They are known as the Tridents but might have to change their nickname to the Macadamias or Walnuts.
The Pacific FC defence and goalkeeping again proved a hard shell to crack in a scoreless draw Wednesday against host Atletico Ottawa in the opening game of their two-legged, Canadian Championship quarter-final set.
PFC and Canadian Premier League-rival Ottawa remained undefeated with each having three wins and a draw in league play and four wins and two draws overall. The Tridents have recorded five clean sheets in their six overall games.
“We were again committed behind the ball,” said PFC head coach James Merriman, following the game in the nation’s capital.
“We work incredibly hard without the ball.”
Haiti-capped PFC midfielder Cédric Toussaint concurred: “We put in a lot of defensive work in training as holding midfielders.”
That is what holds the line in tight games.
“It was a chess game out there tonight and no one wanted to make a mistake and give away the goal,” said Toussaint.
Former Ottawa Atletico goalkeeper Sean Melvin recorded the clean sheet for PFC.
But the result does leave Ottawa with the advantage in the second leg May 29 at Starlight Stadium. The first tie-breaker is away goals, so any non-scoreless draw will propel Atletico to the semifinals against the winner of the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps versus CPL Cavalry FC quarter-final, led 2-1 by the Whitecaps after the first game.
“We feel strong going home,” countered Merriman.
Ottawa head coach Carlos González gave the Tridents their due.
“We did enough things to win the game. But they [PFC] is a good team that defends well as a unit,” said the Spaniard, who was former coach of the Kuwait national team.
Ottawa features two former PFC mainstays in midfielder Manny Aparicio and defender Amer Didic.
“They have brought us quality, mentality, personality and depth,” said González.
The annual Canadian Championship tournament for the Voyageurs Cup is this nation’s equivalent of the FA Cup. It features the three Canadian teams in Major League Soccer — CF Montreal, Toronto FC and defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps — the eight CPL teams and the champions of League1 B.C., League1 Ontario and Ligue1 Quebec. The 2024 Canadian Championship winner will earn a berth in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Meanwhile, CS Saint-Laurent’s charmed run through the tournament looks to be up. The Ligue1 Quebec champions, who upset the HFX Wanderers of Halifax of the CPL in the first round, moved two levels up to play Toronto FC of MLS in the first game of the second round Wednesday and held out until the second half when the sky fell with three unanswered TFC goals.
The Tridents now prepare for a key league game at Starlight Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. against four-time CPL-champion Forge FC of Hamilton, who tied CF Montreal of MLS 1-1 this week in the opening game of their Canadian Championship quarter-final set.
