Cavalry FC celebrated its third regular-season title and its third invite to the Concacaf Champions Cup in style Sunday.
They partied with each other, with fans in the stands and with the Foot Soldiers Supporters Group after capturing another in a long line of championship soccer trophies.
Timely fireworks and golden streamers also marked the moment during the lift of the CPL Shield by the happy champions.
The jubilance of earning the championship in cold conditions at ATCO Field followed a 1-0 decision over Vancouver FC, which clinched the Calgary team as the top side in the 2026 Canadian Premier League regular season.
“To get that victory is phenomenal,” Cavalry defender Daan Klomp said to reporters. “With all the outside pressure that’s put on us, it’s just an amazing feeling right now that we were still able to play the way we did. Especially if you look at the first half today, when I think we moved the ball around superbly.”
Cavalry did come out gunning for the first goal, getting on the front foot on an accelerated pace for chances galore in the first 30 minutes.
The aggressive push finally paid off in the 29th minute, when Ali Musse knocked a ball into a gaping net off the attack. The striker made good on a brilliant pass off the end-line from Caniggia Elva after Adam Pearlman found Elva with his upfield pass on the rush.
It was all the offence the hosts needed in scoring the win.
“We were unfortunate not to go up a couple of goals, but you know we had to recalibrate,” Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said to reporters. “We also knew that Vancouver needed to get a win, so they were going to push players forward. And with that, we thought there’d be you know opportunities in transition, and we got that.”
While Cavalry continued to press Vancouver FC, the defence rounded out the remainder of the afternoon with a sharp effort befitting the championship side.
“We’ve had a lot of wins here at ATCO Field where our attackers won us the games. They scored the goal that mattered today, but I think our collective defending was what got it over the line.”
“I think we we had to dig deep today,” said Klomp. “If you look at like over the whole course of the season … I think it’s been so well deserved for this team.”
It’s a third regular-season crown to go with the 2024 playoff championship, and a second one of those is on the table with the 2026 playoffs now on deck.
“It’s massive,” Wheeldon said. “Listen, I’m a purist. I’ve always said this: the league is the hardest trophy to win. It’s a marathon. It’s an even schedule … And I’ve always said the league table never lies.
“And today, I’m a teller of the truth. It doesn’t lie. We’ve been the best team over the course of the regular season, and we deserve to be the one that gets to lift the shield and claim it back.”
5 Stories
1) Sunday’s home win elevated Cavalry to a record of 18 wins, four losses and six draws on the year to give them top spot after 28 regular-season games. That was one better than Forge FC’s finish of 17-4-7. Even if Forge ended with an identical mark and matched Cavalry’s 60 points with a win Sunday, the Calgary team would’ve won the title with a better goal-differential.
2) The regular-season title is the third in Cavalry’s short eight-year history. The team won was tops in the CPL’s inaugural 2019 season with a 19-5-4 record and finished first in 2023 with a 16-7-5 mark. It looked like 2026 would yield the best-ever record for Cavalry until two straight losses followed by a draw scuffed that mark late in the season. The rut also put this title grab in doubt until Sunday.
3) And the regular-season success comes in historic form, since Cavalry’s 60 points is the best-ever CPL total. That was helped by an unbeaten home run for the Calgary team.
4) With the title celebration comes a ticket to the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup. That’s three of those invites now for Cavalry after their run of two appearances in the continental tournament was halted last year.
5) The win also gives them added confidence going for the CPL double. Cavalry opens the playoffs in a bid for the post-season championship two weeks from now, with the first leg of their semifinal round with FC Supra on Sunday, Nov. 1 in Montreal and the second leg of the semifinal round hosted at ATCO Field on Saturday, November 7.
4 Key Reasons Why Cavalry Won
1) Good to go — The home side pushed hard out of the gate with a relentless attack that put Vancouver far back on its heels to give Cavalry plenty of chances and confidence.
2) Musse’s money — Musse’s knock-in marker, which showed his form as a comfortable striker, was his third in as many games to give him seven on the season.
3) Solid defence — Cavalry goalkeeper Nathan Ingham didn’t see much action throughout the contest, as his teammates formed quite the wall to keep the visitors from threatening. Even a late free kick that found its way into the box and a stoppage-time corner kick that looked to curl in proved to be not much of worries for the goalie and the team’s strong defensive shape. Ingham’s clean-sheet gave him the most on the CPL year, too. He finished with 11, which is one more than Forge’s Dimitry Bertaud after he allowed one on Sunday in Forge’s 1-1 draw with host Pacific FC.
4) Home spirit — A loud and proud crowd was on display again at ATCO Field, even though the day brought crisp and windy weather to Spruce Meadows. Attendance was strong, with many of the 3,500-plus fans staying late to party with the champions after the game. Of course, the players embraced the fans’ role in scoring the title.
3 Stars
1) Ali Musse, Cavalry — One of the league’s best players has found his form at the right time. The goal keeps him hot heading into the playoffs.
2) Caniggia Elva, Cavalry — He was a threat, especially in the first half and when he cut the ball back to Musse for the only goal. Nice set-up.
3) Defensive unit, Cavalry — No one player stood out defensively, but as a collective, Cavalry put on a clinic in front of goalie Ingham.
2 Stats
1) 0 — The amount of shots on goal allowed by Cavalry. It was a shut-out of Vancouver FC, which needed to be desperate with their own playoff fate on the line. The loss coupled with FC Supra du Quebec’s 4-3 win Sunday over host HFX Wanderers FC keeps them out of the postseason.
2) 11 — The number of shots at goal taken by Cavalry inside Vancouver’s penalty area. That’s a lot, reflecting how aggressive and ambitious the home side was for most of the game.
1 Quote
“This is a team that can be the best of all-time in the CPL, and that is something that we need to solidify again in upcoming weeks in playoffs. And I think we’ve started off well. We put ourselves in that position to be first in the league, but now this team is a team that wants to win the double (championship).”
— Cavalry defender Daan Klomp