Week six of the Canadian Premier League wrapped up on Sunday evening, leaving the CPL table very tight. All eight teams played in exciting games on the weekend, which included Pacific FC beating FC Edmonton 2-1 to stay top of the table and leaving FC Edmonton at the bottom still searching for their first win. With only one goalie holding a clean sheet this week in a 1-0 for Valour FC over York United, there were plenty of goal scorers to pick from in this team of the week. This week will see a standard 4-4-2 formation with four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers.
Goaltender
Jonathan Sirois (Valour FC)
The goalie on loan from CF Montreal was the only goalie in week six to successfully keep the ball out of the net all game. Stopping all three shots he faced, Sirois was crucial in helping an underperforming Valour side come out with three points. Sirois got man of the match after stopping a penalty kick in the 56th minute by De Rosario, who has scored three goals already in this young season.
Defenders
Daan Klomp (Calvary FC)
Making his second straight appearance on the Team of the Week including the Canadian Championship, Klomp fought hard to pull in the draw for Calvary in Halifax on Sunday afternoon. Klomp used his big body in the box to be a target on all corners and set plays. The Dutch right-back was able to grab an assist and a goal both from set-pieces, including heading in a goal in the 90th+4 minute to bring the scoreline even on the very last touch of the game.
Diego Espejo (Atletico Ottawa)
Ottawa picked up their second draw of the season on the road this weekend with a 1-1 result on Saturday. Without Espejo’s impressive defensive efforts this game could have easily gone another way. Espejo stayed strong in the box all game making two back-to-back blocks in front of an unprotected goal in the first half, where Forge would have tied the game before halftime. Forge eventually did tie the game, but Ottawa not only scored their first-ever goal against Forge, but they got their first point against the two-time champs.
Eriks Santos (Halifax Wanderers FC)
Playing in 86 minutes of the 2-2 draw against Calvary, Santos had a great game for the Wanderers. The 26-year-old defender made seven recoveries and three interceptions along with getting his first assist of the season on a goal from Samuel Salter in the 61st minute.
Zach Verhoven (Atletico Ottawa)
This midfielder/defender has been in and out of Ottawa’s lineup all season, but I won’t be surprised to see him get more minutes after the performance he put up at Tim Horton’s Field on Saturday evening. The Burnaby native made three clearances on the back end while finishing the game with an 87 percent success rate.
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Midfielders
Marco Bustos (Pacific FC)
If secondary assists were a thing in soccer, then Bustos would have left this game with two of them. Though not being directly involved in either one of Pacific’s goals, Bustos could be looked at as creating both goals for the team in purple. Bustos completed 94 percent of his passes on Sunday. Bustos had 69 touches in the match to help control the ball in the midfield and create multiple opportunities on goal.
Ollie Bassett (Atletico Ottawa)
Ollie Bassett is the third and final Ottawa player on this week’s team of the week. Bassett continued his excellent form on Saturday, finishing the game with a smashing goal coming in the 16th minute. Basset had two interceptions and completed 89 percent of passes. His goal was the first-ever goal for Ottawa versus Forge, thanks to a setup from Ballou Tabla.
Tristian Borges (Forge FC)
Tristian Borges was under fire last season after making his return to the CPL and struggled to put up similar numbers as he did when last appearing in the league. Borges has seemed to get his game back and has possibly been one of the better players in the squad. On Saturday, Borges assisted Noah Jensen on the game-tying goal in the 46th minute. Borges continued to make an impact in the 1-1 draw while helping keep the pressure in the Ottawa end and creating chances throughout the match.
Noah Jensen (Forge FC)
Noah Jensen had a match he’ll never forget against Ottawa, scoring his first-ever goal in his professional career with a shot outside the box in the 46th minute to tie the game. Jensen was an influential player all match, taking four shots and completing 32 passes with 56 touches.
Forwards
Josh Heard (Pacific FC)
Being involved in both goals in the 2-1 victory over FC Edmonton, Heard makes his way onto this week’s team of the week. The Welsh striker got his second goal of the season which turned out to be the game-winner along with assisting the first goal of the game scored by Alejandro Diaz on his fifth goal of the season.
Samuel Salter (Halifax Wanderers FC)
Scoring one goal in the 61st minute, Salter did enough to win the man of the match. The 21-year-old also headed the ball back into the box after a corner which eventually bounced around and found its way in the back of the net tying the game before the second half. Salter created opportunities all game, and was a constant threat for Calvary every time he touched the ball around the box, and finished the game with four shots in the 90 minutes he played.
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