Forge FC wrote their name in the history books on Wednesday, becoming the first Canadian Premier League club to win the TELUS Canadian Championship.
They battled through two intense halves of regulation and extra time before stunning CF Montréal on penalties at Stade Saputo to win the 2026 final.
Goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud was the hero, stopping a penalty in regulation and two in the shootout, before Manjrekar James' decisive penalty made Forge Canadian Champions.
With the victory, Forge have also qualified for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
It was a nervy start to the game for Forge, who found themselves under fire early. Montréal, looking for an early goal to relieve pressure on them, dominated possession and challenged the Forge box a few times, recording three shots on target within the first 10 minutes.
Goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud, playing his first game for Forge since Sept. 19, was up to the challenge, although he did spill one ball that his teammates ably cleared off the goal line.
The temperature began to rise after about 20 minutes, and Montréal began to find cracks in Forge's defence. Striker Prince Owusu brought down a ball in front of goal and Manjrekar James slid to get his leg in front of the ball, but he brought Owusu down in the process. The referee awarded a penalty kick — which he confirmed after Bobby Smyrniotis called for an FVS review.
Forge didn't need to worry, though. Bertaud stood tall again, diving to his left to parry Owusu's attempt from the spot to keep it 0-0.
Buoyed by the penalty save, or perhaps woken up by the close call, Forge grew into the game after that and developed some chances of their own.
The Hammers suffered another first-half blow when striker Lucas Cavallini pulled up with a hamstring injury, forcing Smyrniotis to bring Ismaël Oketokoun into the match.
However, Forge's luck turned again to send them into halftime on a high.
Noah Jensen — one of the team's most in-form players for the last month — curled a superb corner kick toward the near post. Antoine Batisse arrived on scene and towered above Owusu to head home the opening goal right in front of the travelling Barton St. Battalion supporters.
This roller coaster of a final would, of course, have plenty more twists and turns.
Montréal's Daniel Ríos smashed home an equalizer almost immediately after play resumed in the second half, getting his head above James in the box.
Again though, fortune swung back toward the CPL side; Montréal's Brayan Vera, who was booked late in the first half, went through on goal in the 52nd minute but dove to the ground without contact. The referee wasted no time showing him a second caution for simulation, putting the hosts down to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
As the second half proceeded, Forge were firmly in control as the disadvantaged Montréal had little choice but to sit back and look for chances on the counter.
The hosts did well, though, allowing Forge to possess the ball but largely preventing any touches in dangerous spaces.
Oketokoun came close in the 84th minute, flicking a strike in close that rattled the right goalpost, but Forge continued to push for a goal to avoid extra time.
In second-half stoppage time, CF Montréal looked to even up the number of players on the pitch as well, issuing an FVS challenge on a foul from James. Already on a yellow card, it was deemed by the referee that no further discipline was warranted.
Just as with the first meeting between these two clubs back in 2021, 90 minutes solved nothing. They headed to extra time, still all square at 1-1.
Forge had a great chance just three minutes into the first period, as Breza punched the ball right into the path of Oketokoun. But Breza recovered incredibly to tip the Forge striker's attempt wide.
Three minutes later, it was Montreal who came within inches of taking the lead, but Rezart Rama brilliantly headed the ball off the line.
In the second half of extra time, Bertaud came up big again, catching a powerful header from Owusu from in tight. They had another great chance in the 112th minute after a tremendous run from Luca Petrasso, who set up Noah Striet. But the Swiss attacker shaped his shot all wrong and sent it over the net.
In the 119th, Forge's Ben Paton nearly played hero as he sent a curling strike from distance that went past Breza but struck the crossbar.
With one more referee's whistle, it was off to penalties to decide the 2026 Canadian Champion.
After Tristan Borges scored the first penalty, Bertaud denied Owusu for a second time.
CF Montréal looked like they had an opportunity to get back into the shootout when Daniël Krutzen was stopped by Breza in the third round, but Bertaud denied Synchuk on the next shot. In the fifth round, James stepped up and smashed home the decisive strike.
Next up, Forge will try to lift their second trophy of the week when they face Pacific FC on Sunday, with the CPL Shield still in the balance. But that's a story for another day; on Wednesday night they've written their name on the Voyageurs Cup.
Box Score
Starting XIs
CF Montréal: Breza; Neal, Craig (Pereira 110'), Vera, Petrasso; Longstaff, Loturi; Carmona (Streit 81'), Herbers (Morales 57'), Ríos (Synchuk 81'); Owusu
Forge FC: Bontis; Rama, James, Nimick, Jevremović (Krutzen 105'); Batisse, Aromatario (Johnson 70'), Jensen (Borges 70'); Bourgeois (Massunda 88'), Cavallini (Oketokoun 42'), Sadek (Paton 46')
Goals
45+6' - Antoine Batisse (Forge FC)
49' - Daniel Ríos (CF Montréal)
Penalty Shootout
- Forge: Tristan Borges (GOAL)
CF Montréal: Prince Owusu (MISS) - Forge FC: Ben Paton (GOAL)
CF Montréal: Matty Longstaff (GOAL) - Forge FC: Daniël Krutzen (MISS)
CF Montréal: Hennadii Synchuk (MISS) - Forge FC: Dan Nimick (GOAL)
CF Montréal: Dani Pereira (GOAL) - Forge FC: Manjrekar James (GOAL)
Discipline
19' - Yellow: Brandan Craig (CF Montréal)
24' - Yellow: Manjrekar James (Forge FC)
27' - Yellow: Lucas Cavallini (Forge FC)
32' - Yellow: Brayan Vera (CF Montréal)
54' - 2nd Yellow: Brayan Vera (CF Montréal)
82' - Yellow: Marko Jevremović (Forge FC)
100' - Yellow: Hennadii Synchuk (CF Montréal)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Dimitry Bertaud, Forge FC
One penalty save in regulation, and two in the shootout, highlighted an unbelievable performance from the Forge goalkeeper. He made eight saves in total.
What's Next?
Forge's next CPL match will be their regular season finale at Pacific FC this Sunday, Oct. 25, when all eight CPL clubs will kick off at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
After that, they'll shift focus to the 2026 CPL Playoffs.
