Cavalry braved the winter weather at Spruce Meadows to defeat Atlético Ottawa 3-1 in week two of the Canadian Premier League season.

Despite being significantly outpossessed throughout, the Cavs applied relentless pressure on Ottawa's back line and made the most of their opportunities. Daan Klomp opened the scoring in the 17th minute, Harry Paton doubled the lead in the 22nd, and Goteh Ntignee added a third in the 67th. Kamron Habibullah's first CPL goal in the 88th minute denied Nathan Ingham a clean sheet in the dying moments.

Harry Paton was, without question, the standout performer. Before being substituted in the 72nd minute, he was a constant presence in the attacking third and in the press. His goal was his second in as many matches for Cavalry, firmly establishing him as a focal point of the midfield. When asked about Paton's goalscoring contribution, manager Tommy Wheldon Jr. was quick to back his new signing, pointing to the tactical flexibility Paton provides when opposing defences focus their attention on other attacking players.

On the flip side, Cavalry's early-season disciplinary issues continued to mount. Starters have now accumulated six yellow cards across two matches, with Adam Pearlman and Sergio Camargo each picking up two of their own.

Despite conceding three and suffering a second consecutive defeat, Atlético Ottawa can take some positives from their tactical performance. The side showed discipline in possession, made responsible decisions in all areas of the pitch, and exercised patience throughout. That approach should serve them well as the season progresses, and will likely bear fruit once they begin to create more meaningful scoring opportunities.

The win sees Cavalry claim their second victory of the young season, putting to rest, at least for now, the notion that they are prone to slow starts. Ottawa, meanwhile, have lost their opening two matches and will be hoping that new signing Santiago Lopez can provide the spark their attack has so far lacked.

Looking ahead, Cavalry travel to Hamilton on Saturday, April 18 at 4:00 pm ET / 2:00 pm MT for another chapter in the most storied rivalry in CPL history. Atlético Ottawa, meanwhile, head to Montreal on Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 pm ET for their first meeting with FC Supra du Québec, where they will be looking to turn their early-season fortunes around.