Roundup of Canadian Championship: Toronto clubs shocked while Forge easily beat Wanderers

The Canadian domestic cup, entering its 19th season, brings together squads from the Canadian Premier League, the three MLS teams based in Canada, and champions from the semi-professional provincial leagues.

The opening match delivered a major surprise on Tuesday, as the title-holding Toronto FC fell 3-1 at home against the CPL playoff champions Atletico Ottawa.

Toronto, who have now exited in the preliminary stage for two years running, went ahead thanks to Deandre Kerr after 16 minutes. They came close to doubling their lead soon after the interval, but Tristan Crampton blocked Jahmarie Nolans attempt.

Ottawa, who made the semi-finals in the previous tournament, equalised via Ballou Tabla. The winger benefited from some luck inside the penalty area when the ball bounced off several Toronto defenders, allowing the ex-CF Montreal youth product to poke it beyond Luka Gavran.

Just ten minutes on, Ottawa grabbed the decisive goal. Following a defensive error, Toronto lost possession to Tabla, who raced clear to face Gavran one-on-one. The forward slotted it away to flip the scoreline and silence the crowd at BMO Field.

The home team pushed for an equaliser to extend the game, but it eluded them. Instead, they conceded a late penalty after Alonso Coello fouled Tabla. The Ivory Coast native Tabla stepped up, burying it centrally to seal his hat-trick and knock out Toronto FC.

Tabla now shares the all-time scoring record in the competition with Toronto skipper Jonathan Osorio, both on eight goals.

"We are delighted to see the team so joyful," Tabla commented post-match. "The last few months have been challenging, yet I believe we earned this victory."

Ottawa advance to a two-legged quarter-final clash with newcomers FC Supra du Quebec in July. The debutants progressed by overcoming Ontario Premier League winners Woodbridge Strikers 3-1 last Friday.

Diyaeddine Abzi converted an early penalty to give the hosts the edge, but Woodbridge levelled spectacularly around the 30-minute mark. Jacob Spizirri unleashed a long-range shot that rocketed into the top corner past Joakim Milli.

Supra stayed composed, regaining the lead right before halftime as Aboubacar Sissoko bundled the ball over the line from near range. David Choiniere then netted a third to secure progression.

Toronto FC were not the sole professional outfit from the city to suffer an early exit in shocking fashion: on Sunday, Inter Toronto were defeated 1-0 at home by CS Saint-Laurent, crashing out in the opening round.

The lone strike arrived in the 18th minute courtesy of Younesse El Mehdi Chibane, who surged forward and drilled into the bottom corner.

Inter generated over 30 chances but failed to overcome Martin Cantona, the nephew of ex-Manchester United icon Eric. Consequently, the Toronto side endured their initial loss of 2026 in any competition.

In their second outing in the Canadian Championship, Saint-Laurent from the LS PRO Quebec league knocked out another pro team, mirroring their 2024 penalty shootout victory over HFX Wanderers. This time, they wrapped it up within the standard 90 minutes.

Forge overpower Wanderers with four goals

Saint-Laurent next meet the 2020 runners-up Forge FC, who thrashed HFX Wanderers 4-0 in Hamilton on Saturday.

Forge, who have advanced to the semis in nearly every participation barring two, saw an early penalty saved during a commanding first half. However, they took the lead late in the period as Tristan Borges whipped a free kick from the edge of the area into the far upper corner.

New recruit Antoine Batisse made it two in added time of the first half, nodding in a deflected header on the line.

The score hit 3-0 shortly after the restart when Hoce Massundas delivery reached Borges, who poked home his second past Marco Carducci. Borges contributed to the fourth too, as his shot slipped through the keepers grasp, enabling Brian Wright, whose spot-kick was earlier denied, to tap in.

Lightning halted play for roughly an hour around the 70th minute, though Forge had already sealed the outcome and faced little threat in the closing stages.

Halifax managed just one effort on goal en route to their second consecutive preliminary round loss to Forge. Broadly, the Wanderers have now stumbled at this phase in the past four tournaments.

Elsewhere in the preliminaries, CF Montreal secured a 5-0 rout over Alberta Premier League outfit Calgary Blizzard on Wednesday evening. A rotated Montreal lineup saw five distinct scorers while denying the opponents any shots on target.

Montreal proceed to face Vancouver FC, who triumphed 2-0 on Sunday against local rivals Langley United. The Eagles reached the final last year despite a basement CPL finish.

Vancouver laboured against the BC Premier League side, breaking through only at the 74-minute mark when Tom Field redirected Marcello Polisiss effort into goal.

Nicolas Mezquida added the second late on, assisted by Kian Proctor who transitioned from defence to attack to find the Uruguayan.

The sole all-CPL preliminary encounter ended with Cavalry FC edging Pacific FC 3-1 away. Defender Daan Klomp struck first in the opening half with a crisp shot from close quarters.

Josha Belluz restored parity for Pacific with 12 minutes remaining, heading into the bottom corner. Cavalry remained unfazed, converting a penalty through Tobias Warschewski in the 87th to clinch it.

Michael Baldisimo notched a third late to round off the success for Tommy Wheeldon Jrs team.

Cavalry, ousted in round one just once before, take on the Whitecaps next. The Vancouver side have claimed the trophy in the last four years and will meet the Alberta club for the fourth occasion in tournament history.

Quarter-final ties, played over two legs, occur in July amid the World Cup, with semis in September and the final on 21 October.