 TD Place Stadium | |||||||
| Event | 2022 Canadian Premier League season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | October 30, 2022 | ||||||
| Venue | TD Place Stadium,Ottawa,Ontario | ||||||
| Player of the Match | David Choinière(Forge FC) | ||||||
| Referee | Filip Dujic | ||||||
| Attendance | 14,992 | ||||||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy 13 °C (55 °F) 38%humidity[1] | ||||||
←2021 2023 → | |||||||
The2022 Canadian Premier League Final was a soccer match that was the 4th edition of theCPL Finals, the post-season championship of theCanadian Premier League, thetop level ofCanadian soccer. The match determined the winner of the2022 Canadian Premier League season and was played on October 30, 2022, inOttawa, Ontario. It was contested byAtlético Ottawa andForge FC, the winners of the league'stwo semifinal matchups.Pacific FC were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semifinals by Atlético Ottawa.
Forge FC defeated Atlético Ottawa 2–0 to claim their record-extending third CPL title.Alessandro Hojabrpour scored the opening goal in the 28th minute, which turned out to be the match winner.David Choinière scored in the 78th minute and was namedplayer of the match.
| Team | City | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | Ottawa, Ontario | None |
| Forge FC | Hamilton, Ontario | 3 (2019,2020,2021) |
The2022 CPL season was contested by eight teams. Each team played four games against each of the seven opponents for a total of 28 matches.[2] The top-four teams from the regular season qualified for theplayoffs which began on October 15, 2022. The first round featuredtwo-legged semifinals where the first-place team from the season faced the fourth, and the second-place team played the third. Atlético Ottawa and Forge FC were the winners and advanced to the CPL Final, a single match to be hosted by the higher-seeded team.[3][4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Ottawa(S) | 28 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 49 | Advance toplayoffs |
| 2 | Forge(C) | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 47 | |
| 3 | Cavalry | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 47 | |
| 4 | Pacific | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 46 | |
| 5 | Valour | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 37 | |
| 6 | York United | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 31 | 37 | −6 | 34 | |
| 7 | HFX Wanderers | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 29 | |
| 8 | FC Edmonton | 28 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 31 | 51 | −20 | 20 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific FC | 1–3 | Atlético Ottawa | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Cavalry FC | 2–3 | Forge FC | 1–1 | 1–2 |
Improving on a last place finish in 2021, Atlético Ottawa finished the 2022 season with 49 points, capturing the league's regular season title. They then defeated fourth-rankedPacific FC in the semifinal by a score of 3–1 to advance to their first Final.
Forge FC competed in their fourth consecutive Final following wins againstCavalry FC in2019 andHFX Wanderers FC in2020, as well as a defeat to Pacific FC in the2021 Final. Forge finished the regular season in second place, two points behind Atlético Ottawa.
Ottawa and Forge met four times during the season with each team recording one win, one loss, and two draws. The two teams conceded the fewest goals in the CPL in 2022 with Ottawa allowing 29 goals and Forge, 25 goals.
Forge was without their captainKyle Bekker in the Final because he received ared card in the second leg of the semifinals againstrivals Cavalry FC, resulting in a suspension.[6] Forge appealed the suspension and were able to get it reduced to two games; however, Bekker remained ineligible for the Final.[7]
On the Friday prior to the Final,Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson of Forge FC earned CPL Defender of the Year honours, while Atlético Ottawa'sCarlos González was named Coach of the Year andOllie Bassett was named Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year.[8][9][10][11]
The CPL Final was broadcast onOneSoccer in Canada and globally. Internationally, the match was broadcast byFox Sports in the United States,BT Sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Flow Sports in the Caribbean, and Hi! Sports TV in Mexico.[12]
The match was played in front of a crowd of 14,992 fans atTD Place Stadium.[13]DefenderDiego Espejo returned to Atlético Ottawa's lineup after serving a suspension in leg 2 of the semifinals.[14][15] Forge stuck with their usual4–3–3 formation, insertingNoah Jensen into the lineup for the suspendedKyle Bekker.[14]
Forge FC began the match on the offensive with Atlético absorbing pressure and looking to counter-attack.[14]Alessandro Hojabrpour opened the scoring for Forge in the 28th minute on a header from afree kick byTristan Borges, his second goal in as manyfinals.[16][17] Atlético began playing more offensively late in the first half seeking to score an equalizer before half time, but were unable to get a shot on goal.[16]
Forge came out strong to begin the second half with Borges andAboubacar Sissoko forcing Atlético goalkeeperNathan Ingham to make a pair of early big saves. In the 75th minute,Sergio Camus came close to scoring an equalizer for Atlético but was denied by Forge goalkeeperTriston Henry.[14][16]
David Choinière scored a second goal for Forge in the 78th minute to make the score 2–0. While both teams made several tactical substitutions in the later stages of the match, neither team scored any additional goals, resulting in Forge winning 2–0.[14]
Forge held a larger share of ball possession time in the match (55 per cent to 45 per cent) and completed more passes than Atlético (453 to 377).[18] Following the match, the CPL announced that David Choinière was theplayer of the match.[19][20]
        Atlético Ottawa |    Forge |
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Player of the Match: | |
Assistant referees: | Match rules[21]
|
| Statistic | Atlético Ottawa | Forge FC |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 0 | 2 |
| Total shots | 7 | 12 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 4 |
| Blocked shots | 3 | 3 |
| Ball possession | 45% | 55% |
| Passes | 378 | 454 |
| Corner kicks | 3 | 8 |
| Fouls conceded | 14 | 11 |
| Offsides | 0 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Having made it to four consecutiveCPL Finals and having now won three of them, the Canadian Premier League and members of the media declared Forge FC to be adynasty.[14][20][23][24][25][26]
The CPL later namedBobby Smyrniotis as the Manager of the Month for October andDavid Choinière as the Player of the Month for October for their roles in leading Forge to the championship.[27][28][29][30]
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