Recent debutants could provide inspiration for Cavalry

It is always exciting for a club to make their debut in the Concacaf Champions Cup and one of the teams doing so in the 2024 tournament will be Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC.

Cavalry became just the second team from the CPL to qualify for the Champions Cup following Forge FC’s qualification for the 2022 edition.

As winners of the CPL Shield last year, Cavalry punched their Champions Cup ticket for the 2024 edition and will meet Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer (MLS), a team that made its debut in the Champions Cup just a year ago in 2023.

It will be interesting to see how Cavalry perform in their maiden voyage in Concacaf competition. In looking back on the last five Champions Cups, the results of recent Champions Cup debutantes are mixed, with some being eliminated in their first series, while others made deep runs in the tournament.

In 2019, Atlanta United, Guastatoya of Guatemala, Panama’s CA Independiente and Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic were the four teams that embarked on the Champions Cup for the first time. Guastatoya and Atletico Pantoja suffered defeats in the Round of 16, but it was a different story for Atlanta United and CAI.

Atlanta United eliminated Costa Rica’s Herediano in the Round of 16 before bowing out to eventual champions Monterrey in the quarterfinals, while CAI defeated 2018 finalists Toronto FC in the Round of 16 before narrowly losing to Sporting Kansas City in the quarterfinals.

Three teams made their debuts in the 2020 Champions Cup, and in an odd twist two of them squared off in the Round of 16, with New York City FC defeating San Carlos of Costa Rica. NYCFC’s run would then with a loss to eventual champions Tigres in the quarterfinals.

Los Angeles FC were the other team making their debut, and it turned into a magical ride that will forever live in club history. Down two goals in their Round of 16 series with Mexico’s Club Leon, LAFC rallied to win that series and then eliminated Liga MX sides Cruz Azul and Club America in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to reach the Final.

While LAFC narrowly fell to Tigres in the Final, it was still a remarkable accomplishment to reach that stage in their Champions Cup debut season, something that no doubt Cavalry would love to accomplish as well.

The 2021 Champions Cup saw two debutants in the form of Arcahaie of Haiti and the Philadelphia Union. Arcahaie were eliminated by Cruz Azul in the Round of 16, but Philadelphia took down past Concacaf champions Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica in the Round of 16 and then Atlanta United in the quarterfinals before suffering defeat at the hands of seven-time champions Club America in the semifinals.

Cavalry’s fellow CPL side Forge FC and Costa Rican club Santos de Guapiles each debuted in the Champions Cup in 2022, but were unable to advance past the Round of 16. Forge were eliminated by Cruz Azul, while Santos were defeated by NYCFC.

Cavalry’s Round One opponent, Orlando City, made their debut in the 2023 Champions Cup and were narrowly defeated by Tigres in the Round of 16. Austin FC of MLS also debuted in 2023, but were eliminated by 1984 Concacaf champions Violette of Haiti in the Round of 16.

Liga MX side Atlas made their Champions Cup debut as well in 2023 and produced one of the moments of the tournament by rallying from a three-goal deficit to defeat Honduran giants Olimpia in the Round of 16. Atlas’ spell in the Champions Cup would then come to an end in the quarterfinals round with a defeat to the Philadelphia Union.

Cavalry now take the Champions Cup stage as a debutant and will hope to produce the same kind of deep runs that the 2020 LAFC or 2021 Philadelphia Union teams delivered to their fans.