Latest news with #TommyWheeldonJr.
Calgary Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Cavalry, Wild FC both host weekend soccer with sport's attendance on upswing in Calgary
Article content For the first time in Calgary's storied sports history, professional soccer for both genders will be played in the city on the same weekend. Article content Cavalry FC, the well-established Calgary men's side of the Canadian Premier League, suits up Saturday at Spruce Meadows. Article content And Calgary Wild FC, the upstart crew of first-ever pro females representing YYC, take the pitch Sunday at McMahon Stadium. Article content Article content It seems footie on the big stage is, indeed, on the rise here. Article content Article content 'It made me proud as a Calgarian to see the support Wild got for their home opener,' praised Cavalry GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr., of the 8,556 fans on hand last Sunday for the Northern Super League debut at the grand ol' ball park. Article content 'It looked like a great event — watched the highlights,' continued Wheeldon, himself absent from the Wild kick-off due to travels with his own charges back from Halifax. 'And I look forward to catching a game there pretty soon as a fan.' Many a Calgarian did catch that milestone moment, relishing what is hoped among the soccer community to be the next big step for the sport in a city which has been hot and — mostly — cold for its pro footie teams over the decades. Article content Lately, that temperature has been on the rise with each passing year thanks to the success of Cavalry, which has seen its game attendance improve by 28% to a 4,500 per-game average since its kickoff in 2019 and ticking up towards 5,000 per match this year. Article content Article content Combined with the Wild being introduced to Calgarians with 8,500-plus in the stands of McMahon, it certainly means the appetite for soccer is continuing to grow around these parts. Article content Article content 'Inspirational, yeah,' Wheeldon declared when asked what last Sunday's Wild game — and its draw of support — meant to the community. Article content 'We use the term a lot about, 'If you can see it, you can be it,' right? And you see that in a lot of the young groups that walk out with us on the pitch, to the club programs that we run, to the pathway that we have … and it's been great. We've been able to be aspirational pieces. Article content That, of course, is to watch the men representing Calgary, who square off Saturday against visiting Pacific FC at ATCO Field (3:30 p.m., TSN2,
Calgary Herald
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Canadian Championship kick-off 'a great distraction' for struggling Cavalry FC
Article content A reboot is needed for struggling Cavalry FC. Article content Being winless through three matches to start the Canadian Premier League season certainly wasn't the vision of the defending playoff kings. Article content So bring on the TELUS Canadian Championship, with a chance to change the channel and start anew for the Calgary's professional men's footie side in Canada's domestic soccer tournament. Article content Article content 'Freshness is what's needed,' said Cavalry GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr., ahead of Tuesday night's 'Battle of the North' opener with visiting Edmonton Scottish United SC at ATCO Field (7 p.m., OneSoccer, Article content Article content 'We've seen it every year where there's patches of results and you're like, 'That just didn't go our way,'' continued Wheeldon. 'That's football. It's sports. It's life. And that's what we've said to lads. It's a terrific bunch of footballers that just need a bit of mental reboot. Article content 'And this Canadian Championship is a great distraction.' Article content The Can Champ — nicknamed the 'Battle of the North' — is the country's domestic soccer tournament held annually and contested by Canadian professional and — now — semi-pro teams. Article content Article content The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Article content Article content It's an event run by the Canadian Soccer Association to crown a champion among pro and semi-pro teams across the nation, no matter what league they play in.
Calgary Herald
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Calgary's Elva scores his first goal for hometown club, but Cavalry fall to Ottawa
Calgary's own Caniggia Elva counted his first goal ever for his home-town soccer side in Canadian Premier League action. Article content That was the good Saturday at ATCO Field. Article content The rest, however, was bad for Cavalry FC — a 3-1 loss to visiting Atlético Ottawa in disappointing fashion to keep the local footie heroes winless to start the 2025 CPL season. Article content Good, bad and … yeah … a continued ugly opining to the campaign, for sure. Article content Article content 'It might take a little bit of time,' said frustrated GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr., when asked to dissect the decision that dropped his Cavalry to 0W-2L-1D. Article content Article content 'We're not used to losing at home. That's only our third loss in three seasons at Spruce Meadows.' Article content This one came because of early missed chances that weren't converted, although give credit to Ottawa goalkeeper Nathan Ingham for an outstanding afternoon. Article content But it didn't stay that way for long, as in the second half, Cavalry defender Bradley Kamdem Fewo factored into the bottom line — and not in a good way. First, a ball hit by Gabriel Mendes Antinoro glanced off his shoulder to fool Cavalry goalie Marco Carducci in the 59th minute. Article content Article content Then Kamdem put an elbow into Atleti foe Sergei Kozlowvkiy and was shown a red card, and shortly after, the visitors notched another goal — Ballou Tabla in the 66th minute on another ball that easily evaded Carducci. Article content 'I think it's one that got away,' Wheeldon said. 'They scored on their chances, and we didn't score on ours.'
