Final Score: Forge FC 2-1 Vancouver FC
Goalscorers: Campagna 23 (o.g.), Filion 72'; Fry 90+3'
Game of the 2025 season: 51
CPL Match: 647
Match in a minute or less
Unbeaten Forge FC are now just one point off top spot in the Canadian Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Vancouver FC on Saturday at Hamilton Stadium.
Maxime Filion's first professional goal in the 73rd minute was the difference, after Forge had initially opened the scoring through a Matteo Campagna 23rd-minute own goal. Vasco Fry cut the lead to one in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, but that was all that Vancouver managed on the day despite creating several chances.
The match saw a significant delay due to an injury to Vancouver FC midfielder Emrick Fotsing. The 17-year-old was conscious and alert when he was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The club will provide further updates.
Forge extend their streak to 13 straight matches without a loss, one shy of the league record, and club record, of 14. The win sets up a big clash in the capital with top-of-the-table Atlético Ottawa next Saturday, July 12.
Three Observations
Rotated Forge keep unbeaten streak alive
This is a big week for Forge FC, and they will be pleased to begin it with three points -- even if their performance against Vancouver FC on Saturday evening was far from their best.
Forge would have been tempted to look ahead to Wednesday's second leg against CF Montréal in the Canadian Championship quarter-final, or perhaps a match against league-leaders Atlético Ottawa in the nation's capital on Saturday. Perhaps that was the case, particularly during a second half where they looked far from themselves, but they still managed to emerge with the victory.
With the busy week in mind, Forge made four changes from last weekend against York United, the most they have made this season week-to-week. The most notable was 20-year-old goalkeeper Dino Bontis, who made his first-ever professional start in place of Jassem Koleilat -- who had played every minute for the Hamilton club to this point.
Bontis was solid in his debut, making three saves before being removed in the 89th minute through injury.
Fresh legs also played an important role in the second half, and Forge's second goal, as a triple substitution in the 71st minute saw Maxime Filion, Tristan Borges and Amadou Koné join the match.
Borges found Filion with a lovely header to set up the CPL - U SPORTS draft pick's first-ever professional goal, which stood as the winner, just a matter of minutes after they had come into the match.
He became the 12th different Forge player to score this season in 13 league matches, the most in the league and a testament to the depth that Smyrniotis's squad possesses.
He will need all of it to step up this week, but so far so good at least in the results column for the Hamilton club.
Forge's find success by isolating Choinière out wide
There was a clear attacking outlet for Forge to begin Saturday evening's match, as they consistently looked to build attacks down the right flank, particularly through David Choinière.
Making his first start in the past eight matches as he regains his fitness following an injury, Choinière was composed and positive on the ball as his teammates consistently found ways to isolate him in one-v-one situations either through switches of play or quick buildup. From there, Noah Jensen and Rezart Rama did well to join him to offer a passing option or a threat in behind.
In the 23rd minute, it was Choinière's dangerous cross into the box that created the chaos in the Vancouver box, leading to the opening own goal. Most of the first half chances were created off of the foot of Forge's #7.
He finished the match with four shot attempts, six touches in the box, and four successful dribbles as he consistently went at the Vancouver backline. In 71 minutes, it was a strong and important performance for a player who can be a difference maker for Forge on his day, and certainly was on Saturday.
Smyrniotis, for his part, was disappointed that his team didn't continue to attack down that flank in the second half. But it was key to them opening the scoring at home for just the third time this season in league action, and could have easily resulted in more goals had they been a little bit more clinical and ruthless.
Vancouver FC take the game to Forge in the second half, but can't find another dramatic comeback
Trailing 1-0 heading into the second half it was a different Vancouver FC side that seemed to emerge from the tunnel.
A significant part of that was the introduction of Nicolás Mezquida at half-time. With the Uruguayan on the pitch, Vancouver were instantly more organized and dangerous.
"He connects everyone, he gives players more confidence," said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
Mezquida, who only recently returned from an injury, moved into the number 10 position and could instantly be seen gesturing and communicating with teammates to make sure they were in the right positions on the pitch.
In the second half, Vancouver outshot Forge 10-2, held 60.5 per cent of the possession, and had 30 final third entries to just 11. They came incredibly close to scoring on more than a few occasions, particularly when Henri Godbout saw his effort cleared off the line in the 52nd minute by Rezart Rama after beating Bontis.
Even after conceding a second goal, and the horrible situation of seeing teammate Emrick Fotsing go down to injury just a few minutes later, Vancouver FC kept pressing -- keeping Forge hemmed in their own half for most of the second 45 minutes.
They finally found a deserved goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time from Vasco Fry. But after last week, where they scored twice late in a dramatic 4-4 draw against rivals Pacific FC, they couldn't complete another sizeable comeback on Saturday.
For Vancouver FC, they now need to turn their attention to Tuesday's Canadian Championship match against Cavalry, in the second leg of a quarter-final tie that is currently 1-1 on aggregate. While they continue to struggle to pick up results in the league, reaching a national semi-final would be a big boost for the club at every level.
What They Said
"Just low level of concentration at the end, it's going to occur. Here's the thing, last year, it occurred, and I'm pretty sure we got one point out of [Vancouver] here at Hamilton Stadium. Three points, we're in an excellent spot. Wasn't our best game, but it also could have been 3-0 in the first 30 minutes." -- Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
"I'm really proud of the effort, performance, even the quality. Inside the box, maybe we can be a little bit more composed, a little bit more calm and precise... some of those defensive lapses are haunting us, and haunting us all season." -- Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
David Choinière, Forge FC
In his first start in two months, Choinière was Forge's most dangerous player, firing four shots, completing four dribbles, and creating several excellent chances for himself and his teammates. It was his cross that played a key part in the match opening own goal, and he also won six of nine duels during an energetic performance down the right flank.
What’s next?
Both clubs have Canadian Championship action up next, as Forge FC are off to Montréal for the second leg of their quarter-final against CF Montréal on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET). Then, it is up against Atlético Ottawa on Saturday, July 12, for a clash with the Canadian Premier League's top team (3 p.m. ET).
For Vancouver, they head to Calgary's ATCO Field for their quarter-final second leg (9:30 p.m. ET). They face Cavalry again in the league the following match, this time in Langley on Sunday, July 13 (9 p.m. ET).
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