Canadian Premier League — Match #71 Pacific FC vs. York9 FC September 11, 2019 — Westhills Stadium (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

York9 will look to rebound from its 905 Derby defeat on Sunday in short order, as they visit a confident Pacific FC side on Wednesday in Fall season action.

Although they haven't won since August 24, Pacific has emerged from their last two matches with very gutsy results, having drawn 1-1 with the top two teams in the league — Cavalry FC and Forge FC (the latter a stunning draw at Spruce Meadows). The Tridents are, then, fourth in the league table at 12 points (eight off the pace), but their 17 goals in the Fall is one back of Cavalry for tops in the CPL.

There's not quite as much positivity in the York9 camp at the moment, as they fell 2-1 over the weekend to Ontario rivals Forge. They're second from the bottom of the table, having not won in their last five matches; it's been a very up-and-down Fall season, with their 6-2 blowout of HFX Wanderers FC (July 27) the last time the Nine Stripes were in the win column. They'll have revenge on their minds this week, as Pacific beat them 2-0 at York Lions Stadium a few weeks ago and thus York9 would love to return the favour.

With a four-game road swing done after Wednesday, York9 will return home on Sunday, September 15 to take on Valour FC (3:30 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer). Pacific plays at home this weekend as well, with Fall title challengers FC Edmonton coming to Vancouver Island on Saturday (3:00 p.m. ET, 12:00 p.m. PT, on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

  • Get the ball to Terran: If there's any one route to success for Pacific, it's probably coming through the foot of Terran Campbell. As such, getting good service to the burly centre-forward is as obvious a play as you can find, but it's obvious for a reason – it works. Whether it's a combination of Victor Blasco, Ben Fisk, Noah Verhoeven, Zach Verhoven, or Marcus Haber in support, getting the ball to Campbell's feet, head, shoulder, chest, anywhere, really, is of utmost importance.​
  • Isolate zones of play: York9's problems defensively have often come from a breakdown in roles and responsibilities on the back foot, where preventable mistakes have seen the team concede goals uncontested – case in point, Marcel Zajac's free header to win the 905 Derby. Keeping that in mind, the Nine Stripes would do well to ensure that defensive zones are adequately staffed on counter-attacking plays, such that the basics are covered even when this midfield-heavy team pushes forward.​
  • Forget the past: There's no use looking into previous match-ups between these two, who have met four times already this season; twice, they've played out to 2-2 draws, and each have plucked a win out of the other on home turf, so with essentially a clean slate to work with, both coaches can take all the lessons learned in their last four matches, and apply them here. There's no use focusing on previous results; these two teams look evenly matched, on paper and in precedent.​

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Pacific FC: Mark Village; Kadin Chung, Hendrik Starostzik, Lukas MacNaughton, Blake Smith; Alexander Gonzalez, Noah Verhoeven, David Norman Jr.; Victor Blasco, Terran Campbell, Marcus Haber

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Diyaeddine Abzi, Luca Gasparotto, Daniel Gogarty, Morey Doner; Joe Di Chiara, Wataru Murofushi, Manny Aparicio; Rodrigo Gattas, Simon Adjei, Kyle Porter


HEAD TO HEAD

May 18 - Pacific FC 2-2 York9 FC June 15 - York9 FC 1-0 Pacific FC July 17 - York9 FC 2-2 Pacific FC August 17 - York9 FC 0-2 Pacific FC

STATS LEADERS


Terran Campbell - 10 goals (Pacific FC) Ryan Telfer & Rodrigo Gattas - 5 goals (York9 FC)

INJURIES

Marcel De Jong (Pacific FC) - Out (Achilles)

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

Ryan Telfer (York9 FC) - Trinidad & Tobago

SUSPENSIONS

None

ACCUMULATION (Players are suspended for one match 14 days after accumulating a 4th Yellow Card)

Victor Blasco (Pacific FC) - 3
Emile Legault (Pacific FC) - 3 Luca Gasparotto (York9 FC) - 3 Steven Furlano (York9 FC) - 3

REFEREES

Referee: Nicolas Joubert Assistants: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt & Erina Cho 4th Official: Juan Marquez

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