David Norman Jr. is no stranger to cup runs, having helped St. Patrick’s Athletic win the FAI Cup final over Irish rival Bohemians in 2023 before 43,000-plus at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
On Thursday, Norman looks to help Vancouver FC reach the Telus Canadian Championship final by getting past Atletico Ottawa in the second leg of their semifinal.Â
Vancouver holds a 3-1 edge from the Aug. 13 first leg in Langley, B.C. But Ottawa, which sits second in the Canadian Premier League standings at 13-2-8, is 35 points ahead of basement-dwelling Vancouver (2-15-6) in regular-season play.
“It’s no secret that our season hasn’t gone as planned in the league,” said Norman. “But we’ve really looked at this cup tournament and what it can do for us as individual players, for us as a team right now and probably for the club as a whole.
“And we really put everything into that first leg and got a great result.”
The 27-year-old Norman, who can play both centre back and as a central midfielder, is hoping to conjure up some more cup magic Thursday at TD Place Stadium.
“The cup run we had with St. Pat’s was pretty special,” he said. “Definitely a few similarities looking to what we’re doing here with Vancouver FC.”Â
Both St. Pat’s and Vancouver FC needed penalty shootout wins to progress.
St. Pat’s dispatched Derry City on penalties in the second round while Vancouver needed a shootout to get past both Pacific FC in the preliminary round and Cavalry FC in the two-legged quarterfinal.
The Vancouver FC-Ottawa winner will face ether the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps or CPL-leading Forge FC in the Oct. 1 final. The Whitecaps and Forge face off Tuesday at B.C. Place Stadium with the series tied 2-2.
Coincidentally, St. Pat’s is also in its cup semifinal, with an Oct. 3 date with Cork City, after posting a 3-1 win over Galway United after extra time Sunday.
A Vancouver FC-Whitecaps final would echo the 2023 Irish cup final, which featured Dublin rivals.
“A day I’ll never forget. Especially because we won,” said Norman, who spent some eight months playing in Ireland.
Kris Twardek, now with the CPL’s Valour FC, was on the Bohemians bench that day.
Norman’s wife, his parents and in-laws were all on hand to see St. Pat’s hoist the cup for the fifth time.Â
“It was pretty cool for me to then bring them on the field and celebrate with my closest family who have done so much to help me get to a big event and to a big game like that,” he said.
Vancouver conceded a 94th-minute goal in a 1-1 draw Saturday with Pacific that snapped a five-game league losing streak, including a 3-1 defeat Aug. 30 in Ottawa.Â
Vancouver’s last win was Aug. 4, a 2-1 decision at Halifax. It was winless in 11 league outings (0-8-3) prior to that victory, with its only other win coming May 3 at Valour FC.
Afshin Ghotbi, the team’s inaugural coach, was fired July 23 with Martin Nash taking over as interim head coach.
Ottawa, meanwhile, is unbeaten in its last four outings (2-0-2) and has lost just once in its last 15 games (8-1-6) since a 2-0 setback May 24 at Halifax. The lone blemish during that run was a 2-0 defeat Aug. 17 at Forge.
In league play earlier this season, Vancouver lost 4-1 at Ottawa on April 13 and the teams drew 2-2 May 30 in Langley, B.C.Â
Norman, who was born in New Westminster, B.C., and grew up in nearby Coquitlam, comes from a footballing family.
His grandfather founded Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC. And his father, David Norman Sr., played for the Vancouver Whitecaps and 86ers, won 49 caps for Canada and started all three of Canada’s matches at the 1986 World Cup.
Norman Jr. joined the Whitecaps youth system in 2007 at the age of nine. After a year at Oregon State University, he signed with Whitecaps FC 2 of the USL and was promoted to the first team in December 2017.
The Whitecaps loaned him to Scotland’s Queen of the South in September 2018 and then traded him to Inter Miami in September 2019. The Canadian youth international finished out the year on loan to the CPL’s Pacific, joining Inter Miami in January 2020.
The fourth player acquired by expansion Miami, Norman essentially spent the year on the shelf after injuring his ankle in pre-season. After Miami declined his contract option, he returned to the CPL with Cavalry in March 2021.
Norman helped Northampton Town win promotion to England’s third tier in 2023 before moving to Ireland.
In going to Ireland, Norman followed his father’s footsteps. Norman Sr. played for University College Dublin (UCD) in the early ‘80s on loan from the Whitecaps.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
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