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
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
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.
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
Another game, another 3 goals, another 3 points, and another amazing match of football. The 2025 Atlético Ottawa Season continues to deliver phenomenal drama and excitement, and if not always the prettiest football, at least always entertaining. In Week 5 of the season, as we continue to churn through the
Confidence. It’s evident to anyone watching whether you have it or not. It manifests in different ways, whether through the exertion of your will on an opponent, a calm in the face of tremendous pressure, or in the willingness to do the stuff you used to do in your
Ugly. No one who watched Tuesday’s game would confuse Atlético Ottawa’s performance for anything else. It was to be somewhat expected, with a heavily rotated side, and only three days rest after a big win away from home. Even so it still should not have felt as nervy
Opportunity. The best teams take it when it presents itself. Too many times over the past couple of years, this hasn’t been something that Atlético has done. Saturday continued a trend of this team bucking that trend. It was also another instance of the team meeting adversity head-on, absorbing
It was Noah Abatneh off the cross at the death on Easter Weekend, as ATO rode to new life against York United, claiming all three points. The dub and the 3,337 in attendance on Saturday afternoon were treated to basketball-like soccer as two refreshingly open teams traded blows from
Belief. Every soul that walked into TD Place on Saturday had it coursing through their veins. The first two matches had brought forward the most entertaining football the team has ever played. As such, conceding an early goal didn’t bring down the mood in the stands. A frustrating refereeing
It was easy like a Sunday morning on Sunday afternoon, as Atlético Ottawa played Vancouver FC off the pitch in a 4-1 rout. Diego Mejía’s side showed it was head and shoulders above its opposition from early on in the match, and by the halftime whistle, they were leading
Proof of concept. Any organization, whether it's sporting or not, needs to display a proof of concept when it undergoes fundamental change. Atlético Ottawa gave us glimpses of that in the final 30 minutes of their opening match, and, in their second, showed a full 90 minutes of
The Forward Press
It was a spicy game in the sleet and rain as a new-look ATO opened the CPL season Saturday afternoon. Over 5,000 were in attendance in the Pay-What-You-Can home opener to watch Diego Mejía’s first starting XI of the season return to TD Place against the Halifax Wanderers,
Miserable. Perhaps that’s a bit of an understatement to describe the cold and wet conditions that accompanied the opening of the 2025 CPL season in Ottawa. Equally, it describes the feeling of Atlético Ottawa supporters through the first 55 minutes of the match. The team came out flat, disjointed,
Whether you’ve been taking a much-needed break from social media, sheltering somewhere warm for the winter, or living under a rock, you might have missed key announcements from Atletico Ottawa as they gear up for the 2025 Canadian Premier League season. Don’t fret – that’s why we are
At last, the part you’ve all been waiting for (or not). This is the final article in my series ranking the Atlético Ottawa roster based on how well they performed using my advanced analytics model (detailed here) for the players ranked #5 to #1. Click the following links for
Another short introduction is called for. This series ranks the 2024 Atlético roster by how well they performed according to my advanced analytics model, which is detailed here.anyone Part 1 ranked players #20-16, which can be found here, and Part 2 (players #15-11), which can be found here. On
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Coaching is not what people think it is. It’s more than showing up to the game with a few circles on a board and a vague idea of how to win. It’s waking up at 4:30 am in a cold sweat because you had a nightmare about
I could devote enough words to make Tolstoy blush and still I would fail to capture exactly what Ollie Bassett means to Atletico Ottawa. Yet cast your mind back and you’ll recall his arrival in our city wasn’t one of jubilant fanfare from all corners of support. Much
Let’s make this introduction as short as possible. These are the players ranked #15 to #11 according to my advanced analytics model, detailed here. You can read the article for the players ranked #20 to #16 here, and the overall ranking will be at the bottom. #15: Manny Aparicio
One of the most crucial tasks in the off-season is casting an eye towards the season that was, especially the players. Were they as good as you thought? Were they worse? Did they live up to expectations? and so on. That is what I am here to do, using advanced
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Due to a website migration, and further updates in my methodology, it was necessary to rewrite the article I penned in the winter of 2023/24. This is essentially the same article as that lost piece, with a few updated segments and a few new paragraphs.
You ride for six hours each way in the back of the bus, only to be provided with disappointment after disappointment. This is the life of a football fan. It's not even the performance in this case (which it was the last four times I've been
Carlos Gonzalez was right when he predicted fireworks in the quarter-final of the semifinals. After a nail-biting win that went the distance at TD Place, Atletico Ottawa is off to Hamilton and the quarterfinals of the Canadian Premier League. Twice Atletico Ottawa took the lead against bitter rivals York United
It was typical Atlético Ottawa, until it wasn’t. Every single trend that has fed into the story of Atlético Ottawa’s 2024 campaign was on display on Sunday afternoon: Ineffective at breaking down a low block through the first-half? Check. Janky set-piece goal direct from a corner? Check. A
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There’s not much to say that hasn’t been completely analyzed (and in some cases, over-analyzed) in the build-up to the playoff clash between Atlético Ottawa and York United. Coach Carlos González , Atlético Ottawa COO Jon Sinden and midfielder Abou Sissoko joined a press conference Thursday afternoon ahead of