2024 Forge FC season
The 2024 Forge FC season was the sixth season in the history of Forge FC and the club's sixth season in the Canadian Premier League, the top flight in Canadian soccer. Forge was the defending CPL champions, having defeated Cavalry FC in the 2023 final for their fourth championship. The club was managed by Bobby Smyrniotis in his sixth season as head coach.
In CPL play, Forge clinched first place on October 6 to secure its second regular season title, winning the CPL Shield. This was Forge's sixth trophy in six seasons and qualified the Hammers for next season's CONCACAF Champions Cup. In the CPL playoffs, Forge advanced to the 2024 CPL final for a sixth consecutive year where they were ultimately defeated by Cavalry FC, finishing as runner-up.
In addition to the CPL, Forge competed in the Canadian Championship where it defeated MLS opposition for the first time by prevailing against CF Montréal over two legs in the quarterfinal, advancing the club to the semifinal for the second consecutive year. Forge began its season in February with continental play when it faced C.D. Guadalajara in round one of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Review
Background
Forge FC entered the season as the reigning Canadian Premier League champions after winning the 2023 Canadian Premier League final against Cavalry FC. This was the club's fourth CPL title and fifth finals appearance in five years, continuing their dynasty. They are also competing in the Canadian Championship, a domestic cup organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. In the 2023 edition, Forge reached the semifinal where they were knocked out by Major League Soccer club CF Montréal for the third consecutive year.Forge qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup on October21, 2023, returning the club to international competition after a one-year absence. Their last appearance was in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, where they faced Mexican side Cruz Azul in the round of16.
Head coach and sporting director Bobby Smyrniotis returned for his sixth season after signing a contract extension in 2023.
Preseason
On December22, 2023, Forge announced that fifteen players from the previous season would be returning with guaranteed contracts while other players could possibly return pending negotiations for new contracts or the club activating contract extensions before December31. This changed a week later when defender Manjrekar James, who was originally listed to return, was sold to Costa Rican side Alajuelense for an undisclosed fee. The club later announced that it had picked up the contract options of midfielder Sebastian Castello, defender Malcolm Duncan, and goalkeeper Christopher Kalongo.On January29, Forge re-signed Swedish midfielder and club original Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson to a multi-year deal. Over the following days, the club announced the return of versatile Senegalese midfielder Elimane Cissé, who was a member of Forge's 2019 and 2020 championship teams, and signed Ghanaian international forward Nana Ampomah, both to multi-year deals. They also signed several players to short-term and development contracts for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Striker Woobens Pacius announced on December17 that he was departing Forge, with the club confirming that he was out of contract; he later signed with MLS side Nashville SC. On January17, full-back Rezart Rama left the club, signing with KF Egnatia in the Albanian top flight. Midfielder Aboubacar Sissoko left Forge to join fellow Ontario side Atlético Ottawa.
CONCACAF Champions Cup
Forge began its season in CONCACAF Champions Cup action against Liga MX giants C.D. Guadalajara. The Hammers hosted Chivas on February7 at Tim Hortons Field where they fell 3–1. Chivas were led by United States international Cade Cowell who scored two goals and assisted on a third. Terran Campbell scored the lone goal for Forge off of a cross by Tristan Borges.Facing difficulty in the second leg at the Estadio Akron, Forge lost 2–1 to Chivas to be defeated 5–2 on aggregate, knocking them out of the Champions Cup. Kevaughn Tavernier scored Forge's lone goal in the 93rd minute.
Forge was notably without Golden Glove winning goalkeeper Triston Henry for both matches; according to the club, he was away dealing with a personal matter. Christopher Kalongo started in his absence. Forge was also without Elimane Cissé and Nana Ampomah as they awaited their international transfer permits.
