2025 Canadian Premier League final

2025 Canadian Premier League final
Event2025 Canadian Premier League season
Atlético Ottawa Cavalry FC
2 1
After extra time
DateNovember 9, 2025
VenueTD Place Stadium, Ottawa, Ontario
CPL Finals MVPDavid Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)
RefereeMichael Venne
Attendance13,132
WeatherSnow
−1 °C (30 °F)
93% humidity[1]

The 2025 Canadian Premier League final was the seventh edition of the CPL Finals, the post-season championship of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer, which determined the winner of the 2025 Canadian Premier League season. It was played on November 9, 2025 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario between Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry FC. The hosts, Atlético Ottawa, clinched their first league championship.

Amid snowy conditions that caused the national women's league playoffs to be postponed, the decision was made to proceed with the final. The weather resulted in the match being stopped five times during regulation time to clear away snow, and the start of extra time was delayed by an hour to allow snowplows to clear more of the pitch. Ottawa won 2–1 with two goals from David Rodríguez.[2] The match attracted significant international media coverage both for the wintery weather and for Rodríguez's first goal, a bicycle kick that was widely dubbed the "icicle kick".[3][4][5][6][7]

Path to the final

Main article: 2025 Canadian Premier League season

The 2025 CPL season was contested by eight teams. Each team played four games against each of the seven opponents for a total of 28 matches. The top-five teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs, which begin on October 22. The playoffs featured a Page playoff format where teams entered in different rounds depending on their finishing position. All matches in the playoffs were played as single legs. The final was contested by the winners of the first and second semifinals.[8]

Regular season standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Forge (S) 28 16 10 2 51 22 +29 58 First semifinal and 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup
2 Atlético Ottawa (C) 28 15 11 2 54 28 +26 56 First semifinal
3 Cavalry 28 11 9 8 47 36 +11 42 Quarterfinal
4 HFX Wanderers 28 11 6 11 41 34 +7 39 Play-in round
5 York United 28 10 8 10 43 38 +5 38
Source: CanPL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total number of wins; 3) Head-to-head; 4) Goal differential; 5) Goals for; 6) Away goals differential; 7) Away goals for; 8) Home goals differential; 9) Home goals for; 10) Fewest disciplinary points; 11) Most under-21 domestic player minutes; 12) Drawing of lots.[8]
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup Round one); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup Round one)

Playoff bracket

Play-in roundFirst semifinalSecond semifinalFinal
October 26 – HamiltonNovember 9 – Ottawa
1Forge12Atlético Ottawa (a.e.t.)2
2Atlético Ottawa2November 2 – Hamilton3Cavalry1
1Forge0
Quarterfinal3Cavalry1
October 26 – Foothills County
October 22 – Halifax3Cavalry4
4HFX Wanderers2 (4)5York United1
5York United (p)2 (5)

Background

Atlético Ottawa

Further information: 2025 Atlético Ottawa season

Atlético Ottawa reached the CPL final for the second time in its six seasons of play. Ottawa lost its previous final in 2022.

Cavalry FC

Further information: 2025 Cavalry FC season

Cavalry FC was the defending champion, having won the league for the first time in 2024. It reached the CPL final for the third year in a row and the fourth time in its seven seasons of play.

Head-to-head

In the 2025 regular season, Ottawa defeated Cavalry three times (3–1 on April 26, 2–0 on June 28, and 3–0 on September 27) and the teams drew once (2–2 on August 23). This was the first time that the teams met in a postseason.

Venue

TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, home of Atlético Ottawa, was the host stadium for the final. This was determined by the outcome of the playoffs' first semifinal on October 26 between regular season winner Forge FC and second seed Atlético Ottawa; Atlético Ottawa won the match 2–1.

The match took place in heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures. Play was paused several times to clear snow from the field, resulting in the match taking over three hours to complete including extra time. During regular time only the lines and penalty areas were able to be kept clear, but the snowfall lessened as the match went on and the field was made nearly snow-free for extra time.[9][10]

Broadcasting

The CPL final was broadcast on OneSoccer and TSN in Canada and Fox Sports 2 in the United States.

