Hamilton’s local soccer team, Forge FC, are on a roll with three straight wins heading into the World Cup break.
The team suffered their first loss of the season on May 24 against Atletico Ottawa after a goal in the 87th minute resulted in a 2-1 final scoreline.
The loss also meant that Cavalry FC, one of Forge’s top rivals, took over first place in the Canadian Premier League standings after Hamilton had been at the top for a month.
But Forge’s next match, on May 31, was against Cavalry, and Forge managed to come out on top 1-0, retaking first place in the league, handing Cavalry their first loss of the season, and beating the Calgary-based club for the first time since April 2025.
Defender Antoine Batisse scored the only goal in that match off a corner in the 70th minute.
With that win, Forge FC Head Coach and Sporting Director Bobby Smyrniotis became the first coach in Canadian Premier League history to reach 100 wins.
Smyrniotis is in his eighth season and has coached the team since the league launched in 2019, leading the club to four playoff championships in that time.
On June 7, Forge then routed their rivals Inter Toronto 4-1 at York Lions Stadium in what was the first 905 Derby of the season.
Forge opened the scoring thanks to a Marko Jevremovic free kick before scoring in a scramble off a corner to lead 2-0 at halftime.
Toronto scored in the second half, but then Tristan Borges scored for Forge thanks to a goalkeeper error to make it 3-1.
Forge scored off another corner in the 70th minute to earn the 4-1-win, outshooting Toronto 26 to nine in the process.
Finally, Forge played Halifax Wanderers FC on Wednesday in Hamilton, in what is their last match for the next 21 days, with the league set to take a break until July 1st due to the World Cup.
Forge won that match thanks to a 57th-minute goal from attacker Brian Wright.
They outshot their opponents 15 to 11.
Hamilton enters the World Cup break at the top of the table, with eight wins, one draw, and one loss over 10 games.
The soccer club has not allowed a single goal at home the entire season.
In the standings, Forge has 25 points, while Cavalry is second with 23 points and a 7-2-1 record.
Third place is Athletico Ottawa with 14 points, and fourth is Inter Toronto with 13 points.
Forge’s next match will be against Vancouver FC on Canada Day – a Wednesday – at Hamilton Stadium.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
