Forge, Cavalry renew playoff rivalry with place in CPL championship game on the line

Sergio Camargo, right, celebrates his goal for Cavalry FC in a 1-1 draw with Forge FC in Canadian Premier League play Oct. 10, 2025, at ATCO Field in Calgary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Calgary CFC Media — Mike Sturk (Mandatory credit)

Two familiar foes square off Sunday when Forge FC hosts defending CPL champion Cavalry FC with a berth in the Nov. 9 championship game against Atletico Ottawa on the line.

The matchup is a repeat of the last two Canadian Premier League finals, with Cavalry winning in 2024 and Forge in 2023, as well as the inaugural 2019 championship game won by Forge. Cavalry actually beat Forge twice in last year’s playoffs, winning the semifinal 1-0, forcing the Hamilton side to play Ottawa to get into the final.

A date with Forge at this time of the year means you’re in “the right place,” said Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

“At some point you’ve got to go through them,” he added. “So semifinals are a good place to do it. Because if we do it, they don’t reach their seventh final in a row, which takes some doing in today’s world. And that’s up to us to break that (run).”

Forge has won four of those finals (2019, ’20, ’22 and ’23) and lost two (to Pacific in 2021 and Cavalry in 2024).

The Hamilton side, which topped this year’s regular-season standings at 16-2-8, dropped into the so-called contender semifinal after losing 2-1 to visiting Ottawa in the championship semifinal. Cavalry, which finished third in the regular-season standings at 11-8-9, advanced by dispatching York United 4-1 in the semifinal qualifier.

York had previously beaten Halifax in a penalty shootout in a play-in match.

Force and Cavalry split their regular-season meetings, each with a 1-1-2 record.

Forge won its home opener 1-0 over Cavalry on April 5, with the two team drawing 1-1 at Hamilton Stadium on May 31. Cavalry won 4-1 on Aug. 30 and drew 1-1 on Oct. 10 at ATCO Field

The loss in Calgary snapped a 20-game Forge unbeaten run (13-0-7) in league play from the start of the season. Its only other league defeat came Sept. 11 at Valour FC (2-1).

Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis, no stranger to elite teams, says this year’s edition of Forge is exceptional.

“We top the list in everything,” he said, reeling off one statistical achievement after another.

“We’ve been consistent with what we’ve shown on the pitch and that’s playing high-quality football and doing it on both sides of the ball — in possession, out of possession,” he added. “These guys are a special group.

“What makes things a little bit more special is obviously being able to do it over the next couple of games. But to do that you need to do it on Sunday. And that’s why all that (statistical) stuff goes to the side. That’s the beauty of playoffs in any realm.”

Forge finished out the regular season unbeaten in five (2-0-3) after the Valour setback.

Daniel Nimick, a finalist for Defender of the Year, joined Forge this season after two seasons in Halifax. He says he expected the standards to be high when he got to Hamilton.

“I think the most surprising thing is the lack of egos with every player,” he said. “Every player here has done so much and had such a great career and won so many trophies. But everyone still shows up humble and ready to work. I think that’s an environment that fosters success.”

Smyrniotis thought his team did enough to win last weekend against Ottawa. And he was convinced his side was denied two clear penalties for handball, saying the league needs VAR (video assistant referee) “100 per cent”

“The problem is right now as coaches and players we’ve got 45 iPads on the bench, we see the replays within 10 seconds so we know exactly what happened,” he said after the game. “That’s tough. It’s tough for us to keep our emotions in check. It’s tough for the officials because they’ve figured out ‘Damn, these guys have seen what’s happened.’”

Wheeldon took notice of those words.

“I know Bobby doesn’t like losing and hence why he went on a rant about officials. Look, I think he forgets sometime the amount of decisions he’s had,” he said, listing off a list before detailing some of Cavalry’s missed calls.

‘That’s football," he added.

Wheeldon said everyone save veteran midfielder Sergio Camargo is available Sunday. Belgian forward Viktor Klonaridis is the only question-mark for Forge.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press