Pacific FC And Atlético Ottawa Play To 1-1 Draw At Starlight Stadium
September 11, 2022 – Canadian Premier League (CPL) – Atletico Ottawa News Release
Atlético Ottawa started their month-long, 4-matches road trip at the home of last season’s Champions Pacific FC this Sunday to wrap up week 23 of Canadian Premier League action. On a hazy afternoon in Langford, the teams battled it out to an evenly contested 1-1 draw that allows Atlético Ottawa to maintain their top position in the CPL standings with four matches left to play in the regular season.
KEY MOMENTS
Atlético Ottawa put up a convincing fight in another evenly contested match against Pacific FC on Sunday.
Midfielder Ollie Bassett, who was with Pacific FC when they lifted the championship brass last season, first put his side in front on a penalty awarded in the 26′ minute, his team-leading 7th goal of the season.
The always reliable vet Maxim Tissot created this opportunity for the Ottawa side, taking on the Pacific defenders on the left side and getting taken down on the top of the box, earning a clear PK for the visitors.
Bassett is also the team leader in minutes played with four matches left in the regular season. He featured in all 24 CPL matches for a total of 2,094 minutes.
Central defender Diego Espejo was selected by OneSoccer as Performer of the match after a gritty display.
Going into this match, Ottawa had the best league record in games away from home and maintained an 80% success rate when scoring first.
With the draw, Ottawa remains on top of the CPL standings, despite the battle for playoff spots heating up. Ottawa has 41 points in 24 matches, only two points ahead of second-place Forge FC, and 5 points ahead of their next opponent, Valour FC (36 points).
Head Coach Carlos González, a master tactician, brought more rotation to his starting lineup.
Spaniard Sergio Camus was entrusted with his first start with Atlético Ottawa this season, his fourth appearance.
Atleti fielded an all-Spanish back line today with Miguel Acosta, Diego Espejo and Sergio Camus standing as the last line of defence.
U21 talents Zacharia Bahous and Zackary Roy both got the start.
Midfielder Ben McKendry also got the start in place of suspended Abdou Sissoko, and wore the captain’s armband for the occasion.
Zach Verhoven returned to the field as a substitute in the 74′ minute, after having been kept on the sidelines due to injury since mid-July.
MILESTONE: Sunday’s match at Pacific FC marked the 200th professional club match across competitions for Canadian Maxim Tissot.
Since turning pro in 2011 with the then Montreal Impact, he has played in MLS, USL, NASL, and Canadian Premier League, in addition to regional and continental competitions like the US Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Concacaf Champions League and Concacaf League.
Tissot joined Atlético Ottawa at the beginning of the 2022 season and has since featured in 23 CPL matches and 1 Canadian Championship game.
Next up for Atlético Ottawa will be another important road matchup in Winnipeg as they face Valour FC Sunday, September 18th.
• Discuss this story on the Canadian Premier League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
