Cavalry FC 2020 Season Preview

Arrivals and Departures

After winning both Spring and Fall Season Championships last year but falling to Forge over two legs in the final, Cavalry has moved forward with small roster changes rather than a full overhaul.

Gone are top scorer Dominique Malonga to Bulgarian top tier side Lokomotiv Plovdiv, talented centreback Joel Waterman, midfield cog Julian Buscher, underrated but injury-prone Mauro Eustaquiao, and bit-part players Victor Loturi, Carlos Patino and Tofa Fakunle. The first three were key parts of last year’s lineup, although we see Malonga as much less of a loss than most of the CanPL world seems to (by our count, poor finishing by him cost Cavs 7 points in the fall season alone - yes, we know, he won a few points too…).

Tasked with replacing Malonga will be a combination of Peruvian Jair Cordova and recently-signed Canadian international target man Marcus Haber. Waterman’s historic sale to l’Impact de Montreal left a hole in the backline, although a healthy Jay Wheeldon and more Dominick Zator at centreback will likely fill in. Canadian youngster Robert Boskovic also arrives on loan from Toronto FC II after a season spent with the Fury in USL where he was underutilised (a Canadian underutilised at Fury? Stop us if you’ve heard this one before). Buscher’s absence will arguably be felt the most, as he had a habit of controlling the midfield and driving play forward for Cavalry last year. Twenty-two year old Elliott Simmons, surprisingly released by Halifax, will aim to fill this void in centre mid, which was exacerbated by Eustaquiao’s departure.

Expected to return but unable due to COVID, winger Jose Escalante will be another huge miss in Prince Edward Island, minus the theatrics. Brazilian winger Richard Luca, who looked pretty damn good from Youtube clips, also misses out due to the pandemic, leaving gaps on the wings.

Rounding out the off-season moves were the arrivals of young forward Jose Hernandez from Pacific, fullback Mohamed Farsi from top PLSQ side AS Blainville, and utility man and former Foothills player Bruno Zebie, who becomes the ‘Steve Staios’ of the CanPL (unless you count Easton Ongaro?).

Projected Lineup

Our projected lineup takes its cue from a formation used by Tommy Wheeldon Jr. in the first half of last season - essentially a 5-2-2-1 with wingbacks pushing high (last used from the start against HFX on August 10th). We feel this makes the best of use of the squad at Cavalry’s disposal, and helps mix things up tactically against other squads. In reality, they’ll probably go with a standard 4-2-3-1, but we’ll give this a go anyways.

Up top, Cavalry has options aplenty even with the absence of Malonga. Marcus Haber offers a classic target man option to bring others into the play and get on the end of crosses, and we expect he’ll be used in this way mostly off the bench, at least to begin the tournament. Englishman Jordan Brown, scorer of 4 league and 1 *huge* cup goal against Vancouver last year, offers a pacy, pressing forward option. Newcomer Jair Cordova and young Aribim Pepple are more technical players, with left-footed Cordova in particular having a strong first touch and making intelligent runs across the backline. Jose Hernandez is another option, but we see him likely being used more out wide and off the bench. Cordova is our prediction to start the tournament at centre forward.

One of Cavalry’s most underrated players last season, Oliver Minatel figures to play a more prominent role from the start this year, and we see him playing slightly off Cordova, allowing for runs into the box. Slightly deeper than Oliver but still in an advanced midfield role, Sergio Camargo will be the playmaker, and will likely pop up with a few goals of his own. Behind, Elijah Adekugbe will continue his box-to-box midfield role and will likely be the main benefactor of Buscher’s departure. As long as he stays healthy, veteran Nik Ledgerwood will keep his distributor role from the mid, although with games every ~3 days, expect that Elliott Simmons will draw in here as well.

The back line will again be one of Cavalry’s strengths. Nathan Mavila, who grew into the role last season, will be the guaranteed starter at left wingback. On the right, Lethbridge’s finest Nico Pasquotti will slot in at right wingback but will naturally spend much of the game much higher up the pitch. When in possession, Zator will slide to the right, effectively shifting the formation to a 4-2-3-1. The experienced combination of Mason Trafford and Jay Wheeldon will complete the backline.

