PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Mbomio, Abatneh, Cloutier; Dos Santos, Castro, Aparicio, Antinoro; Rodríguez, Salter, Tabla
Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Klomp, Field, Gherasimencov; Shome, Kobza; Musse, Warschewski, Ntignee; Elva
ALL-TIME SERIES
Atlético Ottawa wins: 11 | Cavalry FC wins: 4 | Draws: 5
LAST MEETING
Sept. 27, 2025 — Atlético Ottawa 0-3 Cavalry FC
KEY QUOTES
“You need to smell all the small details. You need to try to quit the pressure on the players; just enjoy. Finally, to play a final is a gift. Nothing happens if you lose. Nothing happens, it’s just a game. These players that I have in this team, for me the most important thing is the future of all of them. The opportunity we have to play a final, it’s incredible. We play to win, but nothing happens if we can’t get that final.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía
“One team gets to lift the Shield, and we weren’t able to do it. We responded to that by beating the team that did in their home. When it comes to pressure, I feel like the pressure I put on myself to perform outweighs anything that could come from the outside. We’ve far exceeded expectations. If you look at anyone outside of Diego and myself, I think when everyone showed up this year we would’ve said, if they can make it to the playoffs, make it to the final, host the final, they’re playing with borrowed money. I really believe that. As recency bias, since we’ve had such a good season and knocked off Forge, outside pressure tries to make it seem like it’s on us.” — Atlético Ottawa captain Nathan Ingham
“No two Ottawa teams have been the same, they’ve had three different coaches we’ve played against. They’ve gone from being the protagonists to the antagonists. I don’t think it’s necessarily the style or the club, it’s just literally, they’ve had our number in the regular season. But what we’ve learned is it means absolutely nothing if we win the Final on Sunday.” — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
“Experience is the key word. We’ve been here before. We’ve been here in multiple situations, too; hosting it last year, in a position where externally a lot of people probably looked at us as a favourite. Being on the road, not being a favourite, whatever the noise, the media, what’s going on on the outside, the experience is key. Looking back to last season, it’s a huge boon for us that we’ve been in these games before.” — Cavalry FC captain Marco Carducci
