2022 Canadian Premier League final

2022 Canadian Premier League Final

TD Place Stadium
Event	2022 Canadian Premier League season
Atlético Ottawa Forge FC 0 2
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]
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The 2022 Canadian Premier League Final was a soccer match that was the 4th edition of the CPL Finals, the post-season championship of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. The match determined the winner of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season and was played on October 30, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario. It was contested by Atlético Ottawa and Forge FC, the winners of the league's two 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 named player of the match.

Teams

Team	City	Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Atlético Ottawa	Ottawa, Ontario	None
Forge FC	Hamilton, Ontario	3 ( 2019 , 2020 , 2021)

Path to the Final

Main article: 2022 Canadian Premier League season

The 2022 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 the playoffs which began on October 15, 2022. The first round featured two-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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Atlético Ottawa (S)	28	13	10	5	36	29	+7	49	Advance to playoffs
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

Source: CanPL.ca
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) goal differential; 4) goals for; 5) away goals differential; 6) away goals for; 7) home goals differential; 8) home goals for; 9) U-21 minutes; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots. ^[5]
(C) Champion; (S) Regular season winner

Semifinal results

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

Atlético Ottawa

Further information: 2022 Atlético Ottawa season

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-ranked Pacific FC in the semifinal by a score of 3–1 to advance to their first Final.

Forge FC

Further information: 2022 Forge FC season

Forge FC competed in their fourth consecutive Final following wins against Cavalry FC in 2019 and HFX Wanderers FC in 2020, as well as a defeat to Pacific FC in the 2021 Final. Forge finished the regular season in second place, two points behind Atlético Ottawa.

Head-to-head

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.

Pre-match

Forge was without their captain Kyle Bekker in the Final because he received a red card in the second leg of the semifinals against rivals 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's Carlos González was named Coach of the Year and Ollie Bassett was named Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

Broadcasting

The CPL Final was broadcast on OneSoccer in Canada and globally. Internationally, the match was broadcast by Fox 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]

Match details

Summary

First half

The match was played in front of a crowd of 14,992 fans at TD Place Stadium. ^[13] Defender Diego Espejo returned to Atlético Ottawa's lineup after serving a suspension in leg 2 of the semifinals. ^{[14] [15]} Forge stuck with their usual 4–3–3 formation, inserting Noah Jensen into the lineup for the suspended Kyle 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 a free kick by Tristan Borges, his second goal in as many finals. ^{[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]

Second half

Forge came out strong to begin the second half with Borges and Aboubacar Sissoko forcing Atlético goalkeeper Nathan 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 goalkeeper Triston 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 the player of the match. ^{[19] [20]}

Details

October 30, 2022

6:00 pm ET

Atlético Ottawa	0–2	Forge FC
	Recap Report	Hojabrpour 28' Choinière 78'

TD Place Stadium , Ottawa, Ontario

Attendance: 14,992

Referee: Filip Dujic

Atlético Ottawa

Forge

GK 29 Nathan Ingham RB 17 Miguel Acosta CB 4 Diego Espejo CB 5 Sergio Camus  41' LB 15 Maxim Tissot  82' DM 20 Abdoul Sissoko RW 45 Carl Haworth (c)  74' CM 10 Ollie Bassett  77'  82' CM 13 Ballou Tabla LW 22 Zakaria Bahous  57' CF 19 Malcolm Shaw Substitutes: GK 1 Sean Melvin DF 2 Drew Beckie MF 7 Keven Alemán  57' MF 8 Ben McKendry FW 9 Brian Wright  74' DF 16 Zach Verhoven  82' DF 33 Iván Pérez  90+2'  82' Manager: Carlos González

GK 1 Triston Henry RB 24 Rezart Rama  18' CB 13 Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson CB 5 Daniel Krutzen (c) LB 3 Ashtone Morgan  78' CM 33 Aboubacar Sissoko CM 21 Alessandro Hojabrpour CM 22 Noah Jensen  71' RW 7 David Choinière  33' LW 19 Tristan Borges  84' CF 17 Woobens Pacius  84' Substitutes: GK 29 Christopher Kalongo DF 4 Dominic Samuel  78' FW 9 Terran Campbell MF 20 Kwasi Poku DF 24 Garven Metusala  71' FW 77 Jordan Hamilton  84' DF 81 Malik Owolabi-Belewu  84' Manager: Bobby Smyrniotis

Player of the Match: David Choinière (Forge FC) [19] [20]
Assistant referees: Gabrielle Lemieux Peter Pendli Fourth official: Alain Ruch	Match rules [21] 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if score still level Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time

Statistics

Overall ^[22]

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

Post-match

Having made it to four consecutive CPL Finals and having now won three of them, the Canadian Premier League and members of the media declared Forge FC to be a dynasty. ^{[14] [20] [23] [24] [25] [26]}

