they could still come from behind.
Because of that, it wasn’t surprising to see Toronto grab a 3-0 lead by half time to put the tie out of reach, before cruising to an 8-1 win after a Saint-Laurent red card, as they broke the Canadian Championship goal record just weeks after Atlético Ottawa had done so in a 7-0 win over Valour FC.
Yet, when watching the game itself, the score didn’t do Saint Laurent justice, as they put up a commendable performance, one not befitting of the 11-1 aggregate loss they ultimately suffered.
GOAL 🦉#TFClive strike first vs. CS Saint-Laurent!
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 21, 2024
JMR finds DeAndre Kerr for a volley finish to go up 4-0 on aggregate in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp clash
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/H0NDFMKOE2
Given the disparity of budgets and talent level, they pushed TFC more than anyone could’ve imagined, and the numbers back that up, as they weren’t out-classed in the xG stats or by most metrics.
Where the big difference ended up sitting, however, was in TFC’s finishing, as they were ruthless with their chances, over-performing their xG by almost seven goals, while Saint-Laurent weren’t able to have that same efficiency, underperforming theirs by almost two goals.
Along with TFC’s fitness and depth, which manifested itself across both legs, that ended up giving them a huge edge to win out in the end.
Credit has to be given to TFC for doing that, however. Despite being the runaway favourites in this tie, they respected Saint-Laurent with the lineups that they put out, showing that they’re going to take this competition seriously.
GOAL 🦉x7#TFClive make it 7-0 on the night, 10-0 on aggregate vs. CS Saint-Laurent as DeAndre Kerr adds a fourth to his tally in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp clash
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/ZBSgf4U8HU
Having only won it once in the last five years, they want to change that in year one under John Herdman, and so far they’ve chased that goal to the best of their ability.
Even if both of their ties have been against semi-professional opposition, they’ve done what they needed to and took care of business, not making things any more complicated than they needed to, which is important.
As for Saint-Laurent, however, they can look back on this run with fondness, as it was still one to remember, especially after their upset in Halifax, and their memorable home leg in front of a packed Stade Claude Robilliard.
At a time when there’s a lot of discussion about the future of professional soccer in Québec, they showed that there’s a lot of untapped talent in the province, and why another professional team could have a big role to play in the future if operated properly.
GOAL ⚜️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
CS SAINT-LAURENT SCORES AGAINST #TFClive 💥
The Ligue1 Quebec side ends the evening with a much-deserved goal as Rickson Aristilde beats Luka Gavran to finish this TELUS #CanChamp match with a goal to celebrate proudly 😎 pic.twitter.com/aeV2PLwjJf
Pacific gets revenge against Ottawa:
Rounding off the quarter-finals a week later was a matchup between Pacific and Atlético Ottawa, who faced off on Wednesday at Starlight Stadium.
After a relatively uneventful first leg in which both teams combined for just 13 shots and a measly 0.76 xG, it was expected the second leg could bring fireworks, and this game didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Having strategically battled for a 0-0 road draw with this second leg in mind, it was expected that Pacific would come out flying, knowing that an Ottawa goal would force Pacific to score at least two to advance due to away goals.
To their credit, Pacific executed their game plan to perfection, scoring twice inside 35 minutes to give themselves that buffer, with a penalty goal from Ayman Sellouf and a rebound from Josh Heard allowing them to do that.
GOAL 🔱@PacificFCCPL take a 1-0 lead over @AtletiOttawa in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final as Ayman Sellouf scores from the penalty spot 😎
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 30, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/gv5CpAHFR8
They weren’t done there, either, as they opened the second half in search of a third, as Heard nearly set up Sellouf with a great cross before Reon Moore slammed a Heard pass off the crossbar minutes later.
Of course, Ottawa, who were yet to lose in all competitions in 2024, weren’t going to go down without a fight, however, and woke up after that. As a result, a 60th-minute Sam Salter goal certainly made things interesting, putting Ottawa within one goal of an outright victory.
Unfortunately for them, their late push would prove to be fruitless, although Salter almost sealed it with a beautiful goal in extra time, one that Pacific’s Sean Melvin did well to keep out.
