Atlético Ottawa Forward Sam Salter Sets New CPL Single-Season Goal Record
Published on September 4, 2025 under Canadian Premier League (CPL) News Release
Toronto, ON - The Canadian Premier League (CPL) today announced that Atlético Ottawa forward Sam Salter has set a new single-season scoring record, reaching his 15th goal of the 2025 campaign to surpass the previous mark of 14 held by João Morelli since the 2021 season.
Salter's record-breaking tally was confirmed following an official scoring change issued by the Canadian Premier League. A goal originally credited as an own goal to Vancouver FC's Aidan O'Connor during Ottawa's 3-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday, Aug. 30 was reviewed and reassigned to Salter, lifting his season total to the record-breaking mark of 15.
The league reassigned the goal to Salter after determining that he initially directed the ball toward goal. Because this was judged to be a shot on target, it required defensive intervention to prevent a goal. This ruling follows global standards and the CPL's official stats provider, OPTA, whose rules state that when a shot on target is deflected by a defender, the goal is always credited to the attacker. In this case, Salter's attempt was deemed to be on target before O'Connor's last-line clearance attempt.
The native of Laval, Que. equalled Morelli's tally earlier in the Saturday's match and has now moved into possession of top spot, rewriting the League's record book in the process.
It has been a season for scoring in the CPL. The 248 goals scored by CPL clubs through 84 league games in 2025 is 28 more goals than last year at the same time. That's an average of 2.95 goals per game, up from 2.61 at the same point in 2024.
And the race to be crowned the 2025 Golden Boot winner, awarded to the top goalscorer over the regular season, is not over yet. While Salter is leading the way with his 15 goals, Halifax Wanderers' Tiago Coimbra (11 goals), Atlético Ottawa's David Rodríguez (9 goals), York United's Julian Altobelli (9 goals) and Cavalry FC's Ali Musse (8 goals) are among those attackers who will be challenging the Atlético Ottawa forward for the scoring title over the final seven weeks of the season.
Canadian Premier League Stories from September 4, 2025
- Match Day Information: VFC vs. VAL - August 5 - Vancouver FC
- Forge FC's Upcoming 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship Semi-Final Match to Air on TSN - Forge FC
- Second Leg of Vancouver FC's 2025 Telus Canadian Championship Semifinal to be Broadcast on TSN, OneSoccer - Vancouver FC
- Atlético Ottawa Forward Sam Salter Sets New CPL Single-Season Goal Record - CPL
- Atlético Striker Salter Breaks CPL Single-Season Goal Record - Atletico Ottawa
- Cavalry FC Signs Midfielder James McGlinchey to First Professional Contract - Cavalry FC
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