MATCH #9

VALOUR FC (2-1-5) vs. ATLÉTICO OTTAWA (5-3-0)

When: Sunday, June 9th, 12:30 p.m. CDT
Where: Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg, Mb.
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
Tickets: https://valourfc.canpl.ca/tickets/

MATCH PREVIEW:

Valour’s recent run of two wins and a draw in its last three matches has helped breathe new life into their 2024 season and they’ll be tested against the CPL’s first-place team today in Atlético Ottawa — a squad unbeaten in league play with five wins and three draws.

The club pieced together its most-complete effort of the year in last week’s home opener, a 2-nil win over Vancouver FC in front of an announced crowd of 4,262 at Princess Auto Stadium in a game delayed by lightning. This match is the second of three straight on their home pitch, with the homestand wrapping up on June 14th against Pacific FC.

Critical in last week’s win was the team’s commitment to defence and two goals from Jordi Swibel, giving him four on the season. Swibel was named CPL Player of the Week and he was joined on the CPL’s Team of the Week by goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi and centre back Tass Mourdoukoutas.

Today’s game will also see Valour pay tribute to this city’s first pro soccer team, the Winnipeg Fury, who operated from 1987-93 in the Canadian Soccer League and won the Mita Cup in 1992. Winnipeg soccer icon and former Fury captain Tony Nocita spoke about his experiences with the club in this story:

“Some of the best moments in my life came because of that league and that team.”

THE OTHER GUYS:
3 Facts about Atlético Ottawa
-Attacker Rubén del Campo leads Ottawa in scoring with five goals, tied for the most in the CPL with Tobias Warschewski of Cavalry FC. He scored once in Ottawa’s win over Valour last month and had a pair in their Canadian Championship victory as well.
-Ottawa has scored a league-high 15 goals in eight matches and surrendered six, second fewest in the CPL. Their +9 goal differential is tops in the league. Their 20.83 goal conversion percentage is also the best in the country.
-Former Valour star Matteo de Brienne has appeared in all eight matches for Ottawa this season while goalkeeper Rayane Yesli, who began his pro career here in Winnipeg, has started five games in Ottawa and posted two clean sheets.

VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:

#50: Jonathan Viscosi, goalkeeper: Valour’s veteran keeper authored his best performance of the season in last week’s 2-nil win over Vancouver, making three critical and sensational stops in earning his first clean sheet of the year. His 20 saves so far this season currently ranks third among CPL keepers.

CRITICAL NUMBER
9-0

Valour and Ottawa meet for the third time this season with Atléti winning 2-0 in league play and 7-0 in a Canadian Championship match. That’s an ugly goal differential for Valour, but the team has evolved so quickly in the last month that crew that lost twice in a few days in Ottawa is now almost unrecognizable. 

All-Time: Valour FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
Overall: (win-draw-loss): 6-6-3
Last meeting: May 5, 2024 — Atlético Ottawa 2 Valour FC 0