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Cavalry FC ready for Canadian Championship matchup against Vancouver Whitecaps

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Cavalry FC will take to the pitch Tuesday night at Atco Field as the underdog in their quarter-final matchup with the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.

Centre-back Callum Montgomery knows the Whitecaps well -- he spent four seasons in MLS with Dallas and Minnesota.

Montgomery knows Tuesday night's matchup won't be easy.

"It's the small things, you know? The speed of play," Montgomery said.

"They can change the tempo and they're ruthless in the box."

Played well against Whitecaps

Cavalry FC has had some success against the Whitecaps in the past.

In three games against them, they have a win, a draw and a loss on penalty kicks.

Midfielder Charlie Trafford says it's easy to get up for games like this and you play with a bit of a chip on your shoulder.

"For sure, there's a few boys that dabbled in the MLS system and at clubs and stuff, so there's a little bit of that," he said.

"We're trying to prove ourselves and everyone wants to keep rising to the next level. It's just an exciting one to go out and get a chance to prove yourself and again, we love to compete. We love this opportunity, so yeah, just a little chip on the shoulder and a chance to show that."

Rising to the occasion

The Whitecaps come into this match with a 5-3-2 record in Major League Soccer.

After a slow start to the season, Cavalry is on a bit of a roll of late in the Canadian Premier League.

They're 1-2-1 but Montgomery thinks they have a chance against the Whitecaps because they're able to rise to the challenge against better opponents.

"I think we come in with a healthy respect but we don't fear them," he said.

"We're also a team that works very hard and against opposition that on paper is better than you, you need to outwork them and I think that's something we've got. We've got a lot of grit and we know how to defend our box very well."

Ultimate goal

The matchup against the Whitecaps is a quarter-final and leg one of two.

The second game will be played in Vancouver on May 21.

Left-back Bradley Kamden says beating the Whitecaps would be great but it would just be another step in where they want to get to in the Canadian Championship.

"It means you advance to the semi-final and one step closer to the objective of winning," he said.

"We want to win every competition that we're in, so we're going to have to go through the Whitecaps if we want to get to that goal. So that's what it will mean for us (if we win)."

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