Match #1
YORK UNITED FC vs. VALOUR FC
When: Sunday, April 16th, 1 p.m. CDT
Where: York Lions Stadium, Toronto, ON
How to watch: OneSoccer is broadcasting all Canadian Premier League games live https://onesoccer.ca/
MATCH PREVIEW:
Busy first week for Valour FC as the club opens the fifth season in franchise history on the road vs. York United FC in a Sunday matinee before flying from Toronto to the West coast for Wednesday’s Canadian Championship opening round matchup in Vancouver with TSS Rovers of League 1 British Columbia.
The team will then return to Winnipeg for the home opener next Saturday, the 22nd, for a 6 p.m. meeting with Atlético Ottawa at IG Field.
Valour has undergone a significant makeover during the offseason after two consecutive fifth-place finishes in 2021 and 2022 that left them just outside of the playoff line. No less than 16 players who dressed for at least one match last season have departed, including all-time leading scorer Moses Dyer and veteran fullback Brett Levis (now both with FC Tulsa) and, among others, midfielder Sean Rea, the CPL’s U-21 Player of the Year, who returned to CF Montreal along with goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The team has added some CPL experience in the offseason, adding forward Anthony Novak, midfielders Marcello Polisi and Dante Campbell and defenders Abdou Samake and Jordan Haynes.
THE GAFFER SAYS:
GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos on York United DC:
“It’s a team that has matured a lot. They have a lot of players who have been in the league for many years and started their rebuild later last season and we saw immediate effects in the way they were playing with the quality of a guy like (Mo) Babouli and what he brings to the team and the growth of a player like (Osaze) De Rosario.
“It’s a team that will be up there fighting for a spot. This will be a difficult game. At the same time, it’s great for us to start the season like this – away and in a difficult setting – because it will tell us a lot of where we’re at as a team.”
VALOUR FC SPOTLIGHT:
#27 Pacifique Niyongabire, F: One of Valour’s new faces, Niyongabire can be a threat on the wing with his speed and finish. Played last season with Perth Glory and is coming off a two-goal performance in the club’s final preseason match, a 2-nil win over Cavalry FC and scored for the Burundi national team last month in a 3-1 loss to Indonesia.
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CRITICAL NUMBER
2-1-1
Valour’s record in its four previous season openers – a 2-1 road win over Pacific FC in their inaugural game in 2019; a 2-nil loss to Cavalry FC in the 2020 Island Games tournament; a 2-0 victory over Forge at IG Field in 2021 and a 1-1 road draw with FC Edmonton last April.
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All-time Valour FC vs. York United FC: 6-1-5 (win-draw-loss)
Last meeting: September 23, 2022, York Lions Stadium: York United FC 3 Valour FC 1