MATCH PREVIEW: Forge FC vs. Cavalry FC | 2025 CPL PLAYOFFS Contender Semifinal

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CanPL

The Canadian Premier League's original postseason rivalry takes the spotlight once again this Sunday, when Forge FC and Cavalry FC meet in the CPL Playoffs for a 10th time. Watch on OneSoccer & TSN!

The Canadian Premier League's original postseason rivalry takes the spotlight once again this Sunday, when Forge FC and Cavalry FC meet in the CPL Playoffs for a 10th time.

There's just one spot left in the CPL Final, and only one of these sides can take it. The winner of Sunday's Contender Semifinal will head to the nation's capital to compete for the North Star Cup against Atlético Ottawa on Sunday, Nov. 9.

The loser? Their season will be over.

It's the fifth win-or-go-home playoff game these teams have played against each other in their history, which includes three CPL Finals. Forge have the historical upper hand, having won the CPL championship against Cavalry in 2019 and 2023 and knocked them out in the 2022 semifinal, but recent form favours reigning champions Cavalry, who beat the Hammers twice in last year's Playoffs — including in the Final.

The two sides have quite different paths to this point in the year. Forge won the CPL Shield by finishing first in the regular season, but suffered a blow last weekend. They lost the Championship Semifinal to Atlético Ottawa at Hamilton Stadium, which meant Atleti go straight to the FInal and Forge now must get through this knockout fixture.

Cavalry, meanwhile, finished third in the table, after a somewhat up-and-down year plagued by some key injuries. However, they entered the Playoffs keen to remind everyone why they're the defending champs. They knocked off York United emphatically last Sunday, beating them 4-1 at ATCO Field — the largest margin of victory in an elimination game in CPL Playoff history.

Up next for Tommy Wheeldon Jr.'s Cavs is this trip to Hamilton, where they did successfully beat Forge in last year's Playoffs. However, he is taking little for granted against the team that was better than anybody in the regular season.

"[Forge] are pissed off, aren't they?" he said. "They lost three out of four playoff games, that's not like them. They're used to winning them, and winning the North Star Cup. But right now, they've had a great season. That's what I'd say every time; the hardest trophy to win is the longer one, the regulars eason, so absolutely they should be favourites on their pitch. If it was our pitch, it'd be a different narrative. We've got to go in there, humble and hungry, that's how we approached it last year, and we beat them when people said we couldn't."

No team is ever operating at 100 per cent health at this time of year, and both these sides have their fair share of knocks. Forge's squad management and rotation have kept them fairly fresh this year, but the biggest question will be Nana Ampomah. He missed time toward the end of the year and has appeared off the bench the last two games, but he's been Forge's most dynamic attacking player this year. If he starts, they can hit a different level.

"Each week, you've got to find the right scenario of what helps you start the game and what helps you end the game and different situations," Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis explained when asked what he can get out of Ampomah this week.

"When we put out the 11, it'll be the 11 that we think gives us an advantage in the game to win it, not, 'Let's bring a guy on later to help us do this or that.' You go out with the best for that day; could be form, could be matchups, could be individual things we want from players we want playing in certain zones."

Smyrniotis also mentioned that Belgian forward Viktor Klonaridis is questionable for Sunday.

Cavalry, meanwhile, still have several players ailing. Wheeldon Jr. confirmed Friday that Camargo, who has arguably been the club's best player in 2025, is ruled out for Sunday; he injured his calf in the last game of the regular season and missed last week's Playoff game. The Cavalry coach did say that every other player is available for selection; if that means Diego Gutiérrez and Bradley Kamdem are fit to play, the visitors suddenly have a lot more depth to play with.

There's rarely a dull fixture between Forge and Cavalry, and 2025's offerings have been no different. They played four times in the regular season, and both sides won once with a pair of draws as well. Forge beat the Cavs 1-0 on the first day of the season, when a second-half Mo Babouli header was all they needed for their first three points.

In late August, Forge went to Calgary riding a 20-game unbeaten streak, and a fully invincible season was starting to feel possible. Instead, Cavalry dismantled them, scoring early and often in a 4-1 victory.

At this time of year, though, the clearest memory for both teams will be of Nov. 9, 2024. They squared off in the CPL Final in Alberta, and it was Cavalry's day. Sergio Camargo opened the scoring, and Tobias Warschewski added one from the penalty spot in a rampant first half performance, as the Cavs triumphed 2-1 and lifted the North Star Cup for the first time in club history.