Pre-match

Associated with the final, the annual Canadian Premier League Awards took place on November 7 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.[11]

Match

Atlético Ottawa2–1 (a.e.t.)Cavalry
  • Rodríguez 40', 107'
 Report
Attendance: 13,132[2]
Referee: Michael Venne
Atlético Ottawa
Cavalry
GK 29 Canada Nathan Ingham (c)
CB 18 Equatorial Guinea Roni Mbomio
CB 23 Canada Noah Abatneh Yellow card 91'
CB 28 Canada Loïc Cloutier
RM 19 Portugal Kévin Santos
CM 2 Mexico Juan Castro downward-facing red arrow 68'
CM 10 Canada Manny Aparicio downward-facing red arrow 120+2'
LM 11 Brazil Gabriel Antinoro Yellow card 120+2' downward-facing red arrow 120+2'
AM 7 United States David Rodríguez downward-facing red arrow 109'
AM 13 Canada Ballou Tabla downward-facing red arrow 86'
CF 9 Canada Samuel Salter Yellow card 45+8'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Canada Tristan Crampton
DF 4 Canada Tyr Walker upward-facing green arrow 120+2'
DF 20 Canada Joaquim Coulanges
MF 6 Mexico Kevin Ortega upward-facing green arrow 120+2'
MF 21 Spain Alberto Zapater upward-facing green arrow 109'
MF 33 Mali Aboubacar Sissoko Yellow card 75' upward-facing green arrow 68'
FW 12 New Zealand Monty Patterson upward-facing green arrow 86'
Manager:
Mexico Diego Mejía
GK 1 Canada Marco Carducci (c)
RB 33 Canada Fraser Aird
CB 4 Netherlands Daan Klomp
CB 12 Republic of Ireland Tom Field downward-facing red arrow 90'
LB 19 Moldova Mihail Gherasimencov Yellow card 50' downward-facing red arrow 64'
CM 24 Canada Eryk Kobza Yellow card 116'
CM 26 Bangladesh Shamit Shome Yellow card 82' downward-facing red arrow 105'
RW 7 Somalia Ali Musse downward-facing red arrow 79'
AM 9 Germany Tobias Warschewski
LW 20 Benin Goteh Ntignee Yellow card 114'
CF 14 Saint Lucia Caniggia Elva downward-facing red arrow 105'
Substitutes:
GK 21 Canada Joseph Holliday
DF 5 France Bradley Kamdem upward-facing green arrow 64'
DF 15 England Levi Laing
MF 10 Canada Sergio Camargo upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 27 Canada Diego Gutiérrez upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF 55 Philippines Michael Baldisimo upward-facing green arrow 105'
FW 25 Netherlands Ayman Sellouf upward-facing green arrow 105'
Manager:
England Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

CPL Final MVP:
David Rodríguez (Atlético Ottawa)

Assistant referees:
Twayne Anderson
Graham Forsyth
Fourth official:
Ben Hoskins

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if score still level
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time

Post-match

Following the match, Atlético Ottawa was awarded the North Star Cup and qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the first time doing so in the club's history. Ottawa's attacking midfielder David Rodríguez was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The match, originally scheduled for 5:00 pm, was delayed 20 minutes due to the need for snow removal.

References

  1. ^ "Ottawa, Canada Weather History | Weather Underground". www.wunderground.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Kloke, Joshua (November 9, 2025). "In blizzard-like conditions, Atletico Ottawa secures its first Canadian Premier League championship over Cavalry FC". The Athletic. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  3. ^ Davis, Matt (November 10, 2025). "Watch 'icicle kick' light up blizzard-hit Canadian final". BBC Sport. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  4. ^ Pringle, Josh (November 10, 2025). "'Icicle Kick Game': Social media reacts to snowy Canadian Premier League final in Ottawa". CTV News. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Steiner, Ben (November 10, 2025). "MLS Wants Winter Soccer? Canadian Premier League Final Had Insane Bicycle Kick in Blizzard". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  6. ^ Lynch, Joey (November 9, 2025). "Icicle kick?! Crazy goal helps win Canadian Premier League final". ESPN. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  7. ^ Tasch, Justin (November 9, 2025). "Canadian Premier League final played in wild blizzard conditions — with one of the greatest goals you'll ever see". New York Post. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "2025 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. April 1, 2025. Archived from the original on April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  9. ^ Pritchard, Trevor. "Atlético Ottawa top Cavalry FC in driving snowstorm to win 1st ever CPL title". CBC News. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Steiner, Ben. "MLS Wants Winter Soccer? Canadian Premier League Final Had Insane Bicycle Kick in Blizzard". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  11. ^ Comtois, Martin (November 8, 2025). "Un triplé historique signé Samuel Salter au gala de la Première ligue canadienne" [A historic hat trick by Samuel Salter at the Canadian Premier League gala]. Radio-Canada (in French). Archived from the original on November 8, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  12. ^ Molinaro, John. "Atlético Ottawa beats Cavalry FC in 'Snow Bowl' to win CPL Final". TFC Republic. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
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