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Finally, Cavalry FC seems to have found its scoring boots.
Multi-goal games were hard to come by earlier in the season, with the team grinding out results where it could and relying on its league-best defensive record to earn points in the Canadian Premier League standings.
Over the last month, though, the tide has turned with a four-match win streak. Cavalry (7-9-3) has managed eight goals during that stretch and climbed the league ladder.
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That newfound proficiency in front of the net will face a big test on Saturday when they take on visiting Pacific FC (5-5-8) at ATCO Field (3 p.m., OneSoccer, OneSoccer.ca).
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Only Cavalry has given up fewer goals this season (18) than its Victoria, B.C. rivals (20).
“They are difficult to play against because they don’t give up a lot,” said Cavalry GM/head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “In open play, they’re difficult to break down. You’ve got to be very good at breaking down their block and their organization. You’ve got to have your magic players like (Ali Musse, Mael Henry and Nicolas Wahling) that can unlock the defence and then you’ve also got to be organized to not put everything forward to be able to have a ready defence to stop them countering and attacking the spaces you leave when you send extra men forward.”
No team has scored fewer than the 14 goals Pacific FC have managed this year, but the challenge will be breaking them down. While they did allow three against Atletico Ottawa last weekend, Wheeldon was quick to point out they all came from set pieces.
The Cavs don’t want to have to rely on free kicks and corners to score on Saturday.
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Patience may be needed
Atletico jumped on Pacific from the first whistle and took a 3-0 lead well before halftime, and that’s certainly something Cavalry would love to replicate.
But they are preparing for a game where patience may be necessary. They’ll protect their own net and try to make sure they don’t surrender a lead that allows Pacific to sit back.
But with Cavalry’s own attack starting to round into form there’s a deserved confidence in the team’s ability to get a goal or two before the final whistle — whether that comes early or late.
“There is a fine balance, if we could score first and then again, it makes things a whole lot different and you’re playing with more swagger and confidence,” Wheeldon Jr. said. “But it’s been a very cagey league this year and it’s taken us a longer while to get our attackers fit and get multiple-goal games. Our last game here we scored three (against HFX Wanderers FC on Aug. 10) … we were disappointed in giving up a couple on set plays and the PK.”
However they do it, getting three points on Saturday is absolutely critical to Cavalry’s hopes of defending its regular-season title with nine matches remaining.
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They’ve managed to claw their way back into the race with away wins against Atletico and York United over the past couple weeks. Those squads are now one (York) and two points (Ottawa) ahead of the fourth-placed Cavs, who are sitting on 30 points, four back of pace-setting Forge FC. Pacific sits seventh in the eight-team league.
This weekend presents a big opportunity to make up ground, with Forge and York going head-to-head on Friday night — which guarantees at least one of the teams ahead of Cavalry will drop points.
The race is fully on, and a win over Pacific will mean Cavalry is right where they want to be coming down the stretch.
”It’s a lot of fun, I think we like being in the hunt and it’s an interesting role for us,” Wheeldon said. “Last year, we had to hunt the people in front of us, which ended up being Pacific, it was Matchday 20 before we took the spot before going into the last round of games.”
daustin@postmedia.com
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