Atlético Ottawa are through to the quarter-finals of the 2026 Canadian Championship after defeating Toronto FC at BMO Field.

It was a second-half turnaround from the reigning CPL champions, fuelled by a Ballou Tabla hat-trick. A disaster for Toronto, and beyond the historic result, a massive victory for Ottawa as they look to turn their troubled season around.

Toronto lined up with several TFC 2 players due to their mounting injury concerns, with Luka Gavran in goal behind a back four of Kobe Franklin, Reid Fisher, Walker Zimmerman, and Jackson Gilman. Antone Bossenberry, Jonathan Osorio, and Markus Cimermancic formed the midfield, with Jahmarie Nolan, Deandre Kerr, and Derrick Etienne Jr. leading the line.

Atlético Ottawa opted for added stability in midfield, with Daniel Aguilar joining Juan Castro and Manu Aparicio in the middle. Tristan Crampton replaced Garissone Innocent in goal, the latter absent for personal reasons, while the back three was composed of youngsters Sergei Kozlovskiy, Noah Abatneh, and Rony Mbomio. Gabriel Antinoro and Jean-Aniel Assi were deployed as wingbacks, with Ballou Tabla and Emiliano García tasked with leading the attack.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested, with neither side carving out any clear-cut chances and possession split almost equally throughout the first half.

Toronto broke the deadlock in the 16th minute when a well-weighted low cross from Derrick Etienne Jr. found Deandre Kerr, whose shot beat Tristan Crampton and found the net.

Atlético Ottawa created little in front of goal despite finding their way into Toronto's box on several occasions.

The breakthrough for Ottawa finally came in the 71st minute through Ballou Tabla, who controlled inside the box, found a sliver of space past Zane Monlouis, and slotted past Luka Gavran to level things up.

Ottawa did not take long to go ahead. Ten minutes later, Monlouis, scrambling on the ground, attempted to clear the ball, only for it to bounce off Tabla, who found himself in a one-on-one with Gavran and made no mistake to double the lead.

Toronto pushed for a late equalizer but could not find a way through. Tabla then made his way into the box and won a penalty after being fouled, stepping up to convert and complete his hat-trick, taking the match ball and sending Ottawa into the quarter-finals.

It is a historic first victory over an MLS side for Atlético Ottawa, and it means all three Canadian MLS clubs have now been eliminated by a CPL team in the Canadian Championship at some point.

The reigning CPL champions will await the winner of FC Supra and Woodbridge Strikers, who meet at Stade Boréale on Friday, May 8 at 6:00 pm ET / 3:00 pm PT. The quarter-finals will be contested over two legs in July, with Ottawa having secured the right to host the second leg regardless of their opponent.