A lot on the line as Cavalry FC heads into final weekend of regular season

It's down to the last week of the regular season in the Canadian Premier League, and a lot is on the line for Cavalry FC.

Cavalry FC wraps up the regular season on Saturday, travelling west to face Vancouver FC.

Right now, Cavalry sits in third place in the Canadian Premier League standings.

A win or a draw and the team will remain there heading into the playoffs.

Goalkeeper and captain Marco Carducci says the team wants to head into the post-season on a high.

“It’s kind of crazy to think that on one hand, the season has come and gone, but it’s also been a long year as well,” he said.

“A lot to play for on the weekend in terms of our playoff seating, and we want to host that third-place game here, so we’re excited.”

Vancouver is dead last in the standings with just four wins, eight losses and 15 draws on the season.

But it has given Cavalry all the team could handle.

Cavalry only managed a win and two draws against Vancouver in the regular season, and lost to Vancouver in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Championship.

Assistant coach and technical director Jay Wheeldon says taking Vancouver lightly would be foolish.

“They’ve proven that with the success that they’ve had in the Can Champ, and all the credit to them, they’ve had some fantastic results on their run,” he said.

“They’ve been a lot different since Martin Nash (former Cavalry assistant) came in. They’re five games unbeaten, and they brought in some new players and they had some terrific players before that, so they’ll be a very difficult opponent to play against.”

The standings are close in the CPL.

A loss to Vancouver could drop Cavalry to fourth or even fifth place.

Cavalry has 41 points, Wanderers FC has 39, and York United is sitting at 38 points.

Carducci says the team just has to take care of business.

“I think if you gave us this scenario far in advance, we’d say we want to have control of our destiny,” said the 29-year-old.

“Obviously, third place counts for a lot, so we know if we take care of business, the position is there for us, and that’s what our focus is on.”

Kickoff for the Cavalry and Vancouver game is at 2 p.m. Saturday in Vancouver.