Cavalry fall to Vancouver in penalties in Canadian Championship quarters
The chase for the 2025 Canadian Championship is over for Cavalry FC.
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A loss in a penalty shootout to visiting Vancouver FC on Tuesday night at ATCO Field left the Calgary club heartbroken and ended this year's run for the Voyageurs Cup.
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'I think obviously we're disappointed,' said Cavalry midfield star Shamit Shome after the 1-1 result, decided by penalty kicks that favoured the Vancouver squad 5-4 at Spruce Meadows. 'We wanted to push together to get to the semifinals for the first time in a while.'
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A win, indeed, would've pushed Cavalry onto the penultimate round of 'The Battle of the North' — a place the club reached once before back in the inaugural season.
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Six years later and with both a league and playoff championship under their belts, the Cavs seem primed to make it back to at least the semi round.
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Instead after Tuesday's decision, it's Vancouver FC off to play either Canadian Premier League rival Valour FC or Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps FC. That tie is at 2-2 with Leg 2 in the total-goal series set for Wednesday night at Vancouver's BC Place.
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The penalty shootout saw Tobias Warschewski miss for Cavalry before teammates Caniggia Elva, Mihail Gherasimencov, Fraser Aird, Ali Musse all scored. Then it was Maël Henry saved by the Vancouver goalie Callum Irving.
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For Vancouver, it was Nicolás Mazquida, David Norman Jr., Aidan O'Connor, Terran Campbell and Juan Batista converting penalty kicks on Cavalry goalie Marco Carducci. Teammate Thomas Powell missed his chance.
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The visitors got on the board first when Mazquida converted a penalty kick in the 23rd minute.
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Levi Laing was charged with taken down a Vancouver FC forward in the box, leading to the shot from the dot that Mazquida hammered past Carducci.
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After that goal, 'They defended their socks off,' said Cavalry gaffer Tommy Wheeldon Jr.
The home side, however, did get the goal back in the 66th minute on a weird play.
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Cavalry defender Mihail Gherasimencov chased down a corner kick that was redirected beyond the top of the box and fired a ball that deflected into the net off injured — and prone — O'Connor.
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