“Makes you want to defend a little bit harder:”  Captivating Opening Day match decided by Koleilat’s two signature saves.

One game in, and he’s already submitted two candidates for Save of the Year.

While Forge FC—and, for that matter, Cavalry FC—delivered across the entire pitch in their riveting CPL opener at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday, it was the darting left arm of Hammers’ goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat that ultimately preserved a 1-0 win and secured three crucial points for the home side.

The two game-saving stops came in each half of an intense match, which unfolded in two distinct acts: Forge dominated possession for the first 71 minutes—though Cavalry still found a few golden chances—followed by a final 19 minutes (plus six in stoppage time) of relentless Cavalry pressure after Forge was reduced to 10 men. Rookie Zayne Bruno was sent off with a second yellow card.

Cavalry found their rhythm after a cautious start. In the 27th minute, veteran playmaker Fraser Aird floated a perfect cross into the box, which the ever-dangerous Tobias Warschewski launched toward the upper left corner. Koleilat, moving in the opposite direction and already beyond the goal line, somehow defied momentum, leaping back and upward to claw the sure goal away.

“He made that massive save on Toby in the first half when I thought it was in—I was already celebrating,” Aird said afterward. “We caught their keeper on a day where we could’ve spent all night trying to score.”

In a low-scoring sport like soccer, a goal—especially a road goal in a windy stadium—changes everything. But thanks to that save, nothing changed. Eventually, the Hammers struck first with Mo Babouli’s opening goal in his second stint with the club.

What did change was Forge’s numbers. Down a man, Forge faced a relentless Cavalry side determined to take advantage. The final moments were a shooting gallery: a missed open net, a shot off the post, a goal-line clearance by Forge defender Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, and then Koleilat’s second highlight-reel save—this one diving low to his left to get just enough of a laser shot from German forward Nicolas Wähling.

“In those moments, you just hope the final whistle comes sooner than later,” Koleilat admitted—his only concession of the night. “It’s a game of details, and when you’re down a man with 20 minutes left, you’ve got to dig deep. You play like it’s 40 minutes, not 20. You rely on effort, communication, and attention to detail. That last stretch becomes a grind.”

The two game-defining saves came under very different circumstances. The first resembled the rhythm Koleilat’s grown used to since joining as a late replacement for Triston Henry last winter: long stretches of inactivity followed by intense bursts of action, much like during his time with powerhouse Iowa Western in Junior College.

“I think the one in the first half shows what I’ve been saying about this team,” he said. “It’s something to be proud of—being able to show up when the team needs me. Obviously, it wasn’t the same compared to the last 20 minutes, which were total chaos.”

The save against the prolific Warschewski will be hard to top. Still, Koleilat compares it to one he made against Amer Didić with his right foot in last year’s 1-0 semifinal win over Atlético Ottawa.

Those stops—Saturday’s and last year’s—came down to the same thing: reaction time. No time to strategize, just pure instinct, honed through years of repetition. Koleilat’s injured goalkeeper partner, Chris Kalongo, shares those same instincts.

“Last year I said we had the two best goalkeepers in the league—and we believe in them,” Head Coach Bobby Smyrniotis said post-match. “Jass was lights-out last year. His performance today shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s the goalkeeper-of-the-moment for Forge, and when called upon in the first 72 minutes, he delivered.”

Last season, Kalongo and Koleilat each played in 14 of Forge’s 28 regular-season games, logging identical minutes. They were separated by just one save—40 for Koleilat, 39 for Kalongo—but Koleilat led the league in clean sheets among keepers with fewer than 20 appearances, cementing his role as starter.

Koleilat to Anchor Forge Through Playoffs

Born in Prague to a Lebanese mother and a Lebanese-Czech father, Koleilat qualifies as Canadian under FIFA rules after spending his early childhood in Montreal. He began playing soccer in Dubai, joined an academy in France at 16, and later suited up for AC Sparta Prague’s U-23s. He then chose the college route: first at Iowa Western, then the University of New Hampshire. Drafted by LAFC, he spent two years in their system before resetting his career and signing with Forge for the 2024 Champions Cup, having briefly trained with the team in 2022.

