Battle in the box

Tomasz Skublak has been one of Scrosoppi’s most important players in League1 Ontario over the last few years and helped fire the club to their first league title in 2024.

He has Canadian Premier League experience having played for Halifax Wanderers in 2019, and scored 35 goals for Scrosoppi in 33 regular-season games since joining in 2023. 

The Men’s Premier Division’s reigning MVP could be facing an up-and-coming defender by the name of Noah Abatneh. The Toronto-born centre-back joined Atlético in January 2025 on a one-year deal, with an option for a second year, and scored his first goal for the club on April 19 against his former side York United.

The former Roma and Lazio academy player played 34 times for York last season and only turned 20 years old in September. In addition to defending, he also gets a lot of touches of the ball as Ottawa build their attacks.

Meeting in the middle

A crucial part of either team’s success in this fixture will be the winner of the midfield battle, and Atlético’s Manuel Aparicio versus Scrosoppi’s Orlendis Benitez Hernandez will certainly be an interesting one.

Aparicio joined the Ottawa club in March 2024 following a four-year period with CPL rivals Pacific. Since signing, his ability in the middle of the pitch has been a crucial part of Atlético’s play, leading their tackle tally last year with 88. 

His seven goal contributions in 2024 proved he also has the ability in attack, and he has already scored against former club York this season, so it should be an interesting matchup against Benitez Hernandez. 

The Cuban midfielder joined the Men’s Premier champions at the beginning of this season following a short stint at Forge. He scored 20 goals in 29 games during two seasons with Simcoe County Rovers, and was named the Midfielder of the Year and a First Team All-Star while helping Simcoe win their 2023 title. 

He scored his first goal for Scrosoppi against Sigma nearly a week ago, and played in the Canadian Championship for Simcoe last season, so he’ll be coming into this with plenty of confidence. 

Danger in the 10

One of Atlético’s most dangerous players going forward is Mexican attacking midfielder David Rodríguez. The 22-year-old is currently on loan from Liga MX club Atlético San Luis and scored two goals and bagged one assist from his opening three league games in the CPL.

John Yacou told League1 Ontario’s website that his Scrosoppi side prides itself on a strong defence. With a stunning defensive record in 2024, only conceding 12 goals in 22 games, and two clean sheets from their opening two matches this year, it will be no simple task for Rodríguez.

A key part of Scrosoppi’s defence is the man between the sticks, Andreas Vaikla, who joined in 2023. The former Estonia international was part of English Championship side West Bromwich Albion’s academy as a youth player and has had stints across Europe before landing in Canada. 

Alongside a defence including 24-year-old Brayden Borutskie, who was also an important part of their 2024 title win, Vaikla has proved he can be a tough goalkeeper to beat, even for a finisher like David Rodríguez.