Atlético Ottawa’s ‘icicle kick’ lights up blizzard-hit Canadian Premier League final | Football

Atlético Ottawa secured a Canadian Premier League final victory unlike any other, a snow-globe spectacle amid a swirling blizzard featuring what online media outlets dubbed an “icicle kick” from the Mexican midfielder David Rodríguez.

Ottawa, the hosts, beat Cavalry FC 2-1 in extra-time win in Sunday’s title decider in temperatures of minus -8C (17.6F) with snow so heavy that play was halted every 15 minutes to clear the lines, and goalkeepers used shovels to carve out their boxes.

There was a 60-minute delay after normal time ended to plow the pitch.

Calvary struck first when Fraser Aird, playing in short sleeves, converted a penalty in the 33rd minute, celebrating with a snowy knee slide.

Rodríguez scored the breathtaking equalizer seven minutes later, with his stunning bicycle kick that thundered off the underside of the bar and into the net.

Rodríguez was not done, as he chipped the ball over the Calvary goalkeeper Marco Carducci in the 107th minute to seal his place in Canadian soccer history.

“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,’” Rodriguez said.

The Cavalry veteran Sergio Camargo said the snowstorm made for conditions unlike anything he had experienced. “I had experience playing in snow in my college years,” Camargo said. “But nothing like that, where the snow was that thick and that difficult to dribble and manipulate the ball. It was the factor for both teams, so not an excuse. Just another addition to what was a very memorable final.”

Atlético Ottawa are a CPL franchise of the Spanish side Atletico Madrid and were founded in 2020.