It’s the start of a new era for Atlético Ottawa. 

Two games into Diego Mejía’s tenure as head coach, Ottawa has already set the tone – this team wants to play on the front foot and aims to entertain. 

With six goals in their first two games of the 2025 Canadian Premier League season, they’ve quickly lived up to that reputation, as they scored two goals against the Halifax Wanderers on opening day before following that up with a four-goal explosion against Vancouver FC in week #2. 

There’s no luck involved in those outbursts, either – Ottawa found those goal explosions thanks to their two best-ever single-game Expected Goals (xG) hauls in CPL matches, as they had 3.5 xG vs. the Wanderers and 3.89 xG vs. Vancouver, beating their previous high watermark of 3.3, which was set against the Wanderers in a meeting on June 3rd, 2023. 

Not only that, but that 3.89 xG haul against Vancouver is actually the fifth-highest single-game output from a team in the CPL history – and the second-highest tally when factoring in non-penalty xG, as all of Ottawa’s early offence has come without a spot kick attempt. 

Safe to say that their on-ball dominance is paying off early. 

“We’re confident on the ball,” veteran CPL midfielder Manny Aparicio explained after the Vancouver match. “We’re confident we can play through presses, and that we’re going to get our chances. There’s this calmness on the ball, as we know that if we move it well, and that we keep things ticking on the ball, that our chances are going to come.”

Yet, while those numbers are a clear sign that Mejía’s system is already taking hold, there has been one individual who has stood out within this Ottawa team, and that’s David Rodríguez, who looks to be the engine of this high-flying offence. 

A 22-year-old Mexican-American midfielder on loan from Atlético San Luis, he’s quickly taken the league by storm, putting in two excellent performances in his first two matches. 

First, against Halifax, he scored an incredibly well-taken goal, before adding another highlight-reel tally and a tidy assist against Vancouver. 

Not only that, but he’s been a creative force, too, creating a league-high seven chances, as well as four big chances – in particular, his big chances number stands out given that no one else in the CPL has more than two. 

That’s impressive, as it indicates that he’s unlucky only to have one assist, indicating that he could be due for some big increases in that category if he’s to keep generating chances at a similar rate going forward. 

Yet, a big reason for his success has been his ability to get to dangerous areas on the pitch. So far through two games, he’s averaging 8.8 open-play touches per 90 minutes in the opponent’s box, and 9.4 open-play touches per 90 at the edge of the area.

To understand how impressive that is, compare him to his predecessor at Atlético Ottawa, Ollie Bassett, who was often the heartbeat of Ottawa’s attack over the past three seasons. As a past CPL Golden Boot, Player’s Player of the Year and Player of the Year winner, there’s no doubt that Bassett was a key piece of Ottawa’s success before his departure this offseason, which was expected to leave a big hole. 

Last year, Bassett averaged 1.7 open-play touches per 90 in the box, 2.5 per 90 in 2023 (the year he won the Golden Boot) and 0.9 per 90 in 2022 (when he did his PPOTY and POTY double). Then, in terms of open play touches at the edge of the box, he had 7.3 per 90 in 2024, 6.0 per 90 in 2023, and 4.4 per 90 in 2022.

Those are all very impressive numbers from Bassett, who did those over the course of multiple full seasons on more of a defensive-minded team, which makes it hard to fully compare it to Rodríguez since his have come in such a small sample size in two games where Ottawa has been so lethal, but it gives an idea of what’s worked for him – he’s getting the ball to the right areas on the pitch. 

When talking to his teammates about his early success, however, that’s exactly what stands out – he wants to get on the ball, drive it forward, and that’s allowing him to get to the areas of the pitch where he can provide those final actions. 

“He’s good in the pocket, he gets in there, he turns and drives at players, which is something that very few in the league do,” Aparicio explained. “He’s got a great left foot, he keeps the ball tight to him, so it’s tough to get it away from him. Now, he’s finding the back of the net, he’s finding assists, hopefully he can keep that up.”

You combine that with the system around him, and it’s proved to be a perfect fit for player and team. 

“It’s what we’ve been doing during preseason and in the first game,” Rodríguez told OneSoccer this past weekend. “It’s our style of play, and we have a pretty good team, where everyone has the quality to play in between lines and on the ball.”

Now, credit has to go to Ottawa for identifying Rodríguez. Losing Bassett was always going to be a tough blow, and one can only imagine how good he’d look in this system, but that they’ve been able to quickly find a replacement and slot him seamlessly into this new-look team is impressive. 

Often, it can take a while for new arrivals to the league to adapt, but not Rodríguez, and that’s a credit to the work put in by Mejía. 

As a fellow newcomer to the league, he’s leaned into what he knows, his system, but has also leaned into the strengths of the players on this team, showing why he was hired. 

“I think that you create a game model for the players that you have, the model is about the players,” Mejía explained this past weekend. “I trust in my team, I think we have an amazing team, and we have a lot of different profiles in each position.”

Now, look for him to continue this hot start with his new club, fueled by his dynamic #7. 

“David is an amazing player,” Mejía noted after Ottawa’s win vs. Halifax. “I know him from Mexico, I watched his games and I like him a lot as a player, so when we had the chance to bring him in, I was a big fan of that decision, as he can be one of the best players in this league this year.”

Plus, as seen in their win vs. Vancouver, where each goal was celebrated with vigour by everyone across the team and staff, and they contested each action on both sides of the ball like a final, this is a team that wants to go to battle for each other right now, too. 

Therefore, while it’s a long season, and they know that a quick start can fizzle fast, they’ll look to use this newfound connection to turn it into much more, led by Rodríguez at the heart of it all. 

“We have a connection on and off the field,” Rodríguez told OneSoccer. “We’re not just a soccer team – we’re a family. When we score goals, it’s not just the guy who scores that celebrates – we have a pretty good team and a good connection.”

All highlights courtesy of OneSoccer