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Cavalry FC trying to ‘hang ten' against Pacific FC
Pacific FC's Terran Campbell, left, and Cavalry FC's Jose Escalante battle for the ball during first half soccer action in the Canadian Championship quarterfinal in Calgary, Alta. on Sept. 22, 2021.(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
After a rough start to the year, Cavalry FC is on a roll.
They've moved into third place in PCL standings with a 5-3-2 record.
On Saturday, Cavalry will go up against Pacific FC, who haven't been in very good form of late, and are 2-7-2 this season.
However, head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. says you can't take any team in this league lightly.
'It's a 90-minute game of football and anything can happen,' he said. 'Whether the way we play, or whether that's the environmental conditions that are coming, we can't have any excuses.'
'It's all about how we approach the opponent, and nullify their strengths, expose any weaknesses and doubts that they have. But that comes down to what we do as a collective.'
Collective leadership
After losing leaders Daan Klomp to RAAL La Louviere in the Belgian pro league and the retirement of Charlie Trafford, no one knew where the leadership was going to come from.
Forward Nicolas Wahling says it's been a collective effort.
'That's made space for other people to step up,' he said.
'I think the leadership that makes this locker room special isn't just on one or two guys, it's spread on multiple shoulders. We have just great character in the locker room and great character on the pitch.'
Going for 10
Cavalry will try to go unbeaten in 10 games on Saturday – but that's not the club record. The team had a 13-game unbeaten streak in 2022.
Wheeldon Jr. says he doesn't even want to think about that.
'Just focus on the next game,' he said. 'The next play is always the most important.'
'Records will always be written after the fact, so I's just up to us to play Pacific the best we possibly can.'
Saturday's game between Cavalry and Pacific is at 2:30 p.m. at ATCO Field.