The CPL Final has been between Forge and Cavalry three times, including both of the last two years. This time, one of them won't be there. However, will it be the defending champs Cavs, headed to a third straight?

Or can Forge, already CPL Shield winners, advance to a seventh consecutive CPL Final — and aim to win the double for the first time?

No two CPL teams have played each other more often, especially not with such high stakes. Sunday's clash will be the next chapter in a grand rivalry.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

Will familiar heroes rise to the occasion again?: In the history of this rivalry, it has been each team's stars who have shone the brightest. No player has scored more goals in this fixture than Forge FC captain Kyle Bekker, who has seven. Tristan Borges, meanwhile, has scored six, including famously in both the 2019 and 2023 CPL Finals and David Choinière has five. On the Cavalry side, Ali Musse has six goals against Forge, while Tobias Warschewski has scored five goals, and added a pair of assists, in his past eight matches against the Hamilton club. "I love playing Forge," the German said this past weekend after learning they would meet again in this year's playoffs. There are plenty of players on both sides who can be difference makers on any given day, but look for these familiar heroes to rise to the occasion again.

Can Cavalry FC find road form at crucial time?: Coming into the 2025 CPL season, no club had won more away matches in the Canadian Premier League than Cavalry FC (33). Historically excellent wherever they played, especially during the regular season, the road has not been quite so kind to the Calgary club this season. With just three wins away from ATCO Field in 14 matches, it is the worst road season in club history. They have not won in their past seven away from home, since July 20. Their traditionally stingy defence, meanwhile, has conceded 16 times during that seven-game stretch. In an at times Jekyll and Hyde season for the Cavs, the latter has been far more likely to appear on the road. On Sunday, Cavalry play their most important away match of the year to date, knowing that if they can pull off a win, an even bigger road match follows in the nation's capital. It is now or never for this team to find their form on the road.

Can Forge FC manage the ball better against dangerous Cavalry FC?: On August 30, Forge travelled to Calgary unbeaten on the season through an incredible 20 matches. That day at ATCO Field, they suffered their first and worst loss of the campaign, a 4-1 drubbing. The common thread in the goals they conceded that day? Turning over the ball in bad areas. To some extent, that was their undoing again this past weekend against Atlético Ottawa in the championship semifinal. Losing the ball in key parts of the pitch, Forge allowed the match to become far too open, and Ottawa's attacking weapons made them pay. "We were not our best on the ball, and that created some turnovers and a bit more defensive running than we expected," said David Choinière after the match. Similarly, Cavalry have all the weapons to make them pay if they aren't as composed on the ball as they need to be on Sunday. Forge have been the best team in the Canadian Premier League this season, and in the league's history, at managing the ball. It's a vital reason they conceded just 22 goals in 28 matches during the regular season. They need that to remain the case if they want to reach a seventh consecutive CPL final.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Achinioti-Jönsson, Jevremović; Borges, Hojabrpour, Bekker; Choinière, Wright, Ampomah

Cavalry FC: Carducci; Aird, Klomp, Montgomery, Gherasimencov; Shome, Kobza; Musse, Warschewski, Ntignee; Elva

ALL-TIME SERIES

Forge FC wins: 15 | Cavalry FC wins: 11 | Draws: 10

LAST METTING

Oct. 10, 2025 — Cavalry FC 1-1 Forge FC

KEY QUOTES

“We need to be close to perfect, in this game and in any type of playoff game, if you want to win. If you're not close to perfect, then you need luck, you need chance, you need the calls to go your way. You need all that stuff to play its part as well. But the best way to do it is just making sure that you do everything you do at the top of your ability, at the top of your speed and with the most energy you can in the game.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis

“It's a great rivalry. They definitely got the better of us at their place, it was a bit of a kick in the teeth earlier in the season, but we're got the better of them at our place, and we're going to try to keep that going.” — Forge FC defender Dan Nimick

"We had success [in Hamilton] last year, but they've been the best team in the regular season this year. We've got to treat it as such. ... I know Bobby and his coaching staff, they're going to try and throw something a bit different at us, as we will at them. It's the adaptation and momentum, that's what ends up winning. They're not high-scoring games unless they're at ATCO Field; the ones at [Hamilton Stadium] have been quite cagey, but it's their home field, and we've go to go there being humble and hungry and ready to upset them again." — Cavalry FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

"It's ours to defend. We were the champions last year, and it's a good reminder sometimes; it gives us confidence, this was our trophy. We just need to go in and do what we have to do." — Cavalry FC winger Ali Musse