“It’s never an upset if the so-called underdog has all along considered itself the better team.” – Woody Hayes Call it arrogance, but we’ve earned it. No team in the CPL has achieved what Atlético Ottawa has this year, and now we’re reaping the reward – hosting the CPL
Welcome to the Forward Press, which recaps the pre- and post-match press conferences every week! This edition follows the last regular season match of the year for ATO, in which they played and beat Halifax 1-0. Coach Diego Mejía and midfielder David Rodriguez joined the media this week, discussing the
Welcome to this week’s Forward Press, where Diego Mejía and Brett Levis joined the media before and after that disappointing and flat 0-0 draw vs Vancouver, which saw Ottleti’s title hopes slip once more after being given a lifeline in the race for the Shield. Bearingin mind the
Every year, the Capital City Supporters Group enjoys a wealth of talented people who contribute in meaningful ways to growing the game in Ottawa. It would take far more than a single article to elucidate all the many people who make this group so special, but we would like to
Patience is a virtue that is all too lacking in the wider world, but it’s hard to think of another industry that lacks it quite so openly than professional sports: a manager can win a championship, be feted, and then follow it up with a losing season and be
North American sports have their fair share of oddities and traditions, and when that mixes with soccer, it can create some mixed opinions. Off-season draft? I love it and want to see it expanded. Playoffs? I get why we have them. Theme days? I've come around. But my
Welcome to what will be a short and only half-sweet Forward Press, this week for that 3-all draw against Valour at the weekend. With not many questions, the answers have been provided in full to make up the content, with Diego Mejía and Manny Aparicio featuring in front of the
They say you should never fall in love with loan players. Fool me twice, shame on me. From the moment David Rodríguez first took to the pitch at TD Place on a cold and rainy April afternoon against the Halifax Wanderers, you knew he was going to be something special.
Welcome to this week's Forward Press, where we’ll dive into the two conferences bracketing that 3-0 win over Cavalry at the weekend! In what was a quieter affair than last week’s, Diego Mejia and Ballou Tabla joined the media to talk about the run-in, individual performances,
Welcome to The Forward Press for last weekend’s 1-1 draw vs Forge! Coach Diego Mejia and Winger Gabriel Antinoro joined the media this week, and both had some comments to make about officiating, scheduling, and Forge’s disrespectful conduct during and after the match. In a heated post-match session,
Welcome back to The Forward Press, CCSG’s recap of each match’s pair of press conferences! This edition covers ATO’s 2-2 draw vs York, as Coach Diego Mejía, and Striker Samuel Salter joined the scrums this time around. They cover preparing for fixture congestion, as well as a
Welcome back to The Forward Press, your source for all the quotes from this week’s set of press conferences bracketing that 2-0 win against Pacific! I apologize for missing last week’s edition, so hopefully some long form answers will make up for that! With that taken care of,
After a grueling week on the road that took the team across three cities and time zones in just seven days – culminating in back-to-back losses, including a deflating defeat to Vancouver FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship – Atlético Ottawa returned to TD Place on August 23rd eager
Let's just get to it, no need for pleasantries. This edition of the Forward Press kicks off with a brief recap of Vancouver’s pressers before delving into the press conferences for the match against Forge, as there was no time for a midweek edition between fixtures. The
Perspective. It is so difficult to maintain it when experiencing the sheer emotion that comes with supporting a club. The reactionary take is such because it’s always the first thing that comes to mind. I often project the worst case scenario into my brain before anything else, especially in
Welcome to the Forward Press, a summary of this week’s pre- and post-match press conferences! This edition covers ATO’s comprehensive 2-1 win away against Valour this past Sunday, in what was Ottawa’s 60th ever win in all competitions. Joining us this week were Diego Mejía as well
Familiarity. What ATO saw from York United on Sunday produced a terrible sense of nostalgia in the pit of my stomach, and likely all of yours as well. Seeing opposing teams employ the tactics that we were effectively implementing in 2022 is both encouraging and frustrating – encouraging as it brings
Welcome back to The Forward Press, where this week Head Coach Diego Mejía, for his 20th match in charge, and wing-back Gabriel Antinoro joined the media bracketing a scoreless and frustrating 0-0 draw at home against York United, the second in a row between these two clubs in the league.
In July’s final matchday last Saturday, Atlético Ottawa faced down Pacific FC in their 150th ever match played, and came out with a comprehensive 2-0 win against the Island Boys. Joining this week's media scrums were Diego Mejía on Friday, as well as Sam Salter and Diego
Comprehensive. In all facets of the game on Friday, Atlético Ottawa were just that. Come the end of the second half, there was a relative comfort that emanated from the stands at TD Place. Even with the moments of nerves, as the Wanderers continued to send their chances wide of
Welcome to the Forward Press, where CCSG walks you through all the action from the pre- and post-match press conferences. This week's edition, for the 2-0 win against Halifax, which was also ATO’s 50th ever CPL victory, features Head Coach Diego Mejia in the pre-match, as well
Chaos. To ascribe any other word to this game would do it a disservice. Atlético Ottawa’s first win away to York United since the first organized road trip on July 22nd, 2022, has seen the club go through to the Semi-Finals of the Voyageur’s Cup for the first
The Forward Press
With the previous week's match ending in a scoreless draw Atletico Ottawa was looking to get back into the win column heading into the match against Cavalry FC. Playing away at ATCO field in Calgary has historically been a strong point for the Ottawa side, and that continued
Stability. Even through the first ten games of the season, you could argue that the team was stable up front in and amongst some chaos in the back. As the young players really began to settle themselves into their role, which maybe took a tad longer than it otherwise would
The Forward Press
After a win at Pacific FC and a Voyageurs cup win at home against York United FC, Atlético Ottawa was back home facing Valour FC and were looking to continue their winning ways in league play. The Winnipeg side had more chances and control in the first half, but a
Perseverance. In the face of a woeful run of form, with a team that seemingly couldn’t find a way to keep the ball out of their own net, despite still being lethal going forward, Atlético Ottawa finally managed to keep their first clean sheet of the 2025 season against
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Atlético Ottawa looked to get back into the win column after their first loss of the season a week ago against Halifax, but fell short against Vancouver. An early injury to the backline caused a shakeup in the formation, and the team, without their head coach, Diego Mejia, saw themselves
Expectations. Atlético Ottawa’s relationship with them has been tumultuous to say the least. Last year, heightened expectations made a difficult run into the end of the season even more unpalatable for the supporters. The opening stretch of this season has set ATO up for a similar level of disappointment.
The Forward Press
All good things must come to an end, and so must the undefeated streak of Atlético Ottawa. It was not a pretty game, passes were poor, communication suffered, runs went unfinished, and not a single shot found its way on target. While Atleti were without David Rodriguez, a key piece
Defeat. It was bound to happen, and it’s always difficult to tell if you’d rather it occurs as a result of a bad performance or as a result of just not being able to convert when you’re the better team They each have their respective lessons that
Frustration. Every season is going to bring it at some point, and we’ve been fortunate to largely avoid that emotion through the first quarter of the season. Tuesday morning/afternoon against Forge, that frustration was felt through the individual, collective, and organizational level of fans, players, and coaches alike
Prolific. Prior to 2025, it’s certainly not a word you would use to describe Atlético Ottawa. On Saturday, the new reputation was cemented as the home team put five goals past Jonathan Viscosi. That, to anyone paying remote attention, is not the story of this match. Sam Salter pulling