Familiar foes face off Sunday in the Canadian Premier League playoffs.
No. 1 Forge FC and No. 2 Cavalry FC meet in the qualifying semifinal at Tim Hortons Field, with the winner moving straight into the Nov. 9 championship game. The loser drops into semifinal play Nov. 2 against either No. 3 Atletico Ottawa or No. 4 York United FC, who meet in the earlier quarterfinal Sunday at TD Place Stadium.
York kicked off the post-season Wednesday with a 2-0 win over No. 5 Pacific FC in a play-in match at York Lions Stadium.
While the CPL's timeline is short, Cavalry and Forge have a long history together.
Cavalry finished atop the regular-season standings in 2019, the league's inaugural campaign, and 2023, but lost to Forge in the championship games both times. The 2-1 defeat in 2023 came after extra time.
The Calgary side finished runner-up in the league in 2021, losing 2-1 after extra time to eventual champion Pacific FC in the semifinal. Cavalry lost 3-2 to Forge in the two-legged semifinal in 2022.
Hamilton's Forge has been the CPL's gold standard from Day 1, evidenced by the fact that it is looking for a fifth title — and third straight ---- in its sixth post-season appearance.
"Important matches usually bring out the best in us," said Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
Forge won the title in 2019, '20, '22 and '23 and was runner-up in 2021.
"It's best-on-best, isn't it," Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said of the Forge matchup. "We're the second seed, going up against the best team in the league. We have to be at our very best. We're looking forward to that challenge."
Wheeldon noted his team won at both Ottawa and York this season when they were top of the league. Cavalry also won 1-0 at the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, only to lose the two-legged quarterfinal on the away goals rule.
"The last dragon to slay is Forge," he said.
Cavalry got here the hard way, winning just three of its first 15 games (3-3-9). But it won its next five outings and finished the season on a six-game unbeaten run (4-0-2).
Cavalry (12-4-12) finished two points behind Forge (15-8-5) in the regular season.
Forge held a 2-1-1 edge in the regular-season series this year, winning 2-1 twice at Tim Hortons Field with a 1-0 loss and 1-1 draw at ATCO Field.
Cavalry goes into the game with a career 2-7-1 playoff record. It has lost both previous away games in the post-season. Forge is 10-1-2 in the playoffs, including 6-1-0 at home.
Forge set a franchise mark with an 11-1-2 record this season at Tim Hortons Field. The lone loss was a 2-0 setback at the hands of Atletico Ottawa on Oct. 12 when Forge had already clinched the title.
That defeat snapped a 10-game unbeaten run (9-0-1) for Forge.
York United FC (11-11-6) at Atletico Ottawa (11-6-11)
Ottawa coach Carlos Gonzalez added some spice to the rivalry with York when, on Oct. 6 after his team's third straight loss to York, he was asked if he wanted to avoid the Toronto team in the playoffs.
"Not at all. No," the Spaniard replied. "I think that York is probably the weakest team in the playoffs … They do not have so many tools."
York coach Benjamin Mora responded by noting his side had outscored Ottawa 7-2 in its three wins over its Ontario rival.
"Imagine if we were not weak?" the Mexican asked.
"Ottawa is a great team. They have great players," he added. "Maybe their weak side is in another place."
Ottawa defeated visiting York 2-1 in their season opener in April before losing 2-1, 4-1 and 1-0 in the next three meetings.
After the 1-0 loss to York on Oct. 6, Ottawa defeated Forge 2-0 and tied Vancouver FC 0-0. York lost to 2-1 to Pacific and Halifax Wanderers before dispatching Pacific in the fourth-versus-fifth play-in game.
In the lead-up to Sunday's game, Gonzalez downplayed his earlier comments on York calling them "part of the sauce that the media side likes."
"It’s good to build on a rivalry between York and Ottawa," he said. "But I say nothing more about that, I totally respect their side, I think they’ve done good things, that’s why they’re here.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
