RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific FC vs. Cavalry FC | September 13, 2026

Cavalry's red-hot run of form has continued, as they beat Pacific 1-0 at Starlight Stadium to pick up their fifth straight win in CPL play, extending their unbeaten run to eight games in the process. 

With that, they've now also secured their berth in the 2026 CPL playoffs, while also maintaining their lead atop the CPL Shield race at four points ahead of Forge FC, who they face in Calgary next week in what is expected to be a decisive match in the Shield race. 

Pacific, meanwhile, avoided mathematical elimination from the playoffs, although after this defeat, they now need to win all of their remaining matches to stay alive, starting with a Salish Sea Derby clash against Vancouver FC next weekend - and even that is unlikely to be enough for them. 

Returning to this game, however, both teams traded chances early on, as they looked to find an early opening goal. 

At one end, Cavalry's Eryk Kobza sliced a header just wide of goal in the 11th minute, before Pacific's Diego Konincks sent a header of his own wide of the mark in the 17th minute. Then, looking to continue their solid start, Pacific's Yann Toualy had a look at goal from distance, but he sent his shot over the bar. 

From there, though, Pacific found their best chance of the game in the 38th minute, as Marco Bustos whipped in a dangerous free kick for Konincks to attack at the back post, but his header sailed just wide of the post. 

On the other side of half-time, Cavalry came out with some new energy, as they looked to take control of the game. To their credit, they nearly found a pivotal goal in the 49th minute, as Tobias Warschewski found the space to fire a low shot from distance, but he was denied by the post despite beating Pacific goalkeeper Sean Melvin with his attempt. 

At the other end, Toualy was able to generate a much more dangerous chance for himself in the 68th minute, as he cut inside and fired a shot that sliced just wide of the post. 

Cavalry, meanwhile, was able to find another good look at goal moments later, but despite finding the space to fire off a good left-footed shot, Owen Antoniuk, who had just come onto the field minutes earlier as a substitute, sent his shot right at Melvin. 

Soon after, though, Cavalry would be able to find their lead, as they used their quality on set-pieces to their advantage. 

Naturally, it'd start with Warschewski, who entered the game having generated a league-high eight assists, as he whipped in a perfect ball for Daan Klomp to attack, and the Cavalry defender attacked it perfectly and headed home to put his team up 1-0. With that, not only did Warschewski extend his lead atop the assist chart with his ninth assist, but he tied Sean Rea (2022) and David Rodríguez (2025) for the CPL's single-season assist record in the process. 

Wanting to generate a response to that goal, Pacific nearly found an equalizer in the 89th minute, as Max Piepgrass fired a dangerous shot from distance, but he was denied a goal against his old team after an acrobatic save from Cavalry's Nathan Ingham. 

From there, though, Pacific would be unable to find any further chances in the last few moments of the game, allowing Cavalry to pick up a pivotal victory. 

In particular, it'll stand out to Cavalry that they were able to pick up all three points, instead of just one - while they would've still clinched a playoff berth with a draw, the fact that they were able to win was crucial for their CPL Shield ambitions with that pivotal head-to-head clash against Forge looming next week. 

Pacific, meanwhile, will have to console themselves with the fact that they put in a good performance against the league leaders, who they've only beaten once in their last 19 meetings, even if they'll be frustrated they didn't turn that into any points. Such is the challenge of playing this Cavalry side right now, who have remained a hard unit to beat, thanks to their strength on both sides of the ball, as they lead the league in both goals scored (41) and goals conceded (12) for a reason.

Box Score

Starting XIs

Pacific FC: Melvin; Chung, Keshavarz (Marshall 86'), Konincks, Greco-Taylor; Piepgrass, Juhmi (Browning Lagerfeldt 46'); Bustos (Vales 64'), Daniels (Díaz 54'), Toualy; Kratt (Hundal 54')

Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman (Ntignee 65'), Klomp, Didić, Kamdem; Camargo, Kobza; Myroniuk (Ayari 74'), Warschewski, Edwards; Elva (Antoniuk 65')

Goals

*81' - Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)
*

Discipline

*15' - Yellow: Eryk Kobza (Cavalry FC)

28' - Yellow: Ronan Kratt (Pacific FC)

30' - Yellow: Terry Dunfield (Pacific FC)