The save off Wähling came on a shot powerful enough to dislocate a non-keeper’s shoulder, but Koleilat said he felt no pain—not during the moment or afterward.

“It’s nothing special, really—you just push it away. No weird feeling. You grow up doing this, so it feels natural. I think it’s just all the reps from games and all the work I’ve done with athletic trainers here and elsewhere that help me stay ready.”

Because one of his brilliant saves came when Forge controlled possession and the other when they were under siege, each came behind different defensive systems. With 11 men, Forge ran their usual spread four-back set. Down a man, they dropped into a compact five-man rearguard with midfielders helping out, forcing Cavalry into more long-range shots. Cavalry had 24 shots to Forge’s seven, but only six were on target—just two more than Forge.

“It changes a bit,” Koleilat said. “You kind of force the other team into crossing more. They did well on those, but we did well in managing them and pushing them away.

“We know how to handle that as a group. Coach Bobby has us play down a man in training sometimes—just to see how we respond.”

SETTING THE TONE

Despite threatening skies before kickoff, Saturday’s match drew a Forge franchise-record crowd for a home opener—excluding the free-admission debut in 2019—with 7,963 fans in attendance, breaking the previous mark of 7,351 from last year’s opener, also against Cavalry.

It also marked the first-ever CPL match broadcast on TSN.

TSN Debut for CPL: Forge vs. Cavalry

And viewers were treated to a showcase. The first half was tactical and cagey, with quality chances at both ends. The second half opened up, displaying the skill of the CPL’s two historically top teams.

There were mistakes, of course, but both teams looked well-prepared. Each had played two intense Champions Cup matches. Forge had played 11 games total since returning for the 2025 season—most of them friendlies. Smyrniotis noted, “That long period helped us, especially with so many new faces. That extra time was valuable.”

Both sides relished the national spotlight.

“It was massive,” said Aird. “Two teams that have been in finals, big rivals. Everyone wants to see us play Forge. These are probably the most-watched games on OneSoccer. It was big for the players—we were on a national stage, more eyes on us. That’s the kind of football people want to watch: attacking, energetic. The last 25 minutes were exciting—lots of chances, even with the red card. We kept pressing, and they held strong.”

BACK IN THE FOLD

Though he played in the two Champions Cup games vs. CF Monterrey, Saturday marked Mo Babouli’s official return to Forge FC in CPL action after a year in Qatar and two seasons with York United. A key part of Forge’s 2022 and 2023 title runs, he was relieved to head in the game’s only goal (58th minute) on Opening Day.

He had high praise for Koleilat, especially the leaping save on Warschewski’s header.

“Jass had an incredible game,” Babouli said. “When your goalie makes a big save, it makes you want to defend harder, run more, respond to that energy. He had a brilliant game today—but really, everyone in the back line did. We were all feeding off each other.”

HAMMERS AND NAILS:

• Zayne Bruno, just 18, played well in his professional debut before receiving a second yellow in the 72nd minute. His ejection kept CPL Player of the Year Tristan Borges on the bench.

• “We were planning to bring Borges in,” Smyrniotis explained, “but once we went down a man, we had to adjust—freshen up, shift to a true back five, and play a bit differently.”

• Serbian left-back Marko Jevremovic impressed in his CPL debut, setting up Babouli’s goal and battling Cavalry’s Fraser Aird on the flank. “I think this is my fourth left back in four seasons—and he’s a good one,” said Aird.

• Hamilton native Dino Bontis served as Forge’s backup goalkeeper.

• Late substitutions included young talents Khadim Kane (19), rookie Maxime Filion (21), and Ben Paton (24)—the latter two making their CPL debuts.

• Koleilat, Nimick, Jevermovic and Babouli all named to the CPL Team of the Week for Match week 1.