How a Dream Season Led to the Greatest (and Most Canadian) CPL Final Ever

NORTHSCORE/Eli Silverstone

After last week's disappointing Concacaf Champions Cup performance, attention in the nation's capital shifts to defending the  title this spring. Five years after joining the Canadian Premier League (CPL) as the first expansion team in league history, Atletico Ottawa dominated the 2025 campaign. It became the first team in league history to not lose a game at home and set the CPL goals record with 53. This magical season was encapsulated by a uniquely Canadian CPL final that was played in a complete blizzard. The game brought over 780 million eyes to the CPL, qualified Ottawa for the Concacaf Championship Cup, and raised expectations for this upcoming spring.

Ottawa had to build towards that snowy November afternoon in front of their home crowd. 2025 was the season they put it all together. Samuel Salter, a 2023 signee, was named CPL Player of the Year in 2025 after the Striker scored a league-record 20 goals (in 30 games) last season. In March of 2024, the squad signed Midfielder Manny Aparicio whose shining moments came when he assisted both game-winning goals in the playoff semi-finals and finals. That semi-finals win  came against the top seeded Hamilton Forge who had never lost a game at home in their club’s history (previously 58-0 with five draws).

But the last piece that they needed to get over the hump was midfielder David Rodriguez. After leading the league in assists with nine, Rodriguez turned his attention to goal scoring in the finals. With Atletico down 1-0 in the 39th minute to the Calgary Cavalry and the green grass turned to snow, Rodriguez would score what would be known as the “Icicle Kick.”The ball bounced off the snow up to the height of Rodriguez’s shoulder and he jumped up, making his body parallel to the ground, and then bicycle kicked the ball off the crossbar and into the net. The goal and nature of the game quickly made the rounds on social media, with the video reaching over one billion views. The video may have reinforced some Canadian weather-stereotypes as it was seen in over 174 countries. 

At the time of the goal, the game was not even at halftime. With the poor conditions, no one scored in the second half – that was until the 106th minute mark in overtime, when Rodriguez fully put his stamp on the game. On a beautiful through ball by Aparicio, Rodriguez outraced Calgary’s goaltender to put Ottawa up 2-1 before crashing into a snowbank. After an hour and a half of gameplay, five breaks to clear the snow and an hour delay between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, the hometown Ottawa fans went crazy.

The Concacaf Champions Cup

By capturing their first North Star Cup, Atletico Ottawa qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup, the top tournament for clubs from North America, South America and the Caribbean. Ottawa drew Nashville FC, a squad from Major League Soccer (MLS) who have made the playoffs six of their seven seasons in the league.  . The loss was technically a home match for Ottawa but, due to construction at TD Place, the game was played in Hamilton. Despite Ottawa’s previous success while playing in the cold, on Feb. 17 they lost 2-0 to Nashville. When they traveled to Nashville for the second game, it got even worse. They lost 5-0. Now this may look bad for Ottawa, but the CPL in general simply did not perform well as a league in the tournament. The two other teams, Vancouver FC and Halifax Forge FC, were also eliminated in two games. The three teams together scored only one goal, while allowing 19 in the six games they played. 

2026 Repeat?

The lineup that took on Nashville was missing some strong contributors from the finals including Salter and Rodriguez, but still had seven players who played in last November's final. The poor showing against Nashville is unfortunate, but losing to a team that plays in a stronger league shouldn’t be seen as an indication of how the upcoming season will look. Ottawa’s squad should still be title contenders in the CPL due to their returning young defense and some exciting new transfers. 

Ottawa saw over 10,000 minutes played by members of their team who were under 21-years-old last season, including defender Noah Abatneh who became the first Atletico Ottawa player to get a call up to the Canadian Men’s Senior National Team last month. There’s also Roni Mbomio, who completed his permanent transfer from Spanish club Atletico Madrid this offseason and two other defenders – hometown kid Tyr Duhaney-Walker and Loic Cloutier, who had 38 interceptions and a 72% tackle percentage last season in 31 games – who will be 22 this season . 

Ottawa allowed 28 goals last season which was second-best in the CPL. The hope is their young, returning defenders will be able to help out their new goalie. Last month, former Ottawa goalie Nathan Ingham signed with the Cavalry, leaving room for Paris Saint Germain product and transfer Garrisone Innocent to take the net. 

Aparicio re-signed for another two years this offseason. The midfielder wore the captain's armband against Nashville and likely will throughout the spring and summer as well.

But quite possibly the most important person returning is head coach Diego Mejia, who led Ottawa to last year’s magical season and will be tasked with trying to replicate it again in 2026.