Canadian Premier League season
Prior to the start of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season, Forge brought in defender Daniel Parra on loan from Monterrey and midfielder Matteo Schiavoni on loan from CF Montréal. The club also signed goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat to a multi-year deal.April
Forge opened its CPL campaign at home with a rematch of the 2023 CPL final against rival side Cavalry FC on April13. Henry, Cissé, and Ampomah continued to be unavailable for the Hammers, while defender Garven Metusala missed the match due to injury. After falling behind 1–0, Forge came back on the strength of a goal and an assist from Tristan Borges and a 76th minute winning goal from Béni Badibanga to defeat Cavalry 2–1. This was Forge's first ever opening day win in its history.The club followed-up their opening day win with victories away at 905 derby rival York United FC and back at home against Valour FC. After three matches, Tristan Borges had scored two goals and picked up three assists for five goal contributions, more than any CPLer had ever earned in the league's first three matchweeks. For his efforts, Borges was named the CPL's player of the month while Christopher Kalongo and Bobby Smyrniotis earned goalkeeper and manager of the month honours, respectively.
May
Forge's 2024 Canadian Championship run began on May1 with a rematch against York United FC, this time at Tim Hortons Field. [Jordan Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton (soccer)|Jordan Hamilton] scored a brace as part of a three goal first half en route to a convincing 3–1 win, advancing Forge to the quarterfinals. This set up a Canadian Championship rematch against CF Montréal for a fourth year in a row. Forge hosted the first leg on May7 in the club's "School Day Match" before an announced crowd of 14,923 fans, the club's second most attended home match. David Choinière scored in the 31st minute to give Forge a 1–0 first half lead before Montréal responded in the second half to secure a 1–1 draw, leaving the teams tied on aggregate before the return leg later in the month.Returning to CPL play, Forge FC traveled out west to face Pacific FC, battling them to a scoreless draw. Jassem Koleilat made his first appearance for the Hammers, keeping a clean sheet. The Hammers next returned home where they faced Vancouver FC, losing 2–1 for their first ever home defeat against the Eagles.
Forge next traveled to Montreal for the second leg of its Canadian Championship quarterfinal match. Tied 1–1 on aggregate and needing to score to overcome an away goals deficit, Forge jumped out to a 2–0 first half lead thanks to goals from Daniel Parra and Kwasi Poku. Following a two hour halftime delay due to lightning, Montréal came out and dominated the second half. However, they only managed to score one goal against the Hammers, resulting in a "historic" 2–1 Forge win and advancing them to the semifinals 3–2 on aggregate. This was the first time the club had defeated an MLS opponent. Following the win, Forge travelled to Ottawa where, tired from their Canadian Championship match, they fell 3–0 to Atlético Ottawa. It was the club's first ever defeat in Ottawa.
June
Forge FC returned home to face York United FC, securing a 3–0 victory for their third win of the season against the Nine Stripes in all competitions. Kyle Bekker, Tristan Borges, and Daniel Parra scored for Forge while Kwasi Poku contributed with two assists and a crucial goal-line clearance to help Jassem Koleilat keep the clean sheet. Forge followed this up with a trip to Calgary where a "poor" outing resulted in a 1–0 loss to Cavalry. This was Forge's third loss in their last four league matches and the third time the team had been shutout in a road match this season. Forge next traveled to Halifax to face HFX Wanderers where Béni Badibanga opened the scoring in the 49th minute and Kwasi Poku scored a stoppage time equalizer to help secure a 2–2 draw. After a delay in getting his work permit approved, Nana Ampomah made his long-awaited debut for Forge, appearing as a second-half substitute and assisting on Poku's late equalizer.Returning home, Forge welcomed Valour back to Tim Hortons Field on June 23 where Kwasi Poku scored a first-half brace to propel Forge to a 2–1 win. The Hammers then returned to Ottawa on June 28 for their second away match against league-leaders Atlético Ottawa. In a "chaotic" and "thrilling" contest, Atlético scored a winning goal at the end of stoppage time to emerge as 4–3 winners after the sides traded leads in the second half. This was Forge's first ever CPL loss in a match in which the team had led in their history.
