The 2025 Canadian Premier League (CPL) final, Atlético Ottawa and Cavalry FC, a spectacular match, one of the most memorable matches in CPL history. From the beginning of the match, the weather was the talking point of the town. The entire broadcast of the game looked like someone pointed a camera inside a snow globe.

The CPL didn’t cancel the game because of a combination of conflict of schedules. Postponing the final would require a new venue, but the renovations at TD Place takes place the day after the game, making it unavailable. Additionally, there is an international break approaching for the players and teams, meaning that there was no clear later date available to play. The game must go on.

The snow was rough in Ottawa, where players on both sides were seen squinting through it all, audience members, commentators everyone was shocked and laughing at the same time at the ridiculousness of the field. At one point, Ottawa’s goalkeeper, Nathan Ingham, started to help the crew shovel the snow too. The interesting fact for this game is that.

Cavalry FC started the first goal of the game with a penalty shot from Fraser Aird, where he somehow bypasses the interference from the snow into the net. Commentators and fans were left shocked with the skills of the player and felt that the weather, which was the emphasis throughout the entire game, was giving the teams are harder time while giving a show of the lifetime for fans.

Not long after at the 39’ mark, David Rodríguez fires back with the most difficult of shots, the bicycle kick, but not only that, he had to do it in the snow, which led to the vital moment of the game. Everyone in the crowd was stunned by the shot, fans cheering, commentators yelling, and social media began to talk about the shot and commenting both the effort and difficulty of this kick, and then naming it the ‘Icicle kick’, getting inspiration from both the bicycle kick and the weather situations at the time.

By the end of the game, both teams were tied, as if the game wasn’t exciting enough, extra time was added to the game. Once the snowplows came back onto the field to get rid of the pile of snow, the field is back to its even state, both teams just needed one more to finish off the other. But then, David Rodríguez once again pulled through, a tidy chip to take the ball over the goalkeeper to take the lead.

At the point, all momentum was on Atlético Ottawa’s side, everyone in the crowd was already celebrating. Just when the final whistle blew, the game was theirs. Atlético Ottawa had finally secured their first CPL title, and they did it through the difficult conditions that would make most leagues cancel the match entirely. The 2025 CPL Final wasn’t pretty, but it was unforgettable, every moment showed exactly what makes Canadian soccer worth following.

Ben Chan kchan467@my.bcit.ca