Forge FC broke a Canadian Premier League record on Friday night, becoming the first club in league history to go 15 games without defeat.
The result, a 2-0 victory over Pacific FC at Hamilton Stadium, saw them break the club’s own record of 14 games, set during the inaugural CPL season in 2019. That year, Forge became the league’s first champions, and they have gone to every final since – winning four of them. They are also the reigning CPL Shield winners after finishing top of the table, and after this record-breaking start to 2025, are once again in contention for silverware in 2025.
In addition to their CPL success, the Hammers are also into the semi-finals of the Canadian Championship and set to take on the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps, after knocking out fellow MLS side CF Montreal. Combining league and cup results, Forge is actually unbeaten in 18 matches.
“We take a lot of pride in doing some special things around here at Forge,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis after Friday’s win over Pacific. “It's a record we didn't talk about much, but obviously now that it's done it's great. I told the guys inside [the dressing room], I congratulated them on beating Forge of 2019’s record and reminding them that records are made to be broken.”
Despite their hot start, Forge still trail Atlético Ottawa in the CPL standings by a single point. Of Forge’s 15 unbeaten games in the league, seven have ended in draws – including twice against the league leaders.
As they chase the first regular season and playoff double in CPL history, Smyrniotis wants to turn a few of those draws into wins. He was pleased with his team’s ability to find two late goals against Pacific, and stressed that his team has the mindset to go for the full points every time they step onto the pitch.
“As a coach and as players, you hope you had another four to six points on the board but I think that's every coach across the league,” Smyrniotis said. “This is a testament to this club, this organization, the mentality around the club from everyone involved, from the top to everyone that's inside that locker room, and we keep on going, and we keep on setting the standard in the Canadian Premier League.
“One of the things when I was given the great opportunity to lead this club in 2019, it was about making sure that we have big moments in this organization. We think big, it doesn't matter who the players are, that's the mentality of this club, and that's how this club grows for the future.”
Smyrniotis has achieved everything a coach can achieve in the CPL. Four playoff titles, topping the table twice, finally getting his hands on a long-deserved Coach of the Year award in 2024. He has understandably been linked to jobs in Major League Soccer for several years, but despite the noise around him, Smyrniotis’ commitment and focus on the task in hand in Hamilton has never wavered.
“If you spend the week here at Forge and you spend the week at training, it'll start making a little bit of sense,” said Smyrniotis. “It's easy to come up with cliches, ‘There's no days off’ and all that fun stuff, but it starts with us, the staff. I'm as motivated as ever to keep on doing excellent things with these players, I'm as motivated as ever to keep on coming up with new ideas, and these players are fantastic but they also know when they walk out onto the pitch the standard has to be high.
“The training level has to be high, the attention to detail has to be high. In the game, it's the same thing. If you preach that every day, that translates within the group and that's one of the toughest things to do.”
There’s no pretending at Forge FC either. With such a deep squad loaded with talent that would walk into many other CPL clubs, the standards are incredibly high for who gets onto the pitch week in and week out. In such a cut throat environment, everyone has to contribute.
“The only way you can hide from it is if you leave the building and you don't come back,” Smyrniotis said. “It's not easy to be a player at Forge. Six finals, six trophies, Champions League, positive record in Concacaf League, positive record against MLS clubs, 15 games unbeaten, positive record playing In Central America. Not many teams in Canada have done that.
“These guys have done it all, and they've tasted it all, and when you've tasted that you want more, and when you want more you show up every day and you give your best, and even on your bad day your work ethic should be top.”
Forge head to Halifax next to try and make it 16 unbeaten in the league, visiting the Wanderers on Friday night (6 p.m. ET/7 p.m. AT).