Forge ended the month with two wins, a draw, and two losses in league play. For scoring four goals and two assists in June, Kwasi Poku was named the CPL's player of the month.
July–September
In July, Forge began their most successful stretch of the season, amassing a record of 10 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses between July 14 and October 6. Following wins that week against Halifax and Vancouver, Forge took over top spot in the CPL on August 18.October
Forge traveled to Winnipeg with a chance to clinch the regular season title with a win against Valour on October6. They had struggled to win away at Valour, securing only one victory in its seven most recent visits to Winnipeg. Noah Jensen scored in the 36th minute off of a cutback from Kyle Bekker in what proved to be the match's only goal, securing a trophy-clinching 1–0 road win. It was Forge's 100th win as a club. By winning the regular season, the Hammers won the CPL Shield, the top seed in the 2024 CPL playoffs, a berth in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, and prize money. This was Forge's second regular season title and sixth trophy in six years.The Hammers returned to Hamilton to face Atlético Ottawa on October12 in a match that didn't matter in the standings for Forge, but would be followed by a trophy ceremony. Forge surrendered two first half goals and Alessandro Hojabrpour was sent off on the way to a 2–0 loss, putting a damper on the celebrations. Daniel Parra received a caution during the match after he appeared to punch Atlético's Sam Salter; he subsequently received a three-match suspension however, as of 2024 Forge is appealing the decision. Following the match, Forge was awarded the CPL Shield before the club's supporters.
Forge completed its CPL regular season campaign away at Pacific on October19. In a rain-soaked match, Forge fell 1–0 to end the season with a loss. It was the second year in a row Forge ended its season with consecutive defeats. Khadim Kane and Amadou Koné both started the match to help Forge surpass the CPL-mandated 2,000 minimum minutes to be played by U-21 Canadian players. By playing the match's full 90 minutes, Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson became the third outfield player in CPL history to have played every minute of a regular season.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, several Forge players were nominated for CPL awards. Tristan Borges was named Player of the Year and Bobby Smyrniotis was named Coach of the Year. Despite having left midseason, Kwasi Poku was named Best Canadian U-21 Player.
Canadian Premier League playoffs
Forge entered the CPL playoffs looking to become the first CPL team to win a league double. As the regular season winner, their playoffs began by hosting the Page playoff first semifinal at Tim Hortons Field against second seed Cavalry with a chance to advance directly to the CPL final. This repeated the matchup of the 2023 season's first semifinal where Forge defeated Cavalry in Calgary. Forge had finished two points ahead of Cavalry in the regular season and had won both home matches against the Cavs this season. Cavalry striker Tobias Warschewski's 27th-minute goal proved to be the matchwinner as Forge lost 1–0. It was only Forge's second ever loss in 14 playoff games.Forge next hosted Atlético Ottawa in the second semifinal on November2 with another chance to qualify for the final. Malik Owolabi-Belewu scored with a header off a corner kick in the 53rd minute to give Forge a 1–0 win, qualifying the Hammers for a sixth consecutive CPL final.
Canadian Premier League final
Forge faced Cavalry in the CPL final for the second year in a row and third time overall. This was Forge's chance to complete the league double and secure its third consecutive league championship and fifth overall. Daniel Parra made his return after completing his three-match suspension.Cavalry were the better team in the first half, scoring twice to take a 2–0 lead into half time. Forge came to life in the second half with Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson scoring in the 52nd minute to bring the Hammers within a goal. However, Forge couldn't find an equalizer and eventually fell 2–1. This was Cavalry's first CPL title and only the second time Forge hadn't won the CPL final.
Transfers
In
Draft picks
Forge FC made two selections in the 2024 CPL–U Sports Draft. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster; only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.| Round | Selection | Pos. | Player | Nationality | University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 8 | MF | Mouhamed Ndiaye |  CanadaLoans outForge FC is affiliated with Sigma FC of League1 Ontario as part of the CPL's Downward Player Movement Pilot Project. The following Forge FC players featured for Sigma FC during the 2024 League1 Ontario season.
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