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PREVIEW: Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC — Match #65

2022 CPL Regular Season — Match #65
Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC
July 27, 2022 at 7:00 pm MT/9:00 pm ET
ATCO Field in Calgary, Alberta
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

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Cavalry FC host Forge FC in midweek Canadian Premier League action on Wednesday night, at ATCO Field in Calgary.

The home side are coming off back-to-back defeats for the first time this season after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Pacific FC last Friday, while Forge are riding a three-game win streak.

With that defeat at Starlight Stadium on Friday, Cavalry were booted from top spot in the table by Pacific, who with three points jumped from third all the way up into first. With their win at York Lions Stadium on Sunday, Atlético Ottawa also climbed over Cavalry, and past Pacific into first place. the Tridents sit in second place after the weekend’s action, with Forge just behind in fourth.

Marco Bustos scored his first goal of the season, Alejandro Diaz scored his league-leading eleventh, and Jose Escalante headed the ball into his own net, as the Cavs also suffered the biggest loss in their short history thus far.

Forge, meanwhile, are heading to Cavalry on a three game wining streak, most recently defeating Valour FC 3-1 at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday.

After Moses Dyer scored to give Valour the lead 23 minutes in, Forge didn’t panic and pushed for an equalizer, which they would find just before halftime on a fantastic strike from the red-hot Woobens Pacius.

Terran Campbell scored what would be the winning goal in the 67th minute and added a second in stoppage time, his first goals in a while, and Forge picked up all three points with a 3-1 win. The win extended their lead over Valour in the table to six points — three valuable points as the playoff race heats up.

This will be the second meeting between Forge and Cavalry this season, and the 15th all-time meeting between the two sides in all competitions. Most notably, they played each other in the inaugural CPL Finals in 2019, the first of two consecutive titles won by The Hammers.

They drew 2-2 in their first meeting of 2022, way back on April 16, in what was Forge’s first home game of the year. Alessandro Hojabrpour scored a screamer three minutes into the match, before Joe Mason and Ali Musse gave the visitors a 2-1 lead going into halftime. With time running out, David Choinière rescued a point for Forge with a nice goal of his own, a curling effort into the top corner.


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3 THINGS TO WATCH

  • Playoff race heating up, with these teams firmly in contention: With the midway point of the regular season now behind us, teams are starting to establish themselves as either playoff contenders or teams in the chasing pack. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Cavalry and Forge are among the former group. Perennial contenders since the CPL kicked off, both currently sit inside the top four, who are starting to distance themselves a little bit from the other four sides. With a lot of soccer still to be played, a lot can change of course, but with the current top four being the most consistent teams at the moment, them finishing the season in playoff positions has to be seen as somewhat likely. Fourth-place Forge have also played the fewest games in the CPL, just 14, but are only three points back of top spot, while Cavalry sit third but just one point back of Pacific FC and Atlético Ottawa, and two ahead of Forge. A win in this match would see either one of these teams climb into first place with all three points, and if Forge win, Cavalry would drop to fourth place after being atop the table earlier in the week. With Valour FC six points back of the playoffs, and playing Pacific this weekend, it could be a chance for the four teams currently in playoff spots to pull away even further.
  • After record unbeaten streak, Cavalry look to snap two-game slide: After a loss to York United on April 22, Cavalry didn’t lose again until July 19th, again to York United but this time at Calgary’s ATCO Field. The loss at home snapped an eleven-game unbeaten streak in which they won eight times, jumping up the table into first place. They’ve slipped into third place after the two straight losses, and if they lose a third match in a row on Wednesday, will drop to fourth. Forge would jump from fourth to first with a victory, with games in hand over the teams below them as well. Cavalry are looking to get over a loss in which midfielder Charlie Trafford said the team were “embarrased” after the match, and what better way to snap the losing streak than against one of your biggest rivals? “I don’t think we need too much motivation to play against a team like Forge,” said head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. on Tuesday. “They’re two-time champions, we had a good game against them last time, where they scored two absolute worldies and we gave a really good account of ourselves. These are great games, these are the ones we look forward to as a team, and this is what makes our league so good — it’s the competition between the top teams.” If they’re going to win this match they’ll do it without Mason Trafford or Myer Bevan, who will both definitely miss this one with injuries. Jose Escalante is suspended for this match, while Bradley Vliet and Ben Fisk will be gametime decisions, Fisk needing a fitness test and Vliet doubtful through illness.
  • Woobens Pacius in red hot form: Forge FC attacker Woobens Pacius had a strong debut season in the Canadian Premier League, scoring seven times in 20 appearances after making the move from the CF Montreal Academy. This year he has taken his game to a whole new level, already scoring eight goals in 14 appearances, and making 10 starts thus far. The 21-year-old forward has become a more regular contributor this season, pushing the CPL’s all-time record goalscorer Terran Campbell for minutes, and his eight goals have him sitting second in the Golden Boot race, three back of Pacific’s Alejandro Diaz. Pacius has been in great form recently as well, scoring in three straight matches. He scored once in a 2-0 win away to York United on July 8, and followed that up with his first CPL hat trick eleven days later at home against FC Edmonton. Then, four days after the Edmonton win, scored the equalizing goal in a 3-1 victory for The Hammers over Valour FC.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Forge FC wins: 6 || Cavalry FC wins: 4 || Draws: 3

Previous match:

April 16, 2022 – Forge FC 2-2 Cavalry FC