Atlético Ottawa are the 2025 Canadian Premier League Champions and of course we had to call up AO professional goalkeeper, and semi professional snow shoveler, Nate Ingham to talk about the very snowy, very viral CPL final.

Was there a concern the game wouldn’t even go ahead?

No, did not feel like that was talked about. Yeah. We were we were looking at it all week and you know the the only real conversation is like “yeah we’re bringing in the orange balls probably.” It’s like, alright good. There was a little bit of talk about maybe moving the game forward but you know that screws up the TSN thing.

And then one thing that a lot of people don’t know is huge renovations are going down at TD Place and they start the day after the final. So there’s talk about postponing the game and from my understanding the OSEG Corporation was like if you do that, you know you’re gonna need a neutral venue. So it’s not even about like the TV or anything. It was also the actual TD Place, so that played a role. I don’t know how big a role but that that’s definitely part of it.

Was it fun?

Yeah, it was a lot of fun and I will say, because I don’t think I’ve heard this from Calgary or anything, it is a bit of a shame because I think that would have been like a a top class final. Instead, you know, a team’s winning (or) losing in something that didn’t resemble anything that we did all season long, right?

So I feel for Calgary. I wish they got to put their best foot forward and and play a regular match so I’m sure there’s a little bit in them that feels, not cheated, but feels like it was a bit unfair. I’m not ignorant to that fact but yeah, when I got out there for warm-up, I wasn’t really sure and I just got on the field, there was still a fair few people in the stadium already and I just started laughing.

Like, it was funny, man. It felt like [how] my brother and I would play in the backyard growing up a ton and it brings you right back and my goalkeeper coach and I, just as we start going through the paces, we’re just smiling and it was a lot of fun diving. It just felt like you’re landing on a cloud. It was cool.

What was the biggest challenges for you getting used to it? Slippery? The Grip? The Bounce?

The bounce actually wasn’t terrible at the beginning in warm-up because it’s just slick. It’s like being on wet grass. But for anyone, you know, Canadian drivers, you know, you drive in the rain, you hit the brakes, your brakes still work. Once it gets snowy and icy, you hit the brakes and you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s 5 feet of skid.

Playing soccer with the ball is the exact same thing. It’s like playing in the rain, a little slippery. Playing in the snow, there’s a couple times the ball would stop and would just spin in place, there’s zero friction on the ball. A couple of times, you bring down a ball in front of you and then you just almost use it to get up. You put your pressure on the ball and it’ll just skip out from underneath you. You had to keep keep your eyes on because it was slick.

At what point did you think, man, I’ve got to get a shovel here because it’ll be an iconic image that will go down in CPL lore and will get shown around the world because that’s what happened when we saw you with that shovel.

When you’re in a game, when you’re a goalie, you obviously can’t look backwards, right? Play happens too quick. So, if you don’t have reference points, you’re fish out of water. Like, you’ll literally be watching the play and you’ll end up outside your post.

They’re clearing the lines, but that’s not the most helpful because the snow is falling so fast. So, I wanted to make a big spot at the big mark at the penalty spot because that gives you a sense when they’re in shooting range. You can kind of use that to know where you are. And then I was doing the corners of the 18 yard box and the D. I wanted to make like an extra big spot at each corner so even when the snow fell, it wasn’t like it would all look the exact same on the line.

It was like, okay, that’s the corner of my box, that’s my penalty spot. You see me mark out the six yard box and my post. I would just do that with my feet. It was all just so I knew where I was in the net because when the snow was falling, you would just catch yourself way drifting off one side or another and then as you’re backpedaling, you had no idea where you were. So it was just to save myself from looking like an idiot and standing beside my net while they pass it down the middle. I had no idea it would get the the traction that it did.

On the locker room break, the 2 Goals, including the Icycle Kick & winning the match:

The elephant in the room is, should we have played the game? And if we’re going to look that objectively, the league took a gamble and said, “We’re going to do it.” And whatever happens happens, knowing that it easily could have been a 0–0–0 penalty shootout, and everyone would have been up in arms and saying, “What a bad decision they made.”

Against all odds, it was the best decision they’ve ever made because it ends up being this thing, and I mean, maybe at the players’ expense, sure, but it ends up being this thing that goes worldwide, that’s news in England, in a slow sports time as well where MLB playoffs stopped, NBA and NHL just started but not a ton to talk about, international break [etc]. It just took centre stage across the world.

