A Canadian Heritage Moment in the Making: The Canadian Premier League Final
by Hasan Ahmed
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The story of how the home final went down
Date: November 26th, 2025
Author: Hasan Ahmed
Sunday, October 30, the scene was set, Ottawa’s professional soccer team was in the final against titans, Forge Football Club, from Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton’s stadium was alive, and when Ottawa lost to the now 4 time champions and toughest team in the league, Ottawa had their heads down. That was 2022.
Three years later, Forge FC maintains the title of the toughest team in the Canadian Premier League, only now that title is contested by the new, young Ottawa team, and the fierce Calgary soccer team, Cavalry Football Club. Starting off the season with one game winning, proven strategy, Atlético took to the tops. The team knew their strategy, with heavy offence, wide play, and deep defence opening gaps and pushing forward - but teams struggled to keep up with that fast paced play. The only teams that had a chance against them- Cavalry and Forge- struggled to keep up, losing on most matchups. The team wasn't starstudded. it was going to be. The pinnacle of Canadian Football or Soccer is the Canadian Premier League. It boasts teams in almost every province, thousands of fans, and big rivalries. The relatively new league has been established as a highly competitive and strong league capable of good professional soccer in a country often written off as a good “soccer country”. The league takes teams to different cities for 32 games every year, followed by playoffs, ending conclusively with a League Winner; the team that did the best in the regular season is awarded the CPL Shield Trophy, and the winner of the North Star Cup; the playoff final. Ottawa’s trophy cabinet has so far been left unopened. Besides the one addition of the CPL Community Shield years ago, they were starving for more. With their new strategy, young players, and a new coach fans supported, Ottawa was poised from the start to have a strong season; at the minimum.
As the 2024-2025 season progressed the team was constantly right up there in the top 3. However, when the playoffs hit, reeling from Hamilton’s Forge FC lifting the Canadian Premier League Title Trophy, it was looking like a showdown between Hamilton, Calgary, Ottawa, and York. Ottawa had the ball rolling, decisively eliminating York FC from the mix right before the long anticipated matchup of Forge and Atlético Ottawa. After a rivalry fuelled game, Ottawa put Forge’s Double Trophy hopes to a screeching halt. It was set. Ottawa was set to host the Canadian Premier League Playoff Final at TD Place, in the heart of Lansdowne. The win in Hamilton cemented the Ottawa team as the team to watch. With Ottawa hosting the final, news quickly came that Calvary defeated York and Forge to make it to the final.
With a forecast of the first snowfall of the year, Atlético fans poured into downtown, Glebe, Bank street, and the Lansdowne Stadium right where all the fanfare was epicentered. By the time all thirteen-thousand eight hundred fans marched in, wearing red and white for the team, and white again from the snow, sun had set: not that it mattered when the wind and snow created a storm of snowflakes covering everything beyond the top of the stadium and the pitch. Crews of shovel-holding volunteers and trucks mounted with plows opened up the field to show a soccer field which reassembled beach soccer- only a little colder and a lot whiter. Scarves bound tight like packing tape, Ottawa was ready for the season finale.
From one end to the other the ball travelled, players quickly learned that the best way to get a good touch on the ball was in the air; where snow didn’t interfere. Atlético took advantage of that newly adopted strategy which had the effect of also having each and every one of the almost fourteen thousand fans up swinging their game towels.
Then came the boos. Just a little into the game, a Cavalry player went down in the penalty box, the ball at his toes, he had a real shot of making an attempt on the goalie. Whistle. The ref pointing to the spot. Penalty. To the spot, with a short run to the ball, we had our fingers crossed as the Calgary player took the kick. Score. Shocked, the crowd only grew louder, 1-0 early on with lots of time left in the half, it wasn't a big deal.
Ottawa players shook it off and not 20 minutes later we were out of our seats again. Calgary had the ball kicked out of bounds for an exciting Ottawa corner kick. Any play with proximity to the two goal posts was a threat, and this was no different. A curling kick took the ball straight to the head of a Calgary defender who had it farther from goal. Then it was intercepted, and kicked up in the air towards the net. The ball in the air, Ottawa’s David Rodriguez floated above the ground and kicked the ball in mid air. The ball soared over the head of the goalkeeper. Players stagnant. It was a goal. Everyone in the stands was jumping and cheering, the goal was sensational. A clinical bicycle kick had us visualizing the trophy lift even at 1-1.
From there it was smooth sailing as both sides had good chances and attempts.
The suspense of the tie built up to the 90th minute. Almost 3 hours after kickoff, fans dispersed around TD Place as crews and trucks worked for almost an hour to clear the pitch of centimetres and centimetres of snow. Fans flocked to the Ottawa 67’s game taking place just under the stadium, with hundreds of Atlético Ottawa fans watching and cheering on the 67’s having entered with no barrier to entry. The atmosphere was electric everywhere you went, despite the weather, long lines for concessions, and visible dismay on the faces of fans waiting for the pitch to reopen.
Finally fans took their seats again, both teams agreed to continue to overtime and not proceed to penalties. The nerve wrecking final 30 minutes was the hardest to watch, every run towards the home team’s net was a heart attack. We were on the verge of possibly winning our first Canadian Premier League Final.
Nearing the 110th minute, the Ottawa side was pressure locked to the Calgary half. The ball and those wielding it were a constant threat of the game winning goal. Then it all fell into place. Our very own bicycle kick-capable forward went for the shot again. Score. This time the cheering didn’t stop. It was game over, too soon to call it completely ours on paper, but fans saw this as handing the silver medals to our rivals. With time hitting 120 minutes and extra time coming to an end, Calgary was thwarted by the defence and offence of the home team. Fans stormed the stands closest to the pitch to see the trophy lift. A long awaited and never to be forgotten moment.
Since then, Ottawa’s win and the unbelievable bicycle kick in snowy Canadian weather has been dubbed the “Icicle kick” and has since garnered more than 1 billion views on social media. News coverage of the Canadian League reached an all time high and the winning team is now touring Ottawa with the trophy going to places like the PWHL opening game, the Ottawa Senators, Algonquin College, and CHEO Hospital.
A season to remember, and a core memory for myself, this Canadian Heritage Moment is one to relive and revisit for seasons to come.
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