History was made with a first goal of its kind as the Cavs bowed out gracefully in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Following a goalless first half, Orlando SC outlasted Cavalry FC 3-1 on its home ground Tuesday evening to take the two-leg tie 6-1 on aggregate and advance in the continental tournament with the visitors scoring their first goal in club history in the competition.
“It’s a great competition to play in, we’re proud to be here, but we know what we have to do now,” said Cavs striker Myer Bevan, post-match to Concacaf. “We have to come here again and put on a better performance. It was a hard game today, but it was better than last week so hopefully we can build on this for the season and go again.”
Orlando attacking midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro showcased his purple patch of form to match the jersey colour with a low-footed strike past an outstretched Marco Carducci early in the second half.
Bevan, the co-winner of the Golden Boot in 2023 as the CPL’s joint top scorer, became just the third player from the CPL to score in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The talismanic New Zealander got his right foot on a well-placed low cross from Cavalry winger William Akio in the 64th minute.
https://twitter.com/CPLCavalryFC/status/1762638125111931173
Orlando SC regained the lead in short order with an absolute belter on the outside of the box from winger Ramiro Enrique in the 71st minute. Kyle Smith rounded out the scoring with a give-and-go finish in the 88th minute.
Orlando SC won the opening tie 3-0 on Feb. 21, the home leg for Cavalry held at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C.
Cavalry was the only Canadian side remaining in the competition with league rivals Forge knocked out by Mexico’s Chivas and the MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps bounced by Mexico’s powerhouse Tigres.
The Cavs were the first CPL team to play on American soil in Cup history.
Bevan said the tournament experience will only help Cavalry prepare for its league action.
“The boys came in early, it’s been good preparing for this,” he said. “And look, we’re playing against the best in Concacaf now so now we know what the level is and have to get there.”
Voyageurs Cup
From a continental tournament to the Canadian Championship.
Cavalry FC will play CPL foe Vancouver FC at home in the opening round of the Telus Canadian Championship in the April-May period, it was revealed by Soccer Canada on Feb. 23.
The tournament features 14 teams representing five leagues: the CPL, MLS, League1 BC, League1 Ontario and League1 Québec vying for the Voyageurs Cup.
The opening round is a single game elimination with the following stage a traditional home-and-away aggregate format.
The schedule for the competition has not yet been released.
Cavalry FC opens the 2024 CPL regular season on April in Hamilton against Forge FC.
For more information, go to cavsfc.com.
