Cavalry FC v FC Edmonton, referred to as the Al Classico or Battle of Alberta, was an inter-city soccer rivalry between Alberta-based clubs Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton. It was one of several sporting rivalries between the two largest cities of the province. The rivalry ended in 2022 when FC Edmonton folded.
| Location | Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton) |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| First meeting | Cavalry 1–0 Edmonton Canadian Premier League (May 18, 2019) |
| Latest meeting | Cavalry 1–0 Edmonton Canadian Premier League (September 17, 2022) |
| Stadiums | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton ATCO Field, Foothills County |
| Trophy | Wildrose Cup |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 17 |
| Most wins | Cavalry (14) |
| Top scorer | Jordan Brown (4) |
| All-time series | Cavalry: 14 Draw: 3 Edmonton: 0 |
| Largest victory | Edmonton 0–3 Cavalry Canadian Premier League (June 15, 2019) Edmonton 0–3 Cavalry Canadian Premier League (May 6, 2022) |
| Longest win streak | Cavalry FC (5) (Sep 11, 2019 – Aug 15, 2021) (May 6, 2022 – Sep 17, 2022) |
| Longest unbeaten streak | Cavalry FC (17) (May 18, 2019 – Sep 17, 2022) |
The Wildrose Cup was awarded annually to the team that wins the most points from the series in league play.[1]
History
editThe first edition of the Al Classico took place in 2018, when FC Edmonton's Academy played provincial rivals Calgary Foothills FC in two friendly games to help them prepare for their upcoming season.[2][3] The fixtures were also used to gauge Edmonton's interest into a potential return to join the Canadian Premier League.[4]
In May and June respectively, it was announced that Cavalry FC, based in Calgary, and FC Edmonton would be joining the Canadian Premier League, where the rivalry would continue.[5] In preparation for their inaugural Canadian Premier League seasons, Cavalry FC announced they would host a match between a Cavalry FC Prospects and FC Edmonton Prospects side on September 29,[6] to be followed by a rematch on October 20 at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton.[7]
On September 11, 2019, Cavalry FC clinched the first-ever Wildrose Cup with a 1–0 win over FC Edmonton.[8]
Results
editCavalry win Draw Edmonton win
| Competition | Date | Home team | Result | Away team | Venue | Attendance | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 CPL | May 18, 2019 | Cavalry | 1–0 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 4,000 | [1] |
| June 15, 2019 | Edmonton | 0–3 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 3,256 | [2] | |
| August 16, 2019 | Cavalry | 0–0 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 3,650 | [3] | |
| September 11, 2019 | Edmonton | 0–1 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 2,790 | [4] | |
| October 19, 2019 | Cavalry | 3–1 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 3,492 | [5] | |
| 2020 CPL | August 20, 2020 | Edmonton | 0–2 | Cavalry | Alumni Field, Charlottetown | 0 | [6] |
| 2021 CPL | August 3, 2021 | Cavalry | 2–1 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 2,418 | [7] |
| 2021 Canadian Championship | August 15, 2021 | Edmonton | 0–2 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 1,189 | [8] |
| 2021 CPL | August 29, 2021 | Cavalry | 2–2 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 3,489 | [9] |
| September 1, 2021 | Edmonton | 0–1 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 470 | [10] | |
| September 29, 2021 | Edmonton | 2–3 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 991 | [11] | |
| October 9, 2021 | Cavalry | 1–1 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 3,102 | [12] | |
| 2022 CPL | May 6, 2022 | Edmonton | 0–3 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 1,044 | [13] |
| 2022 Canadian Championship | May 10, 2022 | Cavalry | 2–1 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 2,229 | [14] |
| 2022 CPL | June 26, 2022 | Cavalry | 3–1 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County |
|
[15] |
| July 30, 2022 | Cavalry | 2–0 | Edmonton | ATCO Field, Foothills County | 3,446 | [16] | |
| September 17, 2022 | Edmonton | 0–1 | Cavalry | Clarke Stadium, Edmonton | 1,505 | [17] |
All time results
edit- As of October 25, 2022
| Competitions | Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAV | EDM | CAV | EDM | |||
| Canadian Premier League | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 8 |
| Canadian Championship | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Total matches | 17 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 9 |
Top goalscorers
edit- As of October 9, 2021. Competitive matches only. Players in bold are still playing with either team.
