There aren’t many members left from the original cohort of Canadian Premier League players - the OGs, as the saying goes. .As the league has developed, the talent level has increased significantly, while more and more young players have found their way to break in. .Because of that, it’s made it hard for those who were there from day one to stick around, as they’ve had to adapt to that rising tide of a growing league. .Yet, despite that, a couple of CPL OGs had a moment to remember for Cavalry last weekend against York United. There, in a match they needed to win to potentially clinch the regular season title, the CPL Shield, (with a bit of help from rivals Forge), Cavalry’s Sergio Camargo and Marco Carducci put in performances to remember for their club. .In a 1-0 win that was ultimately enough to win the title thanks to Forge’s 3-1 victory over Pacific, Camargo ended up scoring the winning goal, while Carducci made four saves to preserve the victory. .The two lone remaining players from the Cavalry side that won the regular season title in 2019 (although it wasn’t officially recognized at the time), it was a full-circle moment for the pair, who have found a way to remain key pieces for a team that has continued to grow and evolve around them since then. .In particular, it was a big moment for Camargo, as it was a perfect way to cap off what has been a resurgent campaign for the 29-year-old. Carducci has remained a consistent pillar in the net for Cavalry over the few years, winning two Golden Glove trophies in his previous four seasons (and is a leading candidate to win a third), but Camargo has battled injury over his time in Calgary..Because of that, while he’d scored an impressive 13 goals and added seven assists in 60 games, good numbers for a midfielder, he’d never seen the field for more than 1,350 minutes in a full CPL campaign (regular season+playoffs). .This season, however, he’s found a way to change that, as he’s already made a career-high 24 regular season appearances (out of a possible 27 as of writing) and is already up to 1,352 minutes, already besting his previous career-high. .He’s making the most of the time he’s spending on the field, too, as he’s scored six goals and added two assists across those games. .Therefore, when his goal breached the target against York, it wasn’t just a milestone marker for Cavalry, but a big moment in what has been an important year for Camargo, too. .And that he was able to share that with fellow OGs, Marco Carducci and head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (who is one of just two year-one managers remaining in the CPL), only added to the occasion for Camargo, who was pleased to reflect on what the moment meant to him when asked. .“It’s very special,” Camargo told OneSoccer this week..“And we had a little bit of a talk and reflection between us three this week, Tommy, Marco and I, where we talked about how cool it was that Marco made some amazing saves, should have been player the match and I don't know how he didn't win the Player the Week after all those saves that he made, and then I was fortunate enough to get on the end of Myer Bevan’s pass to clinch all three points for us so we could clinch the league.”.“It’s nice experiencing all these opportunities with people that you love, people that you respect, and people that you've become family with over the last five years.”
