The Cavalry took care of business on the prairies before it takes on some Whitecaps.
Cavalry FC outlasted York9 1-0 Sunday at Atco Field in Spruce Meadows to remain undefeated in the Canadian Premier League fall season with a 3-0 record.
“Today we wanted to make sure we could continue, we got two clean sheets in a row,” said FC coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “I thought our attacker players had a strong side today, we just lacked that end product.”
Cavalry keeper Marco Carducci picked up his league-leading seventh clean sheet of the season.
He received plenty of help.
“I have to give credit to the team in front of me,” said Carducci, who played for the Foothills FC championship squad based in Okotoks last year.
“A clean sheet starts from our #9 all the way back to me. I give credit to the team in front of me for doing the work.”
It was a rare 1-0 victory in which the victor didn’t get credit with a goal.
Cavalry took the 1-0 lead about four minutes into the game when attacker Jordan Brown, taking a deft pass from Oliver Thomal Minatel, rifled a shot which was stopped by York9 goalkeeper Nathan Ingham, who gave up a rebound. A York9 clearing pass ricochet off a teammate and into the net.
York9's Luca Gasparotto was charged with an own goal (Brown is not credited with a goal).
York9 appeared to have tied the game at 1-1 when Kyle Porter slipped a grounder past Carducci late in the first half, but it was called back for being offside.
Porter was snake-bit by Carducci.
In the second half, a diving Carducci stopped a point-blank shot from Porter in the final minutes.
Brown, who has been in-and-out of the Cavalry’s starting line-up, was a force throughout the match.
Wheeldon gave York9 full credit.
“They play a nice brand of football — they’ve got different elements, they can build the ball out or they can play directly, which we saw in the last 10 minutes. It posed a problem.
“For us it’s just really good to get another three points, get another clean sheet and just moving on with confidence.”
The first-year Cavalry will now play the biggest game of its short history when it ventures to Vancouver to take on the Major League Soccer’s Whitecaps at B.C. Place on July 24 in what is the second game of the Canadian Championships third round series.
The two teams tied at 0-0 on July 10 at Atco Field.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for the Cavalry’s goalkeeper. He was a member of the Whitecaps Academy, despite growing up in Calgary.
“We just want to go in there and win,” Carducci said. “I’ll reflect on my time there afterwards."
The Cavalry’s next Canadian Premier League is July 27 when it travels to Winnipeg to take on the Valour.
For more information go to cavalryfc.canpl.ca
