Toronto FC Falls 3-1 to Atlético Ottawa in Championship Prelim

Toronto FC suffered a shocking 3-1 defeat to visiting Atlético Ottawa on Tuesday night at BMO Field, eliminated from the preliminary round of the 2026 Telus Canadian Championship. The reigning Canadian Premier League champions advanced to the quarterfinals, marking only the second time an MLS side has lost to a CPL club in the tournament's history.

Toronto FC struck first in the 16th minute when forward DeAndre Kerr converted a pass from Derrick Etienne Jr. to beat Ottawa goalkeeper Tristan Crampton, marking Kerr's first goal of the season. Atlético Ottawa responded with three unanswered goals in the second half, all from forward Ballou Tabla. He equalized in the 71st minute with a shot past Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran, then scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway 10 minutes later. Tabla completed his hat trick in extra time from the penalty spot.

The victory sends Ottawa into a two-leg quarterfinal series in July against the winner of the matchup between FC Supra du Quebec of the CPL and Woodbridge Strikers of League1 Ontario. The Telus Canadian Championship features 15 clubs from MLS, the CPL and Premier Soccer Leagues Canada competing for the Voyageurs Cup, with the...