The 2021 Pacific FC season was the third season in the history of Pacific FC, as well as third in the Canadian Premier League. In addition to the domestic league, the club competed in the Canadian Championship.
On December 5, Pacific defeated two-time defending league champions Forge FC 1–0 in the 2021 Canadian Premier League Final to win their first league title. As champions, they qualified for the 2022 CONCACAF League.
Overview Coming off of a 4th place finish in the shortened 2020 Canadian Premier League season, Pacific FC was able to retain most of the club's core players, while also bringing in new talent such as international attackers Ollie Bassett and Gianni dos Santos. Expectations were relatively high for the side in Pa-Modou Kah's second year leading the team.
The season began with an eight game bubble tournament in Winnipeg, dubbed "The Kickoff", before the teams moved back to their home stadiums to play out the rest of the season. The first half of the season was a huge success for Pacific, as it saw them at the top of the table and also being the highest-scoring team in the league. In the first round of the Canadian Championship, the Tridents were given a tough draw against fellow British Columbian side Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer, but Pacific managed to defeat them 4-3 at home in front of a sold-out crowd to advance to the next round.
Pacific qualified for the playoffs, by finishing in third place, and face 2nd place team Cavalry FC in the semifinals. They managed to defeat Cavalry 2-1 in extra time, and advanced to the final against defending champions Forge FC. In the final game in Hamilton, midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour scored the lone goal of the game while goalkeeper Callum Irving kept a clean sheet, and Pacific won their first ever trophy.
Current squad As of June 10, 2021.
No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Previous club Goalkeepers 1 Nolan Wirth GK Victoria Highlanders 13 Callum Irving GK Ottawa Fury Defenders 2 Kadin Chung RB Kaiserslautern II 3 Jordan Haynes LB / LW Vancouver TSS Rovers 5 Abdou Samake CB University of Michigan 6 Lukas MacNaughton CB Alliance United 6 Robert Boskovic CB Toronto FC II 12 Kunle Dada-Luke FB / RW Atlético Ottawa 17 Chris Lee LB UBC Thunderbirds 26 Thomas Meilleur-Giguère CB Montreal Impact Duran Lee CB FC Edmonton Midfielders 7 Víctor Blasco MF VIU Mariners 8 Matthew Baldisimo DM / CM Fresno FC 11 Josh Heard AM Real Monarchs 19 Matteo Polisi AM / FW SFU Athletics 20 Sean Young CM Victoria Highlanders 21 Alessandro Hojabrpour AM Lokomotiv Plovdiv 22 Jamar Dixon CM Ottawa Fury 23 Ollie Bassett AM Nuneaton Borough 34 Manny Aparicio CM York9 FC Forwards 9 Alejandro Díaz FW Club América 10 Marco Bustos RW / AM Valour FC 14 Terran Campbell LW / ST Fresno FC 24 Gianni dos Santos CF FC Dordrecht
Transfers
In No.Pos.PlayerFrom clubFee/notesDateSource34 York9 FCFree transfer19 SFU AthleticsFree transfer12 Atlético OttawaFree transfer FC EdmontonFree transfer23 Nuneaton BoroughFree transfer24 FC DordrechtFree transfer17 UBC ThunderbirdsSelected 5th overall in the 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft
Draft picks Pacific FC selected the following players in the 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft on January 29, 2021. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. RoundSelectionPos.PlayerNationalityUniversity15UBC Thunderbirds212UBC Thunderbirds
Out No.Pos.PlayerTo clubFee/notesDateSource16 Atlético OttawaContract expired19 York UnitedContract expired17Retired
Loans Out No.Pos.PlayerLoaned toFee/notesDateSource Emil Gazdov FC NürnbergLoaned until June 2022
Competitions
Canadian Premier League
Table
Results by match
Matches
Playoff matches
Canadian Championship
Statistics +No.PosNatNameTotalCanadian Premier LeagueCanadian ChampionshipAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssistsAppsGoalsAssists2DFKadin Chung291226113013DFJordan Haynes290126013005DFAbdou Samake280225013016DFLukas MacNaughton292126213007FWVíctor Blasco171114113008MFMatthew Baldisimo7006001009FWAlejandro Díaz311242810432010FWMarco Bustos1876177610011FWJosh Heard2952264131112DFKunle Dada-Luke2302210220014FWTerran Campbell301362811522117DFChris Lee 30030000018DFRobert Boskovic50050000019MFMatteo Polisi2231223100020MFSean Young 2810261020021MFAlessandro Hojabrpour2922262230022MFJamar Dixon2900260030023FWOllie Bassett2023202300024FWGianni dos Santos2012171230026DFThomas Meilleur-Giguère1200100020028MFPaul Amedume20020000034MFManny Aparicio25432233310
Goalkeepers +No.NatNameTotalCanadian Premier LeagueCanadian ChampionshipAppsConcededShutoutsAppsConcededShutoutsAppsConcededShutouts1Nolan Wirth33033000013Callum Irving303492729835131Isaac Boehmer120120000
References
External links 2021 Pacific FC season at Official Site