Matchday Program

Matchweek #2 of the 2025 Canadian Premier League season kicks off on Vancouver Island, where Pacific FC is getting set to host Forge FC at Starlight Stadium in Langford on Saturday.

Two of the three CPL teams to pick up victories on opening weekend, both sides will look to carry that positive momentum into this match, where they’ll want to build on what worked for them in week #1.

Certainly, that’s the case for the hosts, Pacific, who had about as perfect of an opening game as they could’ve drawn up, as they defeated Valour 2-0 at home last Saturday.

There, they scored two first-half goals before cruising to victory, putting in a complete showing on both sides of the ball. In particular, they did a great job of closing out the game in the second half, as they never really felt at risk of losing their lead once they had it.

Yet, it’s a great glimpse of what this team wants to be about in 2025. Much like last year, where they were an excellent defensive team, they want to keep that identity, but are also looking to be much more dangerous offensively after scoring the fewest goals in the league.

Given that they kept a clean sheet against Valour, they succeeded on the defensive front, and they’ll look at the fact that they scored twice and could’ve added more as a sign that they had a good offensive showing, too.

Now, they’ll want to repeat a similar performance against the defending CPL Shield winners, proving that their week one success wasn’t a fluke.

“It’s important for us to keep building confidence in what we’re trying to do,” Pacific’s head coach, James Merriman, said this week. “It’s important for us to challenge ourselves, and to accept that challenge to be organized and be together, knowing what we want to do without the ball, but also be on the front foot and attack quickly when we do win the ball back and when we keep the ball. We’re going to try and bring that alive again tomorrow.”

In terms of player availability, Pacific looks set to welcome back a couple of players who were absent due to injury and knocks in week one, including Sean Melvin, Aidan Daniels and Aly Ndom, otherwise noting they have no other concerns. Meanwhile, Forge will be without Zayne Bruno, who is serving a one-game suspension after getting sent off against Cavalry, and Malik Owolabi-Belewu, who is returning from an injury.

• Pacific’s transitional threat: One thing that stood out for Pacific in their win vs. Valour? Their ability to find joy in transitional moments, as they did a great job of taking advantage of the attacking moments that materialized immediately after they won back the ball. Yet, this was something that was by design – thanks to the insertion of winger Josh Heard as a striker, that gave Pacific a different look up front, allowing them to play more directly in those moments. Against a Valour team that wanted to hold the ball, it proved to be a smart ploy, as Pacific caught them with players high up the field on a few occasions, doing well to attack into the space they vacated. Against a Forge team that also likes to hold onto the ball, look for Pacific to try and seek out those transitional moments again, led by Heard and supported by the likes of Ronan Kratt, Dario Zanatta and Marco Bustos underneath. Of course, Pacific will also want to be dangerous in possession, too, which won’t be easy against a Forge team that does a good job of getting numbers behind the ball and defending, but that’s also why those transitional moments are going to be so key for Pacific – any opportunities to use Forge’s aggression on the ball against them might produce the best chances of the game. Pacific found those spaces against Valour, and now they’ll look to repeat that formula against this Forge side. “We looked really dangerous,” Zanatta said of his team’s win vs. Valour. “We realized they were playing a bit of a high line, and Josh (Heard) exposed that quite well.” He added: “I think we have different personalities in terms of some of the attacking threats we have (this year).”

• Koleilat looking to build on strong first game: While Forge will be pleased to see Jassem Koleilat earn a team of the week nod for week #1 after a six-save effort, as he continues to show why he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the league, Forge will also prefer if they keep him less busy in the weeks to come. At the same time, as this team continues to adjust to what is essentially a new-look backline, with three of their four defenders who started in week one all offseason arrivals in Dan Nimick, Zayne Bruno and Marko Jevremović, Koleilat may have to come up with some big performances as Forge adjusts to their new defensive group. Yet, that’s the benefit of having a goalkeeper like Koleilat in the fold – it can allow Forge to be patient with that group, knowing that any growing pains won’t be as costly given his presence. Plus, there are other added benefits of having him in goal – Forge can be much more aggressive on the ball, throwing numbers forward in chase of a goal – otherwise, they can also be confident that as long as they find the net once, which they did against Cavalry, that Koleilat will give them a chance at winning. Because of that, look for him to step up again for them in this game if called upon, continuing his strong start to the season. “I feel like it does that confidence does rub off,” Koleilat said. “If your goalkeeper has a good performance, then the backline knows that there’s a guy behind them that can pick up the scraps and the mistakes, but it also encourages them a lot to work more together defensively to prevent chances from occurring.”

• The importance of shielding the backline: As mentioned earlier, with Forge’s new-look backline, that also puts pressure on the players in front of them to step up, as they also look to provide them with protection out of possession. Yet, that’s something that Forge will be used to – this is a team that has one of the deepest midfield groups in the league, which they showed in week one by starting Kyle Bekker, Alessandro Hojabrpour and Noah Jensen together. Three players who have a big impact on both sides of the ball, their work off the ball will be quite important early on in this season, helping this backline find their feet. Against this Pacific team, that should make for an interesting battle, as they’ve got an impressive group of their own to rely upon. In week one, they went for a midfield double-pivot of Sean Young and CPL newcomer Lukas Lagerfeldt Browning, before bringing in another new arrival in Daniel de Pauli off the bench, and they all did an excellent job of providing similar protection to their backline. Because of that, look for the midfield battle between both teams to be quite physical, especially off the ball, with the advantage going to whichever side can find some control on the ball. Both sides are certainly capable of providing that, but it won’t be easy in a game where both will want to clog up central areas and make them hard to play through, especially on a smaller Starlight Stadium pitch where space can already be at a premium. “Our best way of defending is how we control the game, and which zones we try and control it in, and how we react in those areas of the pitch,” Smyrniotis offered. Merriman then added: “The midfield, they accept that (defensive) role and cover that ground, and that can allow (our forwards) some freedom to go and enjoy the attack.”

Pacific FC wins: 5 || Forge FC wins: 14 || Draws: 3

Oct. 19, 2024 — Pacific FC 1-0 Forge FC

“It’s the second game of the season, so we need to enjoy the challenge, and we know we need to be at our best (vs Forge). We need to be very focused and organized so we can play on the front foot at home. We always look forward to this game, Forge plays good football, so we’ll take confidence from our last match, we’ve been preparing well this week, and the guys are ready to test themselves and see where we’re at.” — Pacific FC head coach James Merriman

“The offseason is long, you’re itching for that first game, and there’s no better feeling than to have it at home, and to get those first three points in front of your home fans. We heard Valour had a good preseason, so we knew they’d come with some good energy, there’s no easy game in this league, so picking up three points can help us build a little confidence going into a tough game this weekend.” — Pacific FC forward Dario Zanatta

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