The reigning Canadian Premier League champions got off to a poor start in the Champions Cup, falling 2-0 to Nashville in Hamilton.
The hosts lacked attacking quality, only creating their first chances in the dying minutes and nearly finding an equalizer.
Ottawa made six changes from the side that beat Cavalry in the 2025 CPL final, most notably missing Sam Salter and David Rodriguez — both of whom left the club.
The first half was uninspiring. Nashville had an excellent chance near the end to open the scoring, but the shot sailed high. Otherwise, Ottawa enjoyed the majority of possession and looked comfortable on the ball. Manu Aparicio and Joan 'Coque' Castro controlled the midfield well, stabilizing their side and limiting the visitors' attacking threat.
Nashville started the second half with far more attacking intent, creating several good chances in the opening 15 minutes, but unable to beat debutant Garissone Innocent.
The deadlock was broken in the 66th minute when former Forge striker Woobens Pacius scored at Hamilton Stadium — his sixth goal against Ottawa, making them his favourite opponent. The 24-year-old received the ball in the box, dribbled past Sergei Kozlovskiy, and slotted home his first goal in Nashville colours.
Nashville SC's first goal in the 2026 Champions Cup! 💥 pic.twitter.com/PGunm7fuVK
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) February 18, 2026
The game quieted down after the opener, with the visitors retaining possession and pushing forward but creating little.
Atlético Ottawa brought on Daniel Aguilar, Kamron Habibullah, and Erling Myklebust, who provided a much-needed boost.
Near the end, Habibullah found himself unmarked on the penalty spot but couldn't generate power in his shot, with Josh Bauer making a vital goal-line clearance.
The hosts had another chance minutes later when Erling Myklebust headed just wide.
A minute later, Hany Mukhtar picked up the ball in midfield, drove forward, and slid it to Christian Espinoza, who rounded the goalkeeper before squaring for Sam Surridge to put the game to bed.
Sam Surridge seals it for Nashville SC! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/EFpZxNeDW4
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) February 18, 2026
Atlético Ottawa are back in action next Tuesday (8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT) for leg two, hoping to overturn a 2-0 deficit.
Nashville return to action on Saturday, hosting the New England Revolution in their Major League Soccer opener.
Live commentary 👇
"It's a tough one. 1-0 would've been a little better in a way. That second one, the last second of the game, really hurts. It could've been very different, for sure."
"We were growing into the game [...] Just unlucky. We know we're capable of anything."
The visitors take a deserved 2-0 lead into the 2nd leg, with Woobens Pacius and Sam Surridge converting.
Ottawa have a difficult task ahead, needing to overturn the deficit on the road.
Sam Surridge doubles his side's lead after a great counterattack! Loïc Cloutier barely got a touch on the shot, but it wasn't enough.
Erling Myklebust attempts a header inside the six-yard box that goes just wide.
Kamron Habibullah was given the ball wide open inside the box, but his shot was too tame and blocked off the line by Josh Bauer.
Sam Surridge takes a first-time volley that is saved by Garissone Innocent.
Hany Mukhtar enters the pitch for Woobens Pacius.
Nashville lead through Woobens Pacius! What a moment for the 24-year-old, who has scored once again at Hamilton Stadium. After receiving the ball in midfield, he dribbled past Sergei Kozlovskiy to create space for a composed, accurate finish. 1-0 to the visitors.
With six goals, Ottawa has become Pacius' favourite all-time opponent.
Joaquim Coulanges seems to have injured himself after making a short run on the left wing, and his game is over. Emiliano Garcia takes his place.
We're back in Hamilton for another 45 minutes. No substitutions from either side.
Nothing to separate the sides after an uninspiring first 45 minutes. The visitors had the better chances but were unable to break the deadlock.
Manu Aparicio let the ball run through his legs, thinking a teammate was behind him, but instead, Ahmed Qasem stole it before firing a shot straight at Garissone Innocent that didn't trouble the goalkeeper.
Ahmed Qasem, unmarked, receives the ball on the penalty spot but fires his shot too high.
Woobens Pacius initiates a counter-attack for Nashville, with Alex Muyl getting a tame shot saved by Garissone Innocent — his first save in Ottawa colours.
It's been an uneventful first 20 minutes in this match. Both sides have only attempted a shot each, both off target.
The visitors have had most of the ball, but are having trouble breaking down Ottawa, who have looked great on the ball, but have also been unable to generate chances.
The match is underway in Hamilton!
"[Atlético Ottawa is] a team that's really organized and consistent with their style of play."
"I think that if there's one team that deserves to play this match, it's Atlético Ottawa."
"We need to be ourselves, we need to respect our principles."
This match will mark Atlético Ottawa's first-ever competitive game against a Major League Soccer club and their first against a non-Canadian team, having failed to face a Canadian MLS side in the Canadian Championship for seven years.
In May, the reigning Canadian Premier League champions will face Toronto FC.
Nashville star Hany Mukhtar is on the bench for tonight's clash.
Ottawa make six changes from the side that lifted the North Star Cup exactly 100 days ago.
Coming in are Garissone Innocent, who replaces Nathan Ingham in goal, Sergei Kozlovskiy, Tyr Duhaney-Walker, Ralph Koury, Jonantán Villal, and Joaquim Coulanges.
It's a familiar face in the Nashville XI for Canadian Premier League fans, as Woobens Pacius makes his first start for the Major League Soccer side in the venue that saw him score plenty of goals with Forge — 32 goals from 2021 to 2023. In 2024, he signed for Nashville before being loaned to the club's MLS Next Pro side, and the following year to Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL, where he scored 17 goals in 35 appearances across all competitions.
Montréal native Charles-Emile Brunet is on the bench for the visiting side, having signed with the club five days ago.
Brian Schwake; Bryan Acosta, Jack Maher (C), Thomas Williams, Josh Bauer; Alex Muyl, Jordan Knight, Matthew Corcoran; Warren Madrigal, Woobens Pacius, Ahmed Qasem
Garissone Innocent; Sergei Kozlovskiy, Noah Abatneh, Tyr Duhaney-Walker; Gabriel Antinoro, Manuel Aparicio (C), Juan Castro, Ralph Khoury; Jonantán Villal, Ballou Tabla; Joaquim Coulanges
Atlético Ottawa make their Concacaf Champions Cup debut, having qualified after lifting the North Star Cup last year in the viral 2-1 victory over Cavalry in the final.
The champions will be without two key players from last season, as both Sam Salter and David Rodriguez have departed the club.
📆 Tuesday, February 17, 2026
⏰ 8:06 pm ET / 5:06 pm PT
📺 OneSoccer, FuboTV
👤 Steven Madrigal (Costa Rica)
🏟 Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton, Canada
Hello and welcome to our live text coverage of tonight's historic Champions Cup clash between Atlético Ottawa and Nashville SC!