Cavalry FC looks to finish off huge upset over Pumas in Concacaf Champions Cup

Cavalry FC made history last week in the opening leg of its first-round series in the Concacaf Champions Cup. 

A 2-1 decision over Pumas UNAM marked the first time a Canadian Premier League team registered a victory in Concacaf’s premier club competition. The result sent shockwaves throughout the Concacaf region as it was also the first time a CPL team beat an opponent from Liga MX, Mexico’s top division. 

Now, Cavalry is on the precipice of making history again. A win or draw in Thursday’s return leg against Pumas at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City would see Cavalry become the first CPL outfit to advance beyond the opening round of the Concacaf competition.  

Should the Calgary-based club get the necessary result in the second leg, it would meet Costa Rica's Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup. 

Reaching the later stages of the Champions Cup represents the next frontier for the Cavalry, who last November won its first CPL championship after previously finishing runners-up on two occasions. Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. argues advancement in this tournament would also be a massive statement for Canada’s top domestic league in its continuing battle for respect, especially as the country gets set to co-host next summer’s FIFA World Cup. 

“This is a huge moment, not just for us but for the CPL. These are respect points, as I call them, because you're gaining a bit of respect across all of Concacaf. And I think that's even more important as we're nearing the World Cup in 2026 coming to Mexico, U.S. and Canada. We've got to make sure that our league is also being recognized,” Wheeldon Jr. told Sportsnet. 

Posting major upsets is nothing new for Cavalry, giving it even more hope that it can pull off another one in Mexico City. 

During the club’s inaugural 2019 CPL season, it shockingly earned a 2-1 road win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the third round of the Canadian Championship to send the MLS side crashing out of the domestic cup competition. The victory was the first time a CPL outfit registered a victory against an MLS club, an amazing feat at the time considering Cavalry was still in its infancy as a franchise.  

Last year, the Cavs upset the Whitecaps in the second leg of their Canadian Championship quarterfinal, only to see the MLS side advance on the away goals rule. 

“We beat them on their home turf twice, and we’ve talked about that this week; just our ability to be able to defeat anybody that's put in front of us. We've got an ability to rise up to the opponent and the moment,” Wheeldon Jr. said. 

Last week’s win was a remarkable achievement for Cavalry on so many fronts. 

Pumas is historically one of the biggest and strongest teams in Concacaf, having won this Concacaf tournament three times. Their multi-million-dollar roster, which dwarfs Cavalry’s by comparison, features Brazilian Nathan Silva and Spaniard Rubén Duarte, who used to play for Espanyol and Deportivo Alavés in La Liga. 

The team from Mexico City is also in the middle of its Liga MX campaign. In contrast, Cavalry’s previous match going into the first leg was its North Star Cup victory over Hamilton's Forge FC in last November’s CPL championship final. 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the opener of this series wasn’t a true home game for Cavalry. Due to weather concerns in Calgary, the game was moved to Langford, B.C.  

What was the key to the Cavs’ stunning victory? An approach that married self-belief with a healthy dose of respect for Pumas. 

“I said to the boys, let's believe in each other and our ability to try and get something out this leg, and also have respect for the opponent that we're facing. You know, this is a tournament that Pumas has won three times. They're a veteran team, one of the top teams in Liga MX, so we’ve got to respect them in their environment. But definitely won't fear them,” Wheeldon Jr. said. 

After going down 1-0 after conceding right before halftime, Cavalry valiantly fought back and equalized early in the second half through midfielder Charlie Trafford’s volley off a feed from Ali Musse. Then in the 80th minute, the home side took the lead thanks to a great team goal.  

Musse brilliantly tracked down the ball on the right wing before sending a dangerous cross into the box for Jay Herdman. The midfielder, the son of former Canadian men’s team coach John Herdman, flicked the ball across the box with a deft header for German forward Tobias Warschewski, who took a touch and then swivelled before smashing it past Pumas goalkeeper Álex Padilla. 

It was a sublime goal from Warschewski, last year’s CPL Golden Boot winner and MVP of the CPL Final. He has shown a knack for scoring on big occasions since first coming to Canada in 2021. 

“Toby gives us that kind of wow factor and unpredictability. He's a maverick. The goal he scored [against Pumas], came from great vision from Ali, intelligence in the header down from Jay, and an impromptu finish from Toby. All of these guys read off each other very, very well. It's instinct,” Wheeldon Jr. said. 

Warschewski’s goal came on his 27th birthday, allowing him to celebrate the occasion in style with a win over heavily favoured Pumas. 

The happy-go-lucky German insists he wasn’t the least bit intimidated playing against the Mexicans, and will once again enjoy going up against one of the top clubs in Concacaf. 

“We know where we are right now. We can make history with a win. But I think we just need to have a good time, in my opinion, and see this as a challenge. I think we should enjoy every moment here, because it's just fun to play against good opponents,” Warschewski told Sportsnet. 

“I like to have challenges in games like this, where you can test yourself… We know what a big team they are in Mexico. They didn't play all of the starters [in the first leg] and we want to play against the best, so hopefully we’ll see more of them this week. This is the challenge we want, to play against the best they have.” 

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.