‘Experience matters’: Cavalry FC locks in on chance for back-to-back championships

Cavalry FC have had their final practice in Calgary before they head east for Ottawa and their chance to win back-to-back championships.

Cavalry FC is going for their second straight North Star Cup.

The squad had an impressive performance over the weekend, taking down archrivals Forge FC 1-0 in the preliminary final.

Now, they’re on to the last step—they’ll face Ottawa in the league final on Sunday.

Forward Caniggia Elva assisted on Tobias Warschewski’s game-winner this past weekend, and he says all their hard work is paying off.

“To do it (against) Forge, one of our biggest rivals, meant a lot to us,” Elva said.

“We knew it was going to be tough—it wasn’t going to be an easy game—but we showed how good we could be, defensively, by not getting any goals against, and we’re just happy to be moving on.”

Cavalry didn’t have a lot of success against Ottawa during the regular season.

Ottawa won three of four games, and the other one ended in a draw.

“We won’t shy away from the fact that Ottawa has been good all season, and we certainly didn’t find ways to beat them during the regular season,” said team captain and keeper Marco Carducci.

“It’s a final. It all comes down to one game, so it’s a bit of a different beast.

“(But) the reality is it’s just like any other game, where we’re going to focus solely on how we’re going to beat them and how we stop their strengths.”

Cavalry is going to the league final for the fourth time in team history, and this will be their third straight appearance.

Last year, they won the North Star Cup for the first time.

Ottawa has only been to the finals once, back in 2022, when they lost to Forge.

“Experience matters in these moments because you can get over-roused,” said head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

“We’ve gone to finals and lost them, and you can get over-roused with it. You can overcommit to your principles.

“You’ve got to be able to manage the game … and I think that’s what we’ve been good at, and that’s what we’ve had to learn the hard way, but we’re certainly relishing another final.”

Cavalry has had their final practice in Calgary before heading east for the chance to win back-to-back championships.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 3 p.m.