Ottawa’s Canadian Premier League (CPL) side sits atop the table through seven games this season, and remains one of only two teams yet to drop a match.
Atlético Ottawa has been perfect so far under new coach Diego Mejía, who was hired earlier this year and has guided the club to a 5-0-2 record to start the season.
Currently, Atlético leads the CPL standings with 17 points, giving them a six-point margin over the second-place Halifax Wanderers, which has only played six games this season.
On Tuesday, Ottawa drew with the Hamilton-based Forge FC by a score of 2-2, a strong result considering Atlético survived the final 10 minutes of the match without star forward David Rodríguez, who was sent off after receiving a red card.
Atlético received goals from Kevin Santos, a 25-year old Portuguese forward, as well as Samuel Salter, a 20-year-old from Laval, Que.
Salter’s goal continued his recent hot streak, as the Atlético returnee potted a remarkable four goals in Ottawa’s match against Winnipeg’s Valour FC last weekend.
After Valour took the lead in the opening stretch, Salter scored three goals in less than 20 minutes and added another late strike to lead Ottawa to a 5-2 victory at TD Place.
Salter’s six goals leads the CPL this season, while Rodríguez is also among the league leaders with four goals. Additionally, Rodriguez and Salter are top two in the CPL for assists, with four and three, respectively.
The pair have helped Ottawa score 22 goals in the early part of the season, which is also best in the league. In comparison, York United has scored the second-most goals this year with nine, though they’ve played one fewer game than Atlético.
Next up for Ottawa is a matinee matchup against the Wanderers in Halifax, N.S., on Saturday. The two teams also faced each other last month, when they played to a 2-2 draw.
Atlético is looking to improve upon last-year’s league result, when they were bounced by Forge in the CPL semifinals. Atlético has never won a CPL championship in the franchise’s five-year history, though they placed runner-up in 2022, before losing at home to Forge.
