Cavalry FC is relentless in achieving first victory of the CPL 2024 campaign

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Tommy Wheeldon Jr. wanted ruthlessness in his offense.

The Cavalry FC player did that, and then some, on Friday night in a 3-1 rout of visiting Vancouver FC at ATCO Field.

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Pleading for their soccer charges to finally get their first win of the 2024 Canadian Premier League campaign, they responded in kind, and in electric fashion, highlighted by Toby Warschewski’s brace and Charlie Trafford’s first goal for the club from his hometown.

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“It was fun,” Trafford said, moments after the night of good vibes at Spruce Meadows. “I thought it was pretty cool. We’re going to get three; we probably could have had more.

“It felt comfortable, it felt clinical.”

In fact, the dominant Cavalry (1-2-1) might have made things worse for Vancouver FC (2-0-2) in front of 2,876 fans.

“We had something from everyone,” Wheeldon said on his 45th birthday. “And I really thought it could have been more.

“I like the way they responded.”

Just like two weeks ago, to kick off the Canadian Championship with a 1-0 win over visiting Vancouver FC, it was Warschewski’s goal to open the scoring.

And, again, it went out of his head, as he directed a perfect delivery from distance (again) from teammate Fraser Aird to beat (again) goalkeeper Callum Irving.

The connection between Aird and Warshewski is shaping up to be an exciting execution for the Cavalry.

But the emotion in the 26th minute was nothing compared to that of the next goal: Trafford’s tremendous run and touch in the 38th.

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“I don’t remember, I think he fainted,” Trafford, 31, said of a dazzling effort in which he picked up the ball in midfield and ran into the box before hitting it hard with his left foot. to the other side past Irving.

“It was brilliant to see,” Wheeldon said of the veteran’s goal. “I think he thought it was Paul Pogba, and he went on and on and on.”

“The space kept opening up,” Trafford continued of his first goal in more than 50 games for the Cavalry. “I don’t think his team knew why he was there. I enjoyed it, I’m not going to lie about it. I’ve been getting a lot of stick for not scoring here yet, so I have to start running forward with the ball.

“People thought it was going to take me longer than (cousin) Mason (Trafford) to score my first goal, and I couldn’t let that happen.”

The Cavs kept up the pressure early in the second half and eventually scored again after Lleyton Brooks’ shot was stopped by defender Matteo Campagna’s arm in the penalty area, giving the hosts a free kick from the spot. Warschewski stepped up and made no mistake on the penalty kick, scoring it high past veteran Irving in the 60th minute.

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At the other end, Marco Carducci almost kept a clean sheet for the third time in a row, who, again behind brilliant defending, allowed only one goal from Moses Dyer in the 81st minute on a cross into the box that saw the striker go past the goalkeeper of the Cavs. in the work.

The victory puts the Cavalry even with Vancouver FC in the points standings, each with six apiece behind the three current favorites: Forge FC (3-0-0), Atlético Ottawa (2-1-0) and Pacific FC (2-1-0).

And next up for the Cavs is VanCity’s other team, Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps, for a highly anticipated home game of the two-game Canadian Championship second-round series on Tuesday at ATCO Field (7 p.m. , OneSoccer, OneSoccer.ca). .

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Cavs attacker Ali Musse went down early and was eliminated after the club’s first goal. “It wasn’t good,” Wheeldon said. “He was activated and they caught him. I don’t think it was an unpleasant entry or anything like that. It was a bit of an innocuous (collision) between him and Davey Norman, and he couldn’t avoid it. We will have to evaluate it. Unfortunately, he might have doubts for Tuesday.” Defenseman Tom Field also came out midway through the game and could also be out for the Whitecaps game… The Cavalry starting lineup was: goalie Carducci; defenders Aird, Field, Daan Klomp and Bradley Kamdem Fewo; midfielders Trafford, Sergio Camargo and Shamit Shome; and forwards Brooks, Musse and Warschewski… The club’s substitutes were: goalkeeper Jack Barrett; defender Callum Montgomery; midfielders Lucas Dias, Max Piepgrass and Diego Gutiérrez; and forwards Willy Akio and Malcolm Shaw… The Cavs scratch players were: goalie Mitchell Barrett; defenders Eryk Kobza (pinched nerve), Michael Harms and Caden Rogozinski; and midfielders Jesse Daley (leg), Niko Myroniuk and Maël Henry (hamstring).

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