Cavalry FC eliminated from CONCACAF Champions Cup after loss in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY - Canadian Premier League champion Cavalry FC has exited the CONCACAF Champions Cup but not before giving Mexican heavyweight Pumas UNAM a scare.

Pumas needed a pair of second-half goals from substitute Guillermo Martinez for a 2-0 win Thursday, advancing 3-2 on aggregate after overturning a 2-1 loss in the opening leg of the first-round series.

Cavalry played the second half a man down Thursday after winger Jay Herdman was sent off in first-half stoppage time.

"We faced a giant tonight and we were very close," said Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

Pumas will face Costa Rica's LD Alajuelense in the round of 16.

Forge FC, the other CPL team at the tournament, was knocked out Tuesday — beaten 5-0 on aggregate after a 3-0 loss at CF Monterrey, which will face either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa in the round of 16.

After a frustrating first half, Pumas finally pierced the Cavalry defence in the 53rd minute when Martinez, finding space between two Cavalry defenders, headed home Ignacio Pussetto's cross for a 1-0 lead and the edge on aggregate thanks to an away goal in the first leg.

The Mexican international, who came on to start the second half, made it 2-0 in the 74th minute when his shot from outside the penalty box, with the Cavalry defence backing away, beat goalkeeper Marco Carducci.

The Calgary side had several narrow escapes before heading to the dressing room at halftime with the score knotted 0-0 on the night.

Herdman was sent off and a penalty awarded after video review, with Carducci diving to his left to save the ensuing penalty from Pussetto. 

After the game, Wheeldon quipped Pumas had "an extra man. Maybe two."

An earlier red card to Cavalry midfielder Charlie Trafford was reduced to a yellow after video review. 

"I think he was desperate to give the red card because he had one overturned prior," said Wheeldon, referencing Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon.

"It was always going to be tough against that official."

Cavalry brought on St. Lucia international forward Caniggia Elva in the 66th minute in a bid to spark some offence.

Needing a goal to force extra time, Cavalry's Ali Musse had a chance from a tight angle in stoppage time but Alex Padilla made the save. Carducci came forward for a last-minute free kick but for naught.

"We gave it our very best and I can't be more proud of the way our guys did," said Wheeldon. And we're only five weeks into our pre-season."

Trafford was shown a red card in the 15th minute after a collision with Jose Caicedo. With both players sliding to get the ball, Trafford got there first but connected with the Pumas player's legs with his studs afterwards.

That drew a straight red from Calderon. But the sanction was downgraded to a yellow on video review. Trafford, who had taken some knocks himself, came off before halftime.

The referee went to the pitchside monitor again after Herdman caught Pablo Bennevendo on the leg with his studs attempting a clearance in the Calgary penalty box. Herdman got the ball but buckled Bennevendo's leg in the process, leading to the penalty and red card.

Herdman, the son of former Canada and Toronto FC coach John Herdman, had been one of Cavalry's best players in the opening leg.

Pumas had its chances but lacked clinical finishing to start. The home side had 77 per cent possession and outshot Cavalry 14-0 in the first half but only managed one shot on target, prompting some boos from the crowd at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

Cavalry's opening-leg victory last Thursday at Starlight Stadium marked the first-ever win by a CPL side in CONCACAF Champions Cup play with Tobias Warschewski's 80th-minute strike deciding the game. And it came in Cavalry's first competitive outing since Nov. 9 when it defeated Forge 2-1 in the CPL championship game.

Wheeldon went with an unchanged lineup in Mexico. Pumas made seven changes but kept Canadian-Mexican teenager Santiago Lopez up front.

A dual citizen, the 19-year-old was a star for Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship last summer and played for the Mexican under-18 team in two tournaments in 2023. He has yet to declare his international allegiance.

Lopez was born in Morelia, Mexico, and was four when his parents — his late father was an economist who worked in banking — moved to Ontario for work before returning to Mexico six years later. Lopez joined the youth academy of Pumas UNAM in 2019 when he had just turned 14.

The Mexican side, which has won the Champions Cup three times (1980, '82 and '89) and finished runner-up twice (2005 and '22), currently sits fifth in the Liga MX Clausura at 3-1-2 after finishing fourth in the Apertura at 9-4-4.

Cavalry, which does not kick off its CPL campaign until April 5, lost 6-1 on aggregate to Orlando City last year in its first trip to CONCACAF's elite club tournament. 

The 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner earns a berth in the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.