And thank God for David Rodríguez and the skill that that little guy has because the only other goal that I can think of that was that impressive in a final was the Zidane side volley in Champions League final. Just something you would never expect in that moment. Something that even if it happened in training, you’d be like, “This is unbelievable.” And then to do it (the icycle kick) in the biggest stage when the lights are the brightest was crazy.

And then the second goal. Yeah. I mean, even just clearing, I was having a go at whoever would listen to me in the tunnel after a regular time because they’re saying, “We’re going to take an hour break.” And I was like, “You just brought 13,000 fans here. You’re going to make [them] wait an hour. Like, we just played a mockery of a soccer game. Let’s just go out there. Like, let’s just go back out there.”

We made our decision, we did it, let’s just see it out. No one listened and this is what we’re doing. At least we said our piece and it did work out. I was a little afraid that we were going to lose all the fans, and you have this great moment, great night and everything else, and it’s like, oh well. All the people that committed to being here for 90 minutes, you’re now going to say, wait an hour. It just didn’t sit right with me.

But, so much credit to the fans for sticking it out because I think there was still around 10,000 when the final whistle went and yeah, memories for a lot of people surrounding the event.

There was a bunch of fans who went across, I guess there was a hockey arena pretty close by. They’re in there warming up.

The way our stadium works is under that north side stand is where the PWHL team plays, the Ottawa 67s play, and then the basketball team as well. So they and then they rent out ice time like any good Canadian arena so I guess there was some men’s league going on and they got a few hundred fans in there warming up and cheering them on.

What was the team doing during that hour break? Because obviously you’re coming out of these conditions that are crazy. You’re cold. You can stiffen up pretty quickly, which would probably happen. What did you do and was there space underneath to be able to keep warm and keep yourselves kind of focused on what’s going to happen in about an hour?

I think that’s where we won the game, honestly, in the locker room.

The ref actually told Manu (Aparicio) and I on the field. In the 88th minute, there was a stoppage. He goes, “Hey, I’m hearing that we’re going to extra time, but it’s going to be an hour to clear the field.” And I was like, “Alright.” So, then when we got in, we kind of went through that. We told everyone “Okay, if you need anything dried, give it to our kit man. He’ll throw stuff in the dryer.”

And then it was just like everyone shut off for a minute because if you’re trying to mentally prepare yourself for kickoff and it’s like, oh it’s going to be 30 minutes, oh it’s going to be 45, oh it’s going to be hour, it’s exhausting. So it’s like, keep things light. In the reality, all you need is 10–15 minutes to kind of lock back in and if you’re trying to be the rah rah guy for an hour, people are either going to get annoyed with you or you just can’t keep up.

I was very fortunate. I played my university soccer in Fort Myers, Florida and the amount of lightning delays we would get from August through October was crazy. That’s something that stays with you forever. It’s like, how to get back out there, how to rewarm up, how to do all those things. So, we kept things light.

Thank God for guys like Didic and Aparicio because we were just cracking jokes and having a good time.

The whole thing just felt kind of fake and then the last 10–15 minutes, it’s like okay, relock in. The big message was, 20 minutes from that moment, we had a five-minute warm-up or a six-minute warm-up. 20 minutes from the moment where we don’t have our clothes on to playing extra time of a final. Just take that in for a second. Make sure that our focus is 100% because I know it doesn’t feel like we’re going to go back out there and it feels like recess. It feels like it means nothing, but this is the biggest game of our life right now so just make sure your mind’s right.

And then I reference Halifax-York game. I go, right after that rain delay, free kick goal, because one team wasn’t tuned in and one team was. Just make sure that’s not us. First clearance, it goes, first pass is clean. Whatever your first action is, make it good. Then, once we get through that first few minutes, then everything should be fine. And then, the coach and us as well, are just kind of building the confidence of the group, you know, “this suits us, we’re the better team, it’ll be good.” Anything that they needed to hear to give them confidence.

I think, was it Daan Klomp and Fraser Aird who both were going in short sleeves and no gloves, which was, you know, stupid? Or what is it?

[Laughs] Listen, if you don’t feel cold, great. You know, do whatever you want. Go sleeveless if you want. But if you do that and you’re cold, then it’s stupid. If I did that. I’d be freezing so that’s stupid and I wouldn’t play very well. I layered up. I don’t care what I look like. In the locker room before the game, I put on the the neck warmer and kind of did it just to cover my ears, like a headband.

I was like, “Boys, I don’t know about this look, but we’re doing it. I don’t know if I’m going to love the pictures of the game, but I’m going to keep my ears warm.” It’s all about how you’re comfortable out there.