The players may have changed dramatically, but the pitch they play on really hasn’t. So visiting Pacific FC still presents the same challenges for Forge FC that it always has.

“Their ground is the smallest one in the league,” says Forge Sporting Director and Head Coach Bobby Smyrniotis. “You need a good deal of concentration when you play there and really have a game plan.”

Saturday afternoon’s game (5 p.m. ET, TSN, OneSoccer) in Langford on Vancouver Island pits two teams who each picked up three bankable points at home on the CPL’s opening weekend — and didn’t concede a goal doing it. The Tridents beat Valour 2-0 in a match where the run of play was far more dominant than the final score suggested. The Hammers held off a stronger opponent, surviving the final 24 minutes with just 10 men to secure a 1-0 win over Cavalry FC. But that was last week — this is now. Forge moves from their expansive home pitch, which they used to full advantage until rookie Zayne Bruno was sent off, to the tighter, postage-stamp dimensions of Starlight Stadium.

“It takes away all the lanes for a possession-based team,” Smyrniotis says. “You just have to be quicker. The good thing is that we train a lot in small spaces. You’ve got to make adjustments, be a little faster in execution, and a bit more patient on the ball. Luckily, we do both very well.”

Forge, entering their third three-year cycle, has maintained much of its core but made some changes along the backline —and added Brian Wright and Mo Babouli up front.

Forge FC’s Defensive Fortress: Reinforcements, Resilience, and Rama’s Return

Meanwhile, Pacific — who beat Forge for the 2021 league title on a winner from current Forge player Ali Hojabrpour — has trimmed and transformed its roster, bringing in around a dozen new faces. In 2024, they were defensively solid but struggled mightily in front of goal, finishing fifth and exiting in the first round of the playoffs.

They’ve added offensive firepower by bringing back Marco Bustos from Sweden’s IFK Värnamo, as well as Mexican striker Emanuel Montejano, forward Yann Toulay from the Quebec senior league, and promising 21-year-old Ronan Kratt, who spent time with York three years ago and scored nine goals in 18 matches in Germany’s lower divisions last season. They’ll join holdovers Josh Heard and Dario Zanatta in the attack.

Zanatta and Toulay both found the net in the opener, and Bustos was omnipresent.

“It’s early in the season to see where everything is going to come from,” Smyrniotis says of Pacific’s offence. “It’s no different for us. We have a way of playing and teams know that, but there are a lot of different pieces in how we do it — and I think it’s the same thing for them. It’s too early to tell. Like I always say, in the first few games we focus on ourselves and build our ability to apply our principles in each and every match.

“It’s important to respect your opponent, but until you see a team play three or four games, you can’t identify tendencies. You can’t draw conclusions from one or two games.”

“They’ve had turnover at all positions. They weren’t the strongest attacking team last year and they’ve tried to address that in the off-season. There are changes in goal (Max Anchor), the backline, and midfield (former TFC player Kadin Chung). They’re quite a different team — but it’s the same coach (James Merriman), and he’s made them a much more resolute group, especially at home.”

Forge has had a few injury concerns, but every player except goalkeeper Chris Kalongo (recovering from foot surgery) is back in training. Bruno, of course, will miss Saturday’s game due to his red card, but defender Rezart Rama returns to the lineup after missing last week with a knock.

To minimize the effects of the three-time-zone jump, Forge flew out Thursday night and will train Friday afternoon, wrapping their session 24 hours ahead of kickoff.

And while the team had some bonding time during their trip to Mexico for Champions Cup, a long road trip early in the season doesn’t hurt — especially for a group with about half a dozen new players.

“One other thing — especially for the new guys — is that it gets them acclimatized to the longest trip we have in the CPL,” Smyrniotis says. “You get it out of the way early and understand, ‘This is something I’m going to deal with a few times a year, especially with trips to Vancouver and the Island.’ It helps.”

Hammers and Nails

This match will feature seven of the 11 players named to the CPL Team of the Week from Opening Day:

• Forge FC: Jassem Koleilat (GK), Mo Babouli (MF), Marko Jevremović (DF), Dan Nimick (DF)

• Pacific FC: Ronan Kratt (FW), Juan Quintana (DF), Kadin Chung (MF)

• Smyrniotis confirmed in his pre-match press conference that defender Malik Owolabi-Belewu will miss the match due to injury but is close to returning.

• Forge’s Jassem Koleilat is currently third in the CPL in saves (6), just two behind Vancouver’s Callum Irving. Pacific’s Kadin Chung is tied for the league lead in tackles (5).