On Tuesday night, in the first leg of the TELUS Canadian Championship semifinal, the Canadian Premier League's newest club hosts its most decorated.
FC Supra du Québec play in just their fourth knockout round match. For Forge, it's their 60th between the CPL playoffs, Concacaf competition and 20 matches in the Canadian Championship. This is Forge's fifth CanChamp semifinal appearance; it's Supra's first time in the competition.
That experience gives Forge an undisputed edge, but in Supra they find an opponent motivated to make their own history when the series kicks off at Stade Boréale (6 p.m. ET, OneSoccer).
"We're the newcomers on the block, and we come up in the semifinal, and everyone can say it's a Cinderella story, we're all happy," said FC Supra du Québec head coach Nick Razzaghi said earlier this month. "But tournament football is special."
We have very high expectations for ourselves and strong confidence in ourselves. So despite the fact that Forge have experience, and they're successful, and things tend to go their way sometimes, we're coming in to win, and it's as simple as that."
Furthering Supra's confidence is that this past Friday in league action they picked up their first-ever victory against Forge, 1-0 on a Loïc Kwemi penalty. It was the first clean sheat in club history, and couldn't have come at a better time for the team's psyche.
But experience tells Forge to wipe the slate clean before knockout matches, because records on paper and in other competitions rarely play out on the pitch.
"The fact is, when you're playing a [Canadian] Championship game, things change," said Forge FC captain Kyle Bekker. "It adds a different dynamic, the pressure might be a little heightened. It comes down to those fine details, those margins.
"Can we get something on the road? We know it's a two-legged affair, so we need to be smart in it. It's a competition we've had success in, but we want to push for more. We need to be smart and use our experience."
One experience remains elusive for Forge: becoming the first CPL club to lift the Voyageurs Cup. They've come the closest, losing on penalties in the 2020 final under a unique COVID-altered format where they advanced to the final as CPL champions. Under the regular bracket, they've reached the semifinals in round four of the past five tournaments -- but never advancing beyond.
"We're a club that trailblazes in many ways, not only in this league, but in Canadian soccer," said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. "We know [winning CanChamp] is something we strive for, we want.
"At the same time, we're a humble club and understand that you don't always get these opportunities...so you've got to make sure that you seize the moment when you have it, and that's what it's about over these two legs."
The final result on Tuesday will come down to performance and execution in the match's key moments. But as they enter uncharted territory, FC Supra are confident in one fact, they are going to come out swinging.
"I promise you, you're going to get a fight," said Razzaghi. "I promise you're going to get that."