“The path to success is not always linear.” Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis stated in his post-match press conference following the loss on October 27 to Cavalry FC. Losing at home to their biggest rival was certainly not the ideal scenario for Hamilton; but they were never discouraged in their quest to defend their title, as Smyrniotis said, “You gotta have that confidence, but nothing is guaranteed. The story doesn’t rewrite itself, you have to write it.”

Finishing as the top club in the CPL regular season, Forge guaranteed themselves two opportunities to clinch a spot in the Final. This should be seen as a total advantage, but in the league’s short history, the club who finished atop of the table in the regular season has never gone on to win the championship. Hamilton knew it wouldn’t be easy trying to change that narrative.

After their 1-0 victory over Valour FC back in early October that clinched the CPL Shield, the league’s highest-scoring team got cold, and at the worst time. They finished out the regular season with two scoreless performances, losing 2-0 at home to Atlético Ottawa, and 1-0 on the road to Pacific FC. However, they hoped to put that all aside as they welcomed Cavalry FC into town with the right to host the Final on the line.

Prior to the match, Cavalry FC had never beaten Forge FC in a playoff match, so both teams went into it with some demons to exercise. Despite their scoring woes to close out the regular season, Forge was determined they would break through eventually, but once again, things didn’t go as they hoped. 

A tightly contested match saw the winning goal scored in the 27th minute by Cavalry attacker Tobias Warschewski. Following the goal, Cavalry’s commitment to playing a low block made it hard for Hamilton to get many quality looks and prevented Forge FC from finding the back of the net for a third straight match, and once the final whistle blew, the Final was set for Calgary. 

With the first semifinal match behind them, their last chance at making the Final was a match with Atlético Ottawa, the club who had started the losing streak. Midfielder Noah Jensen spoke with the media in the week leading up to the match, and offered a positive perspective on the losing streak, “It’s important to think of the psychological effect of that, but at the same time, I think we kind of needed this, […] a little bit of a motivator to get us back in the right mindset.” 

Jensen further echoed the resiliency the group has and the belief he has in himself and his teammates, “The best thing that this team does is show up when we need to show up in do or die games, I think we’ve always done that, so this Saturday will be just be another one of those.”

With that attitude, Forge FC showed up ready for their last home match of the season, determined to make it back to the Final for a sixth straight season. After a scoreless first half, it seemed as though the first team to break through would likely be the team who wins the match. Early in the second half, Captain Kyle Bekker lined up for a corner, and in the 53rd minute, a header from defender Malik Owolabi-Belewu ended the scoring drought and put Forge ahead 1-0, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. 

In their last match, Forge had gone down 1-0, this time around they were in the lead. With lots of time left on the clock, they knew Ottawa wouldn’t make things easy. But this team had been battle tested throughout the season, whether it was in CPL play, CONCACAF, or the Canadian Championship. In a pre-match press conference, Coach Smyrniotis spoke to the confidence he has in his team, no matter the situation, “The game will bring everything to you, you’ll go up, you can go down, it could be a stalemate for a long period of time, and we’ve been through all of it, […] I think that gives a level of calmness to the team, a level of understanding on how to deal with different situations in the game and just go about it.” Go about it they did. Despite a fierce effort from Atlético, Forge held on, sending them to a sixth straight appearance in the CPL Final.

This Saturday, Forge FC looks to win their third consecutive CPL championship, and fifth total. Cavalry FC will be hungry and motivated as ever, as they have yet to capture the league championship, and have been stopped in their quest for glory by Hamilton many times before. It should be a match for the ages, as these familiar foes display the excellence of Canadian Premier League soccer. 

Catch the action on Saturday, November 9th at 3:00 PM ET live on CBC TV, cbcsports.ca, CBC Gem, and OneSoccer.