Cavalry reclaimed top spot in the CPL table thanks to a 4-2 home victory on a windy Saturday afternoon in the Prairies.

A five-goal first half reignited the rivalry between the two squads before Cavalry's league-leading defence returned to its midseason form for the remaining 45 minutes.

Kadin Chung returned to the Tridents' lineup for the first time in nearly a month, donning the captain's armband in Terry Dunfield's 3-4-3 formation. Tristan Marshall, Diego Konincks, and Juan Quintana made up the back line, while Mattias Vales, Roshawn Juhmi, Taras Gomulka, and Kadin Chung formed the midfield four. This left Aidan Daniels, Ronan Kratt, and Marco Bustos to form the visitors' attacking unit.

Tommy Wheldon Jr. opted for his usual back four of Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Amer Didic, Daan Klomp, and Adam Pearlman. Michael Baldisimo and Niko Myroniuk formed the defensive midfield in the absence of Eryk Kobza and Harry Paton. Up front, Goteh Ntignee, Tobias Warschewski, Ali Musse, and Caniggia Elva shaped the home side's offence.

In a concerning trend for the Shield hopefuls, the home side found themselves trailing inside the opening ten minutes for the third straight match. Mattias Vales snuck behind Adam Pearlman and was able to meet Marco Bustos' cross and slip the ball between the legs of Nathan Ingham. This was the first goal of the young Victorian's professional career.

Unlike the previous two contests, the early deficit woke Cavalry up immediately. In the 12th minute, a cross from Kamdem Fewo went untouched by Pacific's defenders and bounced favourably in the box. Daan Klomp met the uncontested ball and drew his squad level with a diving header.

Pacific's aggressive play would eventually be penalized in the 17th minute, when referee Renzo Villanueva pointed to the spot, giving Cavalry a chance to take an early lead. Warschewski stepped up and made no mistake, slotting the ball past the outstretched arm of Eleias Himaras. This goal granted Cavalry the all-time CPL record for goals in a single season, with 55.

Tactical back-and-forth play ensued for the next twenty minutes, with few chances generated from open play and Pacific holding a slight edge in possession.

Pacific would be given a penalty of their own in the 44th minute, with Pearlman also earning a yellow card for the foul in the box. Bustos stepped up to the spot and sent Ingham the wrong way to level the score.

Once again, Cavalry responded right away just before the half came to an end. A Cavalry corner created chaos in the Pacific box and eventually saw the ball return to Ali Musse's boot. The Somali's second effort into the box fell to Bradley Kamdem Fewo, who found the ball near the goal line and drilled it past Himaras. This restored Cavalry's lead and sent them to the locker room with a 3-2 advantage.

After a difficult outing, Adam Pearlman was replaced by Nathaniel Edwards to begin the second half.

Cavalry were granted another penalty in the 51st minute, giving them the opportunity to double their lead. Ali Musse stepped up to the spot and powered his shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal, adding to his impressive late-season form.

A flurry of substitutions ensued in the remaining thirty minutes.

Pacific introduced Christian Greco-Taylor, Lukas Browning-Lagerfeldt, and Yann Toualy to provide fresh legs across all levels of their formation. Alejandro Diaz and Marley Edwards were also brought in for the visitors as the minutes wound down, with Dunfield looking to pull a goal back for the travelling Pacific supporters.

In response, Cavalry brought in Owen Graham-Roache and Mael Henry to build on their goal-difference lead in the standings, then subbing on Levi Laing and James McGlinchey, with the Briton making his first appearance since August 29 and the young Calgarian used to finally satisfy Cavalry's U21 minutes requirement for 2026.

Cavalry had a big chance in the dying minutes, with Graham-Roache putting the ball high over Himaras' goal, leaving the loanee still looking for his first goal with the Cavs.

With the loss, Pacific are now locked in to set the low watermark for single-season points in the CPL. They can only amass a maximum of 17 points and will fall short of FC Edmonton's 2022 total of 20. The Tridents will welcome Forge to Starlight Stadium next weekend, where the Hammers will be looking to score as many goals as possible in their quest for the Shield.

Cavalry, on the other hand, have a fairly straightforward task next weekend, despite their recent slide making matters slightly more complicated. A win by any score against Vancouver is the best way for the Cavs to lift the CPL Shield. However, with Forge playing Pacific, Cavalry can still be usurped on goal difference if Forge manage to defeat Pacific by eight goals or more. Very unlikely, but not impossible.

The matches for both squads will kick off simultaneously at 2:00 MT / 1:00 PT next weekend.