Cavalry continues to have the league’s best goalkeeper in Marco Carducci, and expect him to start all but one or two round robin games, with Niko Giantsopoulos ably deputizing for the others.

The Big Questions

How big will the loss of Malonga be?

First off, there’s no doubt Malonga’s a good player; whether he’s as good as the narrative suggests is the question. Without rehashing our Malonga viewpoints from above, the issue for Cavs is how to replace his .42 goals/league game ratio. With the arrivals of Cordova, Haber and Hernandez mixed in with Brown, Oliver and Pepple, it may be more of a scoring by committee situation, and if any of these can find some early form, it bodes well for the team’s chances at the Island Games.

Dealing with the loss of Escalante and Luca

Most teams have lost at least one player due to the pandemic, but Cavalry’s losses - wingers Jose Escalante and Richard Luca - seem particularly impactful, as they likely force a shift in style and formation. Escalante in particular is a proven commodity in the league, and Luca scored 3 in 13 games at a decent level in Georgia in 2019. Their absence has allowed for the signing of Marcus Haber, an indication of the potential shift in style, but it remains to be seen if the club will be as effective in the final third as last year.

Where’s Gabriel Bitar?

A simple question, but one I haven’t seen answered anywhere. As other clubs snap up young Canadians to fill their rosters pre-PEI, there’s hardly been a mention of Bitar since he was re-drafted (only in CanPL…) this past November. I mean, if a team drafts you twice they must like you, right? And to be honest, Bitar showed flashes of potential in his few appearances last year, particularly the 2-1 Voyageurs Cup win over Pacific (I seem to recall him starting off the move leading to Buscher’s goal). But as they say, in Tommy we trust...

The Main Lads

Dominick Zator

We don’t always agree with the CanPL’s many, many ‘power ranking’-type lists, but we have to agree with their recent pick for best defender in the league. Zator is not only strong positionally and in the air, he is likely the best ball-playing centre back in the league. He is comfortable enough with the ball at his feet that he often deputized at rightback during the fall season as Joel Waterman emerged in the centre, often forming a strong partnership going forward with his longtime teammate Pasquotti. He scored the winning goal against Vancouver in the Voyageurs Cup, and capped the season with a call-up to the Canadian men’s national team in November.

Marco Carducci

Tied for the league lead in clean sheets and third in saves behind keepers from two leaky defences, Carducci established himself as the league’s top goalkeeper, and also received his first call-up to the Canadian men’s national team last year. And who can forget his penalty save in the first leg of last year’s finals?? Ah, what could have been… Expect Carducci to have a strong tournament as a key member of the strongest defence in the league.

Nico Pasquotti

Pasquotti was a great story last year, coming from relative obscurity outside of Calgary (remember this article??) to become one of the league’s more recognizable players due to a mix of pace, tenacity and a possibly-sometimes-illegal long throw. His tormenting of Vancouver’s new Designated Player Ali Adnan over two legs in the Voyageurs Cup, and his should-have-been-winner when down 2 men against York stand out from last season. This year, Pasquotti won’t be an unknown quantity but he definitely offers something different to most other wingers in the league. With a strong performance, he could be a dark horse for an upward move in the not-too-distant future.

X-factor

Mohamed Farsi

Just 20 years old, Farsi caught the eye during Blainville’s Voyageurs Cup matchup with York 9 last season. It’ll be interesting to see how much game time he gets in PEI, and whether he might be an option in a 5-back formation at right wingback. Unlike many fullbacks in CanPL he seems to prefer a dribble and working the ball up the pitch on the ground, versus whipping in cross after cross, and he boasts a skillset that likely owes a lot to his much-discussed futsal background. Whether it’s during the Island Games or it waits until next season, Farsi looks primed for a breakout.

Disgruntled Thought

Our Cavs have got to do better than our Spurs and Sunderland seasons…. right??

Prediction

Listen, we’re Cavalry fans, and we think they’re going to do well. They’re well set up for a relatively short tournament like this, but so are Forge. It could all come down to that first game, and who can stay healthy. We’ll stick with the prediction of first place in the round robin, but I have a feeling it’ll be similar to last year, and it’ll be another year with someone else drinking off the microwave plate in the end.

Round-robin prediction: 1st