Canadian Premier League teams have played anywhere from three-to-five regular season fixtures after three weeks of Spring action, and while it may be early goings still, a few noteworthy trends and talking points have already emerged. Namely, Cavalry FC's unbeaten start to the 2019 campaign has our pundits dolling out praise more frequently than Valour head coach Rob Gale drops a witty turn of phrase. FC Edmonton finally suffered a loss, Jimmy Brennan's York9 side is still looking for a first victory, and Pacific FC now heads to Cavalry for the second leg of their Canadian Championship Qualifying Round 1 series, having dropped the first result 2-0. So, that's what's on the docket for next week – here's what we saw from Week 3: 7. Can Cavalry FC go unbeaten in Spring sprint? They're 40% of the way there, after all. In this 10-match Spring portion of the 2019 CPL season, every single game counts, and Tommy Wheeldon Jr.'s side is making every single game count towards their overall points tally – that's 12, five more points than second-place Forge, and with a game in hand, too. Four wins in a row in league action (five if you include Canadian Championship play) has Wheeldon Jr.'s side feeling all sorts of confidence, and as OneSoccer's Oliver Platt points out in this week's By the Numbers, plenty of credit must go to the Cavs coach, who has instilled a patient but unwavering approach to success within his team, one that is brimming with team chemistry, as per goalkeeper Marco Carducci. But can they keep up this rich run of form? Their next league match is at Spruce Meadows against a visiting HFX Wanderers FC, who, like Cavalry, will have also hosted a midweek opponent in the Canadian Championship. Cavalry already seems to have the quality edge on their opponents, and with a deep roster and a 2-0 advantage over visiting Pacific, will have the luxury of resting some of their starters. Beyond this fifth Spring match? A visit to Edmonton on June 15, a trip to Halifax four days later, a rematch with Forge on June 22 at home, a trip to York9 four days later, and a final match on Vancouver Island on July 1. Throw in a pair of matches against Forge in Canadian Championship play (should Cavalry advance) and you have the makings of a tough final stretch leading up to Canada Day. And, the back-and-forth nature of their home-and-away trips across the board means Cavalry will be collecting plenty of air mileage in the coming weeks. Undefeated in Spring? It's a stretch. But, with a solid first half, perhaps Cavalry can survive and earn that Spring CPL Championship berth, regardless of perfection in the table. 6. York9 set for long-awaited homecoming Speaking of harrowing Spring journeys, York9 FC finally ends a four-match away stretch (Hamilton, Calgary, Blainville, and Victoria, if you've been following along) and returns home to York Lions Stadium at long, long last. The set-up at York University will definitely feel like home, with tables, chairs and race car bucket seats all proudly displaying the York9 FC crest. Being surrounded by their own green-clad fans will be a welcome change for Brennan's side, too. The visiting team? Forge, which offers the Nine Stripes a chance to gain the upper hand in the 905 Derby. But before that? There's a Canadian Championship match against Quebec's A.S. Blainville to contend. A 0-0 result in the first leg means this second leg is the ultimate decider. You can bet that Brennan, a seasoned pro in Voyageurs Cup action, will have his team more than ready for homecoming on Wednesday, and on the weekend. 5. FC Edmonton deeper in talent than expected "Oumar Diouck is a player who deserves more minutes." That's what FC Edmonton head coach Jeff Paulus told our Steven Sandor of his Belgian striker, who replaced Ajeej Sarkaria for the second half of Al Classico, and impressed over those second 45 minutes, driving the attacking play and, in tandem with Marcus Velado-Tsegaye, forced goalkeeper Marco Carducci into making a big save (or three) in pursuit of an equalizing goal. As an aside, Paulus praised Velado-Tsegaye in pre-season, telling CanPL Editorial that the 17-year-old has the potential to develop into one of the top attacking talents in the league. It speaks to how deep Edmonton is from roster spots 1 through 18, a factor that wasn't quite as clear before Cavalry's match, as many of Paulus' players came out of the club's academy, making their debuts in professional football for the first time. Two of Edmonton's key starters were absent for this first Al Classico bout – centre-back Amer Didic and winger-forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu. But, Paulus always knew his roster was deep. "I know there's someone in Toronto who thinks we're not a complete squad," Paulus teased after the match. "But I think we've shown today that we are actually quite a good side." Indeed, they have. 4. Magic of the Canadian Championship We've already seen glimpses of that domestic Cup magic we all know and love – a Vaughan Azzurri come-from-behind effort saw HFX Wanderers FC nearly drop the road result, but for a last-gasp penalty to edge the League1 Ontario outfit 3-2. A.S. Blainville held York9 FC to a 0-0 draw in Blainville. Is there a possible upset in the cards for one or both of these CPL outfits? Probably not. Barring total disaster, HFX took three away goals and a slim margin of victory out of Vaughan, and return to the raucous crowd at Wanderers Grounds with a pretty clear mission – don't concede, and, if you do, limit it to just the one. Any wider a margin of defeat and Stephen Hart will have to watch the battle for the Voyageurs Cup unfold without a say in its final result. Any draw or win sees HFX through comfortably. York9's in another boat, as the away goals rule tie-breaker the Nine Stripes from playing out to a scoring draw here. So, it's a win or bust for Brennan's side. 3. So ... Marcus Haber's heading accuracy Marcus Haber leads the league in shots. He's got 14 of 'em, over the course of three of his team's five matches. Against York9 FC, Haber finally found the back of the net, getting a head on the end of a well-placed corner kick. He brushed off Justin Springer, his marker, and connected perfectly, finding the back of the net at long last. Of his 14 total shots, 10 have been missed headers, and four have come off his right foot. So, one headed goal in 11 total attempts with his noggin – less than ideal for the 6-foot-3 target man. But these kinds of goals are not easy to score. It takes three key variables to score a header: Timing, maximum jump height, and power coordination; you have to time your leap correctly to meet the ball where it connects best, using your range of jumping height to calculate if you can actually reach the ball, and then using strength to both brush off your marker and get enough power to correctly redirect the ball on the proper angle, with enough pace to beat the 'keeper. A cursory glance around Europe has strikers like Chelsea's Olivier Giroud and Cagliari's Leonardo Pavoletti among the leaders in the headed goals category. They convert roughly 0.27 headed goals per 90 minutes ... which is just around the range Haber is in now, with one headed goal in roughly 270 minutes of play. Food for thought. 2. Can we talk about ... York9 FC defender Daniel Gogarty? The 22-year-old Scarborough, Ont. native came to the Nine Stripes out of York University via the CPL-U SPORTS Draft and has immediately become a mainstay in Brennan's backline, playing every single minute of his team's season so far. Is he putting in the sort of game-saving clearances, tackles, or interceptions that his fellow centre-back Luca Gasparotto is? Not necessarily. But, on the flip side of that coin, he has quietly put in solid displays beyond his years and hasn't put a foot wrong yet, either. Not bad for a draft pick. 1. Your photo of the week

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