Match #21

CAVALRY FC (8-9-3) vs. VALOUR FC (6-2-12) 

When: Friday, August 30th, 8:30 p.m. CDT
Where: ATCO Field at Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Ab.

MATCH PREVIEW:

Valour’s playoff margin for error is becoming thinner and thinner by the match. The club is 3-1-2 in its last six and coming off a crushing 2-1 loss to Vancouver FC last weekend that now has them six points out of a Canadian Premier League playoff spot with eight matches remaining.

They’re walking into a hornet’s nest Friday in Calgary, with Cavalry FC having won five straight games and unbeaten in six dating back to a 2-1 loss to York United on July 13th.

Valour will welcome back fullback Themi Antonoglou after he sat out the the loss to Vancouver due to yellow card accumulation but will be without versatile defender/midfielder Dante Campbell, who will miss this one for the same yellow care violations.

The club will return home to face Atlético Ottawa on Monday, September 9th, and will have five of their final seven matches at Princess Auto Stadium. It’s clearly massively important to get points in Calgary to remain in the playoff discussion with that end-of-season stretch at home.

THE OTHER GUYS:

3 Facts about Cavalry FC:

• Cavalry extended its win streak with a 1-0 win over Pacific last weekend in which Daan Klomp scored the winner in stoppage time.
• They will be without forward Tobias Warschewski — who leads the squad in scoring with seven goals — and midfielder Mael Henry due to injuries.
• Veteran keeper Marco Carducci leads the CPL with six clean sheets.

VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:

#30, Themi Antonoglou, fullback: A strong case could be made for Antonoglou as Valour’s best player this season and he was missed in the loss to Vancouver last weekend. He is tied for the CPL lead in assists with six and is adept moving forward along the wing from the back line and consistently delivering passes into the box.

CRITICAL NUMBER

0.90

No team defends as well as Cavalry, with the club having surrendered just 18 goals in 20 matches for a GCM (goals conceded per match) of 0.90, with six clean sheets. Valour, by comparison, is at 1.65 GCM — tied with Vancouver for the most in the CPL.

All-Time: Valour FC vs. Cavalry FC

Overall: (win-draw-loss): 3-5-12

Last meeting: July 7, 2024, Princess Auto Stadium — Valour FC 0 Cavalry FC 1