The Ottawa Fury has not only won three NASL matches in a row, the club is spiking in terms of minutes on the pitch it is providing to its Canadian players.

In Saturday’s win in Jacksonville’s 40-plus C heat (with the humidity), the Ottawa Fury gave 464 of a possible 990 minutes playing time to Canadians. Canadian Carl Haworth scored the second goal of the game in a 2-0 win. And, with that, Ottawa not only leads all NASL and MLS teams in terms of giving minutes to Canadians, the Fury …

Dixon is just part of a growing trend of Canadians who are deciding that home soil is the best place for them to be. Dixon, who got his first national-team call-up earlier this year, is the newest member of the “come back to Canada club.”

So, despite all the good Canadian news from the Whitecaps, after the team's two matches this past week, its season-long average of minutes played by Canadians per match dipped below 90. That means the Whitecaps average less than one full 90 minute session for a Canadian player per game. And that puts them far behind the four other Canadian MLS and NASL sides.

Conclusion after this weekend’s games: A team from Ontario that wears red jerseys should never, ever want its opponents to have players sent off.

In Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Colorado, the Whitecaps didn’t have a Canadian in the starting lineup, and didn’t have a Canadian come off the bench, either. That’s not the only depressing news when it comes to minutes played by Canadians in the major North American leagues. The Montreal Impact only had three minutes played by a Canadian this past weekend — Patrice Bernier in a substitute role.

“Allan will play on Saturday, which is great” said FCE coach Colin Miller after Wednesday’s training session. “He’s done very well in training, he hasn’t let us down with the first team. It’s a big opportunity for him. And having Shawn in here for a look for a couple of weeks, it’s great for us. He knows the league, he’s an experienced player and he’s a very good athlete. He’s done well so far.”

This was simply a case of the club doing the right thing for a player who needed to be closer to home. And while it’s tough to lose the club’s everyday starting right back, it does send a message to players and agents that FCE is a team that tries to do right by its players.

Nik Ledgerwood was born and raised in Lethbridge, but left town when he was a teenager so he could pursue his soccer career. More than a decade later, he’s come back to his home province... 

Canadian goalkeeper David Monsalve moved into uncharted territory when he agreed to join Guatemalan side CD Suchitepéquez. Monsalve and his teammates finished at top of the table, then swept through the playoffs. They earned the club its second league title in its history, and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. But, all the while, Monsalve and his teammates weren’t getting paid...