In what will be remembered as much for the snowy conditions as it will for the final score, Atlético Ottawa won the Canadian Premier League title over Calgary FC on Sunday night.
“I came to the locker room and I was excited. I saw it was snowing and I was like, ‘It’s going to be a good day,’” said midfielder David Rodriguez. The Mexican-born player told club officials he had never seen snow prior to joining the team in February of this year.
The 2-1 victory gives Atlético Ottawa the first CPL championship in club history, with Rodriguez notching the game sealing goal at the 106th minute of extra time.
“I’m never going to forget this night and I just want to thank all the people that showed up tonight,” Rodriguez told reporters after the game. “I can’t wait to get to the locker room and be warm and celebrate.”
His game winner may have been the deciding goal, but most fans will remember his first marker of the night as one of the most unique goals scored in recent soccer history. Trailing 1-0 at the 40th minute mark, Rodriguez went bar down off a bicycle kick in the snowy blizzard to even the match up.
The goal, now dubbed the “Icicle Kick” online, immediately went viral and made Rodriguez a bit of an overnight celebrity in the soccer world.
According to the club, 13,132 soccer fans packed the stadium, despite the November snow storm. The weather, which caused a delay between regulation and overtime as grounds-crews shovelled the playing surface, made for some sloppy, but memorable, play on both sides, but in the end, it was the home side that hoisted the CPL trophy.
“There’s no feeling like it in the world, man. It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy, I’m so happy to do it with this group,” said goalkeeper Nathan Ingham. “With this team, I’m telling you, you could play on the moon, you could play in the sand, you could play on the snow, you could play on a perfect pitch, we don’t care. No excuse, get the win.”
“No fan base deserves a trophy more than them, and I’ve been dying to bring them this one. I’ve been dying to bring them this trophy and we finally did it today,” Ingham said.
Ottawa had previously been to the CPL Finals back in 2022, ultimately dropping a 2-0 score to Forge FC. The championship side lost only 2 contests all season in 2025, adding 15 wins, and 11 draws to place 2nd in the regular season standings, 2 points behind Forge FC.
Not surprisingly, Rodriguez was named the 2025 CPL Final MVP after tallying both goals for Atlético Ottawa.
Photo: Canadian Premier League (CPL Photos).