Semi-pro FC Laval looks forward to Canadian Championship test at CPL's York United FC

Winnipeg Free Press

05-05-2025

FC Laval has had the date circled on its calendar for months now.
On Tuesday, the semi-pro Ligue1 Quebec champion visits York United FC of the Canadian Premier League in preliminary-round play in the Telus Canadian Championship.
'We're very very eager to be on the pitch (Tuesday),' said Laval coach Amro Radwan. 'They've been working hard for this. It was an objective last summer. They're really excited about this opportunity.'
Laval lost 3-0 at Forge FC in preliminary-round play in 2023 in its only other trip to the cup competition.
In the other cup game Tuesday, Pacific FC hosts Vancouver FC in an all-Canadian Premier League matchup. On Wednesday, it's Halifax Wanderers at Forge in another CPL showdown in Hamilton and League1 B.C.'s TSS FC Rovers at Winnipeg's Valour FC.
Four teams have already made it to the two-legged quarterfinals, including the MLS-leading Vancouver Whitecaps who received a bye into the final eight as defending champion.
CF Montreal dispatched Toronto FC in a penalty shootout, CPL champion Cavalry FC blanked League1 Alberta's Edmonton Scottish 6-0 and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa downed League1 Ontario's Scrosoppi FC 2-0.
The York-Laval winner will face Ottawa in the quarterfinals while the Pacific-Vancouver FC survivor takes on Cavalry.
Laval, which topped Ligue1 Quebec last year with a 12-5-3 record, has had just one league outing to date this season — a 3-1 win at CS St-Hubert on April 25. But Radwan says the team has been training since January,
'We've had enough games and training to make sure we're ready for this challenge,' he said.
The team, which only has a couple of holdovers from the 2023 squad that played in the cup competition, gets together three or four times a week in advance of matches.
The young talent on the Laval squad includes forward Ibrahim Conde, the lone Canadian invited to the MLS College Showcase in San Diego in December. Conde is a good friend and former college teammate of Canadian international defender Moise Bombito at Iowa Western Community College and the University of New Hampshire.
'He's a top talent and we've got a few other players of similar quality to Ibrahim,' said Radwan, who also coached Conde as a youth. 'It's a really talented group — boys who've know each other for a long time so they're familiar with each other on the pitch.'
Lava's co-captains are central midfielder Quentin Paumier and centre back Bilal Bouchemella. Radwan's choices in goal are Martin Cantona and 19-year-old Aydan Kancel-Marie.
'We're aware of what they can bring,' said York coach Mauro Eustaquio, whose team is coming off a 2-1 loss to visiting Cavalry on Friday. 'So it won't be an easy game. They have quality players, they're well-coached and they're here to prove a point as well.'
York (1-3-1) currently stands sixth in the eight-team CPL and is winless in four games (0-3-1) since the season-opening 2-0 victory at Vancouver FC on April 6.
Eustaquio's team, been hit by injuries, is still finding its footing.
'We've shown what we can do with and without the ball … The results haven't been going our way,' said Eustaquio.
'The players understand the way we want to play,' he added. 'We've had really good spells but then we just turn off in certain (moments) and we've been punished by that … Tuesday is another opportunity that we have to show what we can do.'
Pacific FC at Vancouver FC
The teams drew 1-1 when they met in league play April 26 in Langley, B.C., with French midfielder Aly Ndom scoring the tying goal for Pacific in the 70th minute. Veteran Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas Mezquida, a former Whitecap, had given Vancouver the lead in the 17th minute.
The rivalry between the two was shown by the game's seven yellow cards and one red.
Vancouver (1-2-2) is fourth in the CPL standings, three places but just one point ahead of Pacific (1-3-1). It is unbeaten in its last three outings (1-0-2) since dropping its first two games of the campaign (against York and Ottawa).
'They have a lot of quality in the higher area of the pitch in (Alejandro) Diaz and Terran Campbell and Mezquida,' said Pacific coach James Merriman. 'This is a very good front three and we need to make sure that we're focused on the detail for 90-plus minutes, because, as you see, they can get one or two chances and they take those chances.'
Pacific (1-3-1) has not won since the season-opening 2-0 win over visiting Valour.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
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Vancouver is looking for its first cup win, losing by 1-0 scores in the preliminary-round at York in 2023 and at Cavalry last year.
'We're growing not only every season but also every match, especially this season,' said Vancouver coach Afshin Ghotbi. 'We're in a very good place. All the players feel very confident. At the same time humble and they're hungry for more.'
The Canadian Championship winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup and wins $50,000 and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the elite club competition in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.