With that, Pacific continued to be a team that specializes in this competition, reaching their third semi-final in four years, doing so with arguably their best performance of the season. Coming off back-to-back losses in league play, including one to this Ottawa team, it was an impressive bounce-back performance, one they desperately needed.
GOAL 🔱🔱@PacificFCCPL go up 2-0 over @AtletiOttawa in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final as Josh Heard rounds out Ayman Sellouf's post-smacking effort 🕺
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 30, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/tnazrj6HaI
As for Ottawa, though, it shows that growth is still to come for this group. For all of their dominance in league and Canadian Championship play so far, this is a sign that all of that can go out of the window in a knockout match like this one, where Pacific seemed more up for the occasion and showed that in their performance.
That’s a credit to the experience Pacific has in their group, and it manifested itself at a perfect time, allowing them to reach the semi-finals in style.
What to expect in semi-finals:
Despite a change in format that could’ve potentially led to some new matchups, familiarity is the name of the game in the two semi-final matchups.
In a change that was likely designed to nullify a potential advantage the Vancouver Whitecaps have had over the last few years, which was to avoid any MLS teams until the final due to the earlier rounds being regionalized to avoid travel, this year of the Canadian Championship saw the teams re-drawn ahead of the semi-finals after using a similar regional format as before in the earlier rounds.
Because of that, it was going to be interesting to see if it would lead to some intriguing semi-final matchups, such as the Whitecaps getting drawn against an MLS foe after only playing them in the final over the last two years.
Ironically, however, this change ended up yielding a very similar bracket to 2023, which saw Pacific host the Whitecaps and CF Montréal host Forge, with the winner of the Pacific and Whitecaps tie hosting the final.
This time, the matchups are nearly exactly the same, as the Whitecaps were paired off with Pacific, while Toronto FC will face Forge, with the winner of the Whitecaps and Pacific tie hosting the final.
Two regional CPL vs MLS matchups, as the Whitecaps and Pacific will face off in their third ‘Ferryside Derby’, while Toronto and Forge will face off in their second matchup between the two Ontario-based sides; it should yield some intriguing storylines, however.
To begin, this third iteration of Ferryside promises to be special as it will mark Pacific’s first visit to Vancouver’s BC Place, with the last two Ferryside derbies being one-legged affairs that were held at Pacific’s Starlight Stadium. Of course, Starlight has a role to play again this time around, as Pacific will host leg one of this tie before leg two is held at BC Place, but that’s a key change to note.
Then, on the other side, Toronto FC and Forge meet for just the second time after facing off in the unique 2020 Canadian Championship final, in which TFC won the trophy on penalties in Hamilton. This time around, both sides will open the tie in Hamilton, before Forge makes their first visit to BMO Field in the second leg.
From there, it’ll be intriguing to see how the two CPL sides fare, especially after Forge became just the third CPL side to eliminate an MLS one from this tournament last round, while Pacific will look to eliminate the Whitecaps for a second time, especially after seeing Cavalry only lose to them on away goals.
And from there, the final should have no shortage of unique storylines, no matter what happens. Either a CPL team qualifies for the first time from a knockout tournament (the 2020 edition pitted the top CPL team at the ‘Island Games’ against the top Canadian side from their unique MLS Canadian series that year, guaranteeing a CPL participant), two CPL teams meet and guarantee a first CPL winner, or the Whitecaps and TFC meet in the final for the second time in three years.
And the #CanChamp SFs are now confirmed:#VWFC vs Pacific FC#TFCLive vs Forge
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 30, 2024
We get Ferryside Darby part 3, which includes Pacific's 1st visit to BC Place, and we get a 2020 final rematch, which includes Forge's 1st visit to BMO Field
Very intriguing final 4 of the tourney
Because of that, after two entertaining rounds, it’s hoped that the semi-finals can once again live up to that hype to set up a fun conclusion to the tournament in the fall.
Best XI:
Lastly, here’s a look at some players who stood out from the second leg of the quarter-finals in our ‘Best XI’. 
