While being a contender, at bare minimum, has been the constant for Forge FC, their path to that success has adapted each season.
Early in 2026, the catalyst of the club's early dominance is clear: their elite ability to keep the ball out of their net.
They have allowed just one goal in CPL action this season, on an Isaiah Johnston penalty in a 3-1 win over the Halifax Wanderers earlier this month. This is certainly no fluke. Through six matches, Forge have allowed just 1.75 expected goals on target.
Forge have faced just 11 shots on target, or less than two per match. In fact, in three of their six matches, they haven't allowed their opponent to have a single shot on target.
"It's an excellent group of players, that's what it is," said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. "That's not just defenders or goalkeepers, that's everyone. That's what I've talked about, there's a good buy-in from everyone on what we want to do defensively."
They have also yet to allow a single goal at Hamilton Stadium in all competitions this season, which includes a 0-0 draw with Tigres in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and a 4-0 win over the Halifax Wanderers in the TELUS Canadian Championship.
"We're so hard to break down, when we do want to play defensively," said central defender Dan Nimick. "That's a testament to all the hard work of all the guys every day."
Coming off a campaign where he was named the league's Defender of the Year, Nimick has been outstanding once again. Beside him, veteran French defender Antoine Batisse was an immediate fit, and he has brought further calmness and solidity following the departures of Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson and Malik Owolabi-Belewu. Now in their second season with Forge (or at least since returning to the club in the latter's case), full-backs Marko Jevremović and Rezart Rama are thriving in the system.
That depth, of course, goes beyond just the starting unit with the versatile Ben Paton doing an outstanding job whenever he has been called upon to play left-back, and Maxime Bourgeois and Daniel Krutzen provide quality options as well.
The few times that Forge have allowed shots on target this season, goalkeeper Dmitri Bertaud has proven up to the challenge, stopping 10 of the 11 he has faced in CPL action.
In recent years, however, Forge's defensive record has been emblematic of a collective effort that incorporates all facets of their game.
"Everything we do on the ball is set up to defend," said Smyniotis. "There's a reason why, in the last few years, we've been the top team defensively. We don't talk about it a lot obecause we score a lot of goals. So it's part of our DNA."
A perfect example of this in action was their 1-0 win this past Wednesday against FC Supra at home. Knowing that Supra are a team who are lethal in transition, Forge's attackers counter-pressed quickly and time Supra won possession so that they could cut off any potential quick route up field.
They also worked to limit the amount of passes they forced through the central parts of the pitch, which if picked off could provide Supra with an opportunity to create a quick attack.
"If you don't want to defend let's make sure to be better with the ball," said Smyrniotis with a smile.
Only Cavalry FC has won possession more in the attacking part of the pitch than Forge, and they have the second most interceptions in the CPL with 68.
It is only going to get more difficult from here. Now that most teams in the league have seen Forge at least once, they themselves will adapt and come up with new ways to break the Hamilton team down. But if the Hamilton club can continue to defend like they have been through the opening months of the season, it's difficult to not see them lifting another trophy in 2026.