PREVIEW: Cavalry FC vs. Pacific FC — Match #108 (ComeOn! Match of the Week)

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Two exciting teams are preparing to fight it out one last time in the 2021 CPL regular season, as Cavalry FC host Pacific FC in the final match of the weekend with a massive three points on the line. Pacific come to Calgary as the league leaders entering the weekend, though just one point up on Forge FC who played Saturday afternoon against York United. They have 45 points after 27 games played, so this clash with the Cavs will be their final opportunity to earn points this year and lock down home field in the playoffs. The Tridents will be desperate for a bounce-back game after an emotional week; they lost 2-1 at home to York in league play last weekend, and then on Wednesday they dropped a 2-1 result to MLS foes Toronto FC in a hard-fought Canadian Championship semifinal. Coach Pa-Modou Kah was proud of his side's effort in that game at BMO Field, particularly their ability to remain in the fight and come so close even in the final moments of the match, so he'll be hoping to see them build on that performance as they head into the crucial section of the CPL campaign. Cavalry, meanwhile, will similarly have their eye on home field for the playoffs. They entered the weekend joint with Forge on 44 points, and one back of Pacific. They have two regular season matches left on the docket -- this home tie, and then a visit to play Forge in Hamilton on November 16. In the tiebreaker category, Cavalry are two wins behind Pacific, and well back in goal differential, but they certainly have a good chance to get ahead of the Tridents on points in these last couple games. Last time out, the Cavs fell flat at home against Valour FC, losing 4-2 to the Winnipeg club fighting to keep their season alive. Nonetheless, they're in decent position with two games left to play.

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• Winner gets home field: Both Cavalry and Pacific will be desperate to secure a home playoff date for later this month. It's likely these two sides will play each other in the CPL semifinal, but the venue for that clash is yet to be determined. Based on the way the table has shaken out, if either team gets three points in this game they'll guarantee themselves home field for at least that first playoff game -- and possibly the final as well, depending on how Forge's last few games play out. The Cavs are certainly happy that this particular showdown comes at Spruce Meadows, and they'll be keen on a chilly meeting there with the Tridents in the playoffs as well.

• Absences loom large for Pacific: Unfortunately, Pacific won't quite be at full strength heading into this clash. Talented centre-back Lukas MacNaughton will miss this game -- and the first match of the playoffs -- with a suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Talismanic attacker Marco Bustos will be sidelined as well, having re-aggravated his knee injury on Wednesday night against Toronto FC in the Canadian Championship. Coach Pa-Modou Kah remained confident on Saturday that they might have Bustos back in time for the playoffs, but he'll certainly be missed on Sunday, considering the good form he's been in the last couple weeks after returning from a two-month layoff.

• Could Cavs reverse penalty luck? Cavalry remain the only club in the CPL this season not to have scored a goal from a penalty kick. They've had three opportunities, including one last week against Valour, but none of them have found the net. Of course, it's a testament to the team's attacking play elsewhere that they've remained near the top of the league without many of those opportunities, but if the moment comes again they'll hope to reverse their fortunes from the spot. Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said that the squad has worked on penalties all week in training, with players competing to get themselves on the preselected list of players who might take one in a match. "We've had penalty competitions all week; we're not going to say who's going to take the next penalty, but we would rather win without having to do it," Wheeldon said. "I think we hope we're 3-0 up when the next penalty comes, so it doesn't have that extra pressure... The funny thing is, if Nik Ledgerwood had been in there nobody's even getting close to the conversation because he's been ruthless with penalties he's had, but now we've got three or four that are in the mix and ready to go."

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