The 2016 Amway Canadian Championship got underway on Wednesday night with an impressive 3-0 win for Ottawa Fury FC over FC Edmonton at Clarke Field in the first leg of their two-legged preliminary-round matchup.
Fernando Sanfelice (13’), Carl Haworth (67’) and Idan Vered (74’) scored for the visitors, who will take a commanding advantage back to TD Place for the second and decisive leg on May 18. The victory marked Fury FC's first ACC win, having lost to FCE at this stage the last two years running.
The winner of the series between the NASL clubs will advance to meet defending ACC champions the Vancouver Whitecaps in the tournament's semifinal round, to be played over two legs on June 1 and 8. Toronto FC will face the Montreal Impact on the other side of the bracket, and the two semifinal winners will then meet in the ACC final, to be played over the weeks of June 21 or 22 and June 28 or 29.
The Canadian Championship is an annual championship tournament featuring the nation's professional clubs, with Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal represented. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and represents Canada in CONCACAF Champions League.
Montreal were the ACC's inaugural champions in 2008, followed by four successive championships for Toronto FC (2009 to 2012). Montreal won the cup again in 2013 and 2014 before Vancouver hoisted their first Voyageurs Cup last year.
