CALGARY — Atletico Ottawa clinched the Canadian Premier League regular-season title Saturday thanks to Pacific FC's 1-0 loss at Cavalry FC.
It's a worst-to-first story for Ottawa, which finished in the eight-team league's basement in 2021 at 6-14-8. But head coach Carlos Gonzalez, who took over the team in late February, has turned the franchise around.
Pacific (13-18-7) finished the regular season with 46 points, two behind Ottawa (13-5-9) which wraps up its regular season on Sunday at home to York United FC.
Ben Fisk's 89th-minute goal gave Cavalry FC (14-9-5, 47 points) the win, moving the Calgary club into second place in the standings.
Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the four playoff teams had already been decided with Ottawa, Pacific, Forge FC and Cavalry FC qualifying for the post-season. But the seeding still had to be resolved.
Fourth-place Forge FC can move up the table with a win Sunday over visiting HFC Wanderers FC.
Ottawa has earned home-field advantage throughout its first playoff run. It will host the second leg of the semifinal on Oct. 23, and host the CPL final at TD Place the following weekend if it advances.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2022.
The Canadian Press