| Pos | Name | Club | Nationality | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Brown | Cavalry FC |  England
|
4 |
| 2 | Joe Mason | Cavalry FC |  Republic of Ireland
|
3 |
| Easton Ongaro | FC Edmonton |  Canada
| ||
| 4 | Sergio Camargo | Cavalry FC | Canada
|
2 |
| Ben Fisk | Cavalry FC | Canada
| ||
| Daan Klomp | Cavalry FC |  Netherlands
| ||
| 7 | Fraser Aird | Cavalry FC | Canada
|
1 |
| Joseph Di Chiara | Cavalry FC | Canada
| ||
| Amer Đidić | FC Edmonton | Canada
| ||
| José Escalante | Cavalry FC |  Honduras
| ||
| Azriel Gonzalez | FC Edmonton |  United States
| ||
| Nikolas Ledgerwood | Cavalry FC | Canada
| ||
| Richard Luca | Cavalry FC |  Brazil
| ||
| Anthony Novak | Cavalry FC | Canada
| ||
| Nico Pasquotti | Cavalry FC | Canada
| ||
| Ahinga Selemani | Cavalry FC | United States
| ||
| Marcus Velado-Tsegaye | FC Edmonton |  El Salvador
|
League ranking by season
edit| P. | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Finals | Season | Playoffs | Season | Playoffs | Season | Playoffs | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | RU | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | SF | 3 | SF | ||||
| 4 | 4 | |||||||
| 5 | ||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||||
Players who played for both clubs
editCavalry then Edmonton
edit
Gabriel Bitar (Cavalry FC 2019; FC Edmonton 2022)
Edmonton then Cavalry
edit- Ben Fisk (FC Edmonton 2016–2017; Cavalry FC 2021–2023)
- Bruno Zebie (FC Edmonton 2015–2017, 2019; Cavalry FC 2020)
- Fraser Aird (FC Edmonton 2021; Cavalry FC 2022–present)
- Joseph Holliday (FC Edmonton 2022; Cavalry FC 2023)
- Mauro Eustáquio (FC Edmonton 2017; Cavalry FC 2019)
- Nikolas Ledgerwood (FC Edmonton 2016–2017; Cavalry FC 2019–2021)
- Shamit Shome (FC Edmonton 2016, 2021–2022; Cavalry FC 2023–present)
Tobias Warschewski (FC Edmonton 2021–2022; Cavalry FC 2024–present)- Tyson Farago (FC Edmonton 2014–2017; Cavalry FC 2021–2022)
Wildrose Cup results
editAll time results
| Team | Titles | Largest victory (points per game) |
|---|---|---|
| Cavalry FC | 3 | 2022 (3 ppg) |
| FC Edmonton | 0 | — |
2022 Wildrose Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cavalry FC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 12 |
| 2 | FC Edmonton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 |
Source: [citation needed]
| Season | Winner | Total points | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Cavalry FC | 13–1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||
| 2021 | Cavalry FC (2) | 11–2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | Cavalry FC (3) | 12–0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Cavalry FC". Facebook. August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ Gradon, Stuart (April 30, 2018). "Calgary Foothills FC beat FC Edmonton squad in first Al Classico". Total Soccer Project. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Gradon, Stuart (May 5, 2018). "Calgary Foothills FC win 2nd leg of 'Al Classico' in final pre-season match as news breaks of Calgary Canadian Premier League club". Total Soccer Project. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ "'Battle of Alberta' match breathes life into hopes for pro soccer in Edmonton". CBC News. May 1, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Van Diest, Derek (June 7, 2018). "Edmonton the next stop for Canadian Premier League". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
- ^ Al Classico 2018 - Cavalry FC Prospects vs FC Edmonton Prospects (Video). September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- ^ "A Chat With FC Edmonton General Manager Jay Ball". Win Column Sports. August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- ^ Bedakian, Armen (September 12, 2019). ""It's for the fans": Cavalry celebrates 1st silverware in Wildrose Cup". CanPL.ca. Retrieved September 13, 2019.