Atletico Ottawa ‘keeper knows his way around the football pitch and the wine cellar

Should Atletico Ottawa defeat Calvary FC in Sunday’s CPL championship game, the Ottawa players could do no better than ask goalkeeper Nate Ingham about how to toast the victory.

In addition to being a finalist for goalkeeper of the year, the 32-year-old Ottawa captain is a certified sommelier. He took classes through WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) and is considered a Level 3 advanced sommelier.

Ingham will not have to spend much time choosing a bottle from his wine collection if things go well Sunday.

“I have a few special bottles that I hang on to for, hopefully, winning a trophy,” he said.

Away from soccer, Ingham calls Ottawa’s Mati restaurant a “second home.” He has run its bar program and opened a cocktail bar for the owners.

A native of Keswick, Ont., Ingham studied hospitality resort management, with a food and beverage minor, at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he recorded 26 shutouts in 63 appearances over five seasons.

These days, he spends around 20 hours a week outside of soccer on his restaurant duties.

“I’m not always behind the bar,” Ingham explained. “There’s a lot of meetings and decision-making, the more relaxing stuff.

“There’s a lot of hours in our day,” he added. “We go to practice, we get breakfast and lunch and then all of a sudden it’s 1 p.m. and your day’s over.”

Ingham opted to put his hospitality training to good use. On a personal level, he calls himself “a pretty average cook” but says he is still learning.

“Cooking’s mostly just technique,” he said. “But once you know how to fry, once you know how to sauté, once you know how to layer and do all these things, then you can pretty much cook anything. My fundamentals are solid. That’s allowed me to have some fun. My friends can benefit from that when they’re in town.”

More than a few will be in Ottawa for Sunday’s CPL finale.

Ingham and Ottawa have been off since dispatching league-leading Forge 2-1 in the Oct. 26 championship semifinal.

Defending champion Cavalry defeated York United 4-1 on Oct. 26 and Forge 1-0 last Sunday in the so-called contender semifinal to advance to the season finale at TD Place Stadium.

Ottawa (15-2-11) went unbeaten (8-0-6) at home in finishing second in the regular season, 14 points ahead of third-place Cavalry (11-8-9). 

Ottawa went unbeaten in its first seven games (5-0-2) before losing 2-0 May 24 at Halifax. It then went unbeaten in 10 (6-0-4) before falling 2-0 Aug. 17 at Forge. It finished the regular season on a nine-game unbeaten run (4-0-5).

Ottawa was also unbeaten in four league games with Cavalry this season, winning three and drawing one while outscoring Cavalry 10-3. Cavalry did not lead in any of the four meetings.

“None of that means anything,” said Ingham. “If it did, we probably wouldn’t have to play this game.”

Under first-year Mexican coach Diego Mejia, Ottawa improved its on-field performance while playing a more expansive game

“He’s brought in a new culture completely,” said Ingham. “He finds so much joy in his football. His ways of teaching are world-class, to be honest.”

Mejia is good at getting his message across in simple, understandable ways.

Ingham led all CPL goalkeepers (with at least 500 minutes played) in save percentage (74.1), ranked second in total saves (80) and goals-against average (1.00). He also recorded a club-record 11 clean sheets.

And he did it behind a very young backline featuring the likes of 17-year-old Sergei Kozlovskiy (currently with Canada at the FIFA U-17 World Cup), 20-year-old Roni Mbomio, 21-year-old Noah Abatneh and Loic Cloutier and 22-year-old Tyr Walker.

“Just a bunch of little kids out there, doing their thing,” Ingham said affectionately. “Playing against men and helping us win. That backline’s been super-impressive, They’ve matured beyond their years obviously the way they play.”

Ottawa has lost veteran defenders Amer Didić and Jonathan Grant to injury. Didić broke his leg in a May 3 game against Pacific while Grant has not played since the 2024 pre-season after since undergoing knee surgery

Ingham joined Ottawa in January 2022 after three seasons with York United.

He grew up playing soccer for Ajax FC under then-coach Tom Croft. He went on to play for the NASL’s FC Edmonton, joining Toronto FC’s reserve team in 2016 on loan.

He also spent time with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL and the PDL’S Calgary Foothills and K-W United.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025