CBC
06-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
CPL champion Cavalry FC ready for CONCACAF Champions Cup challenge in Mexico's Pumas
Cavalry FC coach and general manager Tommy Wheeldon Jr. concedes the Canadian Premier League champions will have to punch above their weight against Mexico's Pumas UNAM in CONCACAF Champions Cup play Thursday. But he has faith his players can step up at Starlight Stadium. "We've got to be mentally prepared. We've got to be tactically prepared," Wheeldon said. "And I think the boys are in a really good mindset to take on the Pumas." While the opening leg of the first-round series was shifted to Vancouver Island to escape wintry conditions in Alberta for the second year in a row, Mother Nature has not co-operated. There were some eight to 10 centimetres of snow on the ground Wednesday, with a temperature of –1 C. The forecast for Thursday evening is clear and –3 C. "We asked the good people of Langford to help make us feel at home," joked Wheeldon. "And that they've done. They've packed the snowbanks and it does feel like home." The return leg is Feb. 13 at Mexico City's Estadio Olimpico Universitario with the series winner moving on to face Costa Rica's Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in the round of 16. The Calgary-based side lost to Major League Soccer's Orlando City at last year's tournament. Pumas have won the Champions Cup three times (1980, '82 and '89) and finished runner-up twice (2005 and '22). The Mexican side made it to the quarterfinals last year before losing a penalty shootout to the eventual runner-up Columbus Crew. Pumas currently sit seventh in the Liga MX Clausura at 2-1-2 after finishing fourth in the Apertura at 9-4-4. "Listen, they're a terrific side. Very well organized," said Wheeldon. "We know that they're going to be a tough opponent. So we have to be at the best we are in the situation we're in. The lads know it." Wheeldon has managed to keep his championship roster largely intact. But star Dutch defender Daan Klomp, out of contract after last season, is currently with Australia's Adelaide United and forward Malcolm Shaw's 2025 contract option was declined. "The more you're in this game, the more you realize that continuity's important and chemistry's hard to teach," said Wheeldon. "It took us a while. We were slow starters last year after having an exceptional regular season in '23. But we had a few injuries, so we need depth in every single position. We need more game-changers available to us. "But the chemistry and continuity, we're further ahead now than we were in the pre-season last year. In some of the things we're doing, we're recognizing patterns, strategies a lot quicker and sharper. Our biggest hurdle to climb is just getting these guys to match fitness with a very short pre-season." Cavalry reported back to training on Jan. 6 before travelling to California for 10 days. Wheeldon said the Orlando series last year was a learning experience. Cavalry was beaten 3-0 in the first leg in Langford before falling 3-1 in Florida. "We went at them toe-to-toe, to see where we would face up and we were beaten by a better side," he said. "We had some wonderful moments in it, but not enough to win a leg or win a tie." Cavalry's goal since has been to "even the scales a little bit," Wheeldon said. Cavalry added offence with St. Lucia international forward Caniggia Elva arriving earlier this month from Rot-Weiss Erfurt in Germany. Born in St. Lucia, Elva grew up in Calgary before moving to Germany at 18 to join VfB Stuttgart. Now 28, the former Canadian youth international has five goals in 12 appearances for St. Lucia. Winger Jay Herdman has joined the team full time after arriving last September on loan. Incumbent striker Tobias Warschewski led the league in goals (14) and shots (69) last season when Cavalry ranked third in the league with 48 goals in 28 games. Ali Musse contributed four goals. "We're going to need the starters and we're going to need the finishers," Wheeldon said. "Fortunately we're going to have some experienced Cavalry players on the bench." The only Cavalry players unavailable are midfielder Mael Henry, who has been sidelined by injury since last August, and young forward Chanan Chanda, who didn't travel after taking a knock in training. Cavalry had the league's stingiest defence, conceding just 28 goals, with goalkeeper Marco Carducci posting a league-best nine shutouts. Cavalry finished atop the CPL regular-season standings in both 2019 and 2023 and made the championship game three times, finally winning in November when it downed Forge 2-1. That title earned Cavalry a place back in the Champions Cup. Pumas earned its berth as the third-best club in the 2023-2024 Liga MX aggregate table.
CBC
28-01-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Cavalry FC able to continue pre-season camp in California despite nearby wildfires
After being put on evacuation alert due to a wildfire near its pre-season training base outside of San Diego, Canadian Premier League champion Cavalry FC will likely be able to finish out its California camp without problem. Cavalry has been training since Jan. 19 in Chula Vista, located some 15 kilometres south of San Diego. The team has been preparing for the Feb. 6 start of its two-legged CONCACAF Champions Cup series against Mexico's Pumas UNAM. An evacuation alert issued by local authorities at 3:30 a.m. local time Friday threatened to disrupt the camp. But the travelling squad of 27 players and 11 coaching/support staff was able to stay put. "It's fine," Cavalry coach head coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said Monday from California. "We had a couple of days of rain." But it still made for "a very strange 24 to 48 hours, to be honest," he added. Cavalry is slated to return to Calgary on Wednesday as scheduled with Wheeldon saying the only disruption from the fires was a scheduled Friday friendly with the Columbus Crew. The fixture was called off when the MLS team, which was due to leave California after the game, decided to leave early due to the fires. "We just went to a different location. A day later, the smoke had cleared and back to training," Wheeldon said. Wheeldon said that while the team could see a wildfire on a mountain opposite, fortunately, there was a reservoir in between. He said the squad is no stranger to smelling smoke from wildfires, having had to deal in Calgary with the smoke from past fires in northern Alberta and B.C. With the Columbus game cancelled, the team went to the beach for the day and returned to training at a different location the day after. U.S. Soccer opted to move its under-17 men's and under-16 women's training camps from Chula Vista to Mesa, Ariz., due to the wildfires. The two camps, originally slated to start Sunday, began Monday at the new location. The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center sits on a 63-hectare complex adjacent to Lower Otay Reservoir. It boasts sports venues and support facilities for more than a dozen summer Olympic and Paralympic sports, and cross-training abilities for various winter sports. "It's an excellent facility," said Wheeldon.
