It is soccer tradition, from the World Cup down to club, that games on the final day of pool or league play start concurrently. That is so teams looking at advancement or promotion, or facing elimination or relegation, don’t have pre-knowledge of relevant scores in other games.
The Canadian Premier League regular season concludes today with all games beginning at 1 p.m. PT, including Pacific FC’s crucial match-up against Forge FC at Starlight Stadium.
There will be a lot of scoreboard watching as the 90 minutes tick down across the country as two races — for second place and for the fifth and final playoff berth — are still in play.
“It adds that excitement to the final day and is great for the league and the fans,” PFC head coach James Merriman said in his pre-game national Zoom news conference.
“Days like this are going to grow the game and the league. You see it in the Premier League, and [other] leagues with promotion/relegation, and it gets everybody excited about the outcome of the day.”
PFC is involved in the battle for the final playoff position with Vancouver FC and Valour FC of Winnipeg but controls its own destiny. The Tridents currently hold fifth place, two points ahead of VFC and three ahead of Valour FC. The most straightforward path for PFC is to win this afternoon and that would give the Tridents their fifth-consecutive playoff appearance and avoid them having to rely on the other concurrent scorelines as VFC travels to Ottawa to play Atletico at TD Place Stadium while Valour FC hosts Cavalry FC of Calgary at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
Things get muddled if PFC draws or loses to regular-season champion Forge FC from Hamilton. The Tridents can still advance if they draw against the Hammers and VFC loses or draws in Ottawa. PFC can lose today and still get into the playoffs if VFC draws or loses to Ottawa and Valour FC draws or loses to Cavalry FC.
The only path for VFC is to beat Ottawa and have PFC draw or lose against Forge FC. Valour FC’s route to its first-ever playoff appearance is the most tenuous as the Winnipeg club would need to win against Cavalry FC and have PFC lose against Forge FC and VFC lose or draw in Ottawa.
“We are not trying to play to the scenario so much and just focusing on our last match against Forge FC, who we respect with the quality that they have,” said Merriman.
“We know it’s in our control and we need to have a big performance at home in front of our fans. The players are ready with the right focus. The responsibility is on us. We have everything to play for.”
The forecast is for rain, but that is to be expected for an Island team in the fall: “You have to accept it. We’re used to it. Hopefully, it’s not too much wind. Rain is not such a problem, although the ball moves a little faster on the turf and you need to read that. But you have to deal with the elements and it’s the same for both teams.”
If the Tridents make the playoffs, they would travel to Toronto to meet fourth-place York United in the 4-5 play-in game scheduled for Wednesday, the first step leading to the CBC nationally-televised CPL championship game Nov. 9.
Forge FC has been the gold standard in the CPL with four league playoff championships and this year has won the regular-season championship, and the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup berth that goes with it. (The CPL playoff champion will also earn a CONCACAF Champions Cup berth).
Cavalry FC and Atletico Ottawa will decide second and third placings today with their results — second place is a huge advantage over third in the Page playoff system — while the HFX Wanderers of Halifax will miss the playoffs.