The CPL later named Bobby Smyrniotis as the Manager of the Month for October and David Choinière as the Player of the Month for October for their roles in leading Forge to the championship. ^{[27] [28] [29] [30]}

See also

• Canadian Premier League Finals
• 2022 Canadian Championship Final

References

1. "Weather History for CYOW". Weather Underground . The Weather Company. October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
2. Thompson, Marty (February 2, 2022). "2022 CPL Season presented by WestJet: Playoff format, opening weekend matches released". Canadian Premier League . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
3. "2022 CPL Schedule presented by WestJet: Balanced regular season, more weekend matchups unveiled". Canadian Premier League . February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
4. "Atletico Ottawa clinch spot in CPL final". CBC News . October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
5. "2022 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
6. Lang, Pierce (October 25, 2022). "Forge FC Advance to Canadian Premier League Final". Oakville News. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
7. Oliver Platt [@plattoli] (October 28, 2022). "Forge captain Kyle Bekker's suspension has been reduced to two matches upon appeal — one for the offence and one for his second red card of the season. He will be unavailable for Sunday's final" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2022– via Twitter.
8. "Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson of Forge FC named 2022 Canadian Premier League Defender of the Year". Canadian Premier League. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
9. "Atlético Ottawa's Ollie Bassett named 2022 CPL Player of the Year". Canadian Premier League. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
10. "Atlético Ottawa's Carlos González named 2022 CPL Coach of the Year". Canadian Premier League. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
11. "Atlético Ottawa's Ollie Bassett named 2022 Players' Player of the Year". Canadian Premier League. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
12. "Potential Dates, Times Announced For Canadian Premier League Final". Canadian Premier League . October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
13. Gareth Wheeler [@GarethWheeler] (October 30, 2022). "14,992 at the #CanPL final. Well done to the fans and fantastic support" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2022– via Twitter.
14. Jacques, John (October 30, 2022). "Dynasty Win: Forge FC Claims Third North Star Shield". Northern Tribune. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
15. Jacques, John (October 30, 2022). "2022 CPL Final Preview". Northern Tribune. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
16. Desaulniers, Darren (October 30, 2022). "Forge FC defeats Atletico Ottawa to claim 3rd CPL title". CBC Sports . The Canadian Press . Retrieved October 30, 2022.
17. Jacques, John (December 7, 2021). "Right Place, Right Time: Hojabrpour's Path To CPL History". Northern Tribune. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
18. Zamperin, Rick (October 30, 2022). "Hamilton's Forge FC claims third North Star Shield". Global News . 900 CHML . Retrieved October 30, 2022.
19. Canadian Premier League [@CPLsoccer] (October 30, 2022). "David Choiniere of @ForgeFCHamilton earns the @Gatorade Performance of the Match for the 2022 Canadian Premier League final!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2022– via Twitter.
20. Tierney, Mitchell (October 30, 2022). "Match Analysis: Atlético Ottawa 0-2 Forge FC — CPL Final 2022". Canadian Premier League . Retrieved November 1, 2022.
21. "2022 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. April 5, 2022. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
22. "Atlético Ottawa 0 - 2 Forge FC". Canadian Premier League . October 30, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
23. Canadian Premier League [@CPLsoccer] (October 30, 2022). "Dynasty. For the third time in four seasons, @ForgeFCHamilton are the team that lifts the North Star Shield, and the celebrations are just beginning" (Tweet). Retrieved October 30, 2022– via Twitter.
24. Milton, Steve (October 31, 2022). "You can say it: Forge is a dynasty". The Hamilton Spectator . Retrieved October 31, 2022.
25. "This Just In! CPL Dynasty, EPL surprises and who manages the best style?". Toronto Star . October 31, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
26. Footy Prime [@footy_prime] (October 30, 2022). "Hammer it into the record books, Bobby has Forged a dynasty in Hamilton!" (Tweet). Retweeted by Craig Forrest . Retrieved October 30, 2022– via Twitter.
27. Tierney, Mitchell (November 8, 2022). "Forge FC's Bobby Smyrniotis named CPL Coach of the Month for October". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
28. Canadian Premier League [@CPLsoccer] (November 8, 2022). "After leading his team to a third North Star Shield, @ForgeFCHamilton's Bobby Smyrniotis is the Canadian Premier League Manager of the Month for October!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 9, 2022– via Twitter.
29. "Forge FC's David Choinière named CPL Player of the Month for October". Canadian Premier League. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
30. Canadian Premier League [@CPLsoccer] (November 8, 2022). "After scoring in both the Canadian Premier League semifinal and final, @ForgeFCHamilton's David Choinière is the Player of the Month for October!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 9, 2022– via Twitter.