CALGARY — Woobens Pacius' 47th-minute goal gave Forge FC a 1-1 tie with Cavalry FC on Saturday in the first leg of their Canadian Premier League playoff semifinal.
Forge had 66 per cent possession in the first half but Cavalry had an 8-7 edge in shots (5-2 in shots on target) and went into the break up 1-0.
The home side opened the scoring in the 42nd minute at ATCO Field with Dutch fullback Daan Klomp, on a late run into the penalty box, heading home Joe Mason's perfect cross to cap a rapid-fire counter-attack. Ali Musse set up the play with a fine long-range pass to find Mason racing down the right flank.
The lead did not last long. Pacius, who led Forge with 10 goals during the regular season, tied it up two minutes into the second half, heading home a curling Kyle Bekker free kick after Cavalry was called for a handball near the corner flag.
Cavalry pressed in the dying minutes, looking for a go-ahead goal, but could not break down the Forge defence.
Cavalry and Forge finished the regular season with identical 14-9-5 records, good for 47 points. Forge got the second seed on superior goal difference, with Cavalry the third seed.
No. 4 Pacific FC (13-8-7, 46 points) hosted No. 1 Atletico Ottawa (13-5-10, 49 points) later Saturday at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C.
The return legs are Oct. 23 in Ottawa and Hamilton. The semifinals will be decided on aggregate, with the away goals rule not in effect.
Should a series finish tied after two legs, it will go to a penalty shootout.
Forge threatened early with Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson hitting the crossbar within the first 90 seconds after he latched on to a rebound off a Cavalry defender. At the other end, Mason Trafford's header from a 15th-minute Cavalry corner was off target.
Moments later Forge goalkeeper Triston Henry narrowly escaped disaster when a poor clearing kick went straight at Mason, who could not corral the ball. Henry grabbed Mason's 24th-minute on-target but weak header.
A minute later, Henry was called in action again after spilling a rebound with the Forge 'keeper managing to block Musse's ensuing shot. Musse found the target again in the 40th minute but his free kick from outside the penalty box went straight at Henry.
There as some bad blood late in the game when Henry went down after collecting a ball in the air with Forge players objecting to Cavalry's physical play.
Forge came into the game 2-1-1 against Cavalry this season, winning 2-1 last time out Sept. 10 in Hamilton.
Cavalry lost just one of its last five regular-season outings (3-1-1) after that September loss to Forge.
Forge closed out the regular season with a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC but had won just two of 10 matches (2-5-3) before that.
Despite a rash of injuries in the back, Forge conceded a league-low 25 goals during the 28-game regular season.
Saturday's game was a matchup of the only two remaining coaches from the league's 2019 debut — Forge's Bobby Smyrniotis and Cavalry's Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Forge and Cavalry met in the 2019 league final won by Forge.
Forge's Henry tied Cavalry's Marco Carducci for the league lead in shutouts with 10. Despite that, Henry did not join Carducci on the three-man shortlist for the league's Golden Glove award.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2022
The Canadian Press
