Atletico Ottawa, which finished atop the Canadian Premier League regular-season standings, will host Pacific FC in the opening match of the two-legged CPL semifinal.
Top-seeded Ottawa (13-5-10, 49 points) will visit No. 4 Pacific (13-8-7, 46 points) next Saturday in a matchup of first and worst from 2021. Pacific won the CPL title last year while Ottawa finished last in the regular-season standings.
No. 2 Forge FC (14-9-5, 47 points) goes to No. 3 Cavalry FC (14-9-5 47 points) in the opening leg of the other semifinal Saturday. Hamilton's Forge finished second by virtue of goal difference, plus-22 compared to Cavalry's plus-six.
The second legs will be played Oct. 23 in Ottawa and Hamilton, respectively.
The four playoffs teams were already decided heading into the final weekend of the regular season, although seedings had yet to be determined. Ottawa was guaranteed top spot in the standings after Pacific's 1-0 loss to Cavalry FC, while Forge moved into second with a 1-0 win over HFC Wanderers FC.
Ottawa tied visiting York United FC 2-2 on Sunday.
The single-leg CPL championship game will be played Oct. 29 or 30, depending on the host club. The highest-seeded team remaining in the competition will host the final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2022
The Canadian Press
