PREVIEW: Pacific FC vs. Forge FC – Match #68

It's back to midweek action for Pacific FC and Forge FC, who meet at Westhills Stadium in this west vs. east clash between two teams who love to score goals in bunches.

Having held Cavalry to a 1-1 draw in their last match, Pacific FC will be feeling confident going into another tough encounter with a league leader as Michael Silberbauer's side looks to mount a Fall turnaround and climb the standings with three more points. In-form attackers and an ever-growing confidence in their young players makes Pacific FC something of a dark horse threat for this season's second stanza, a sentiment they'll want to lean into as a tired Forge heads to town.

Off the back of a CONCACAF League battle against C.D. Olimpia, Forge will want to return their focus to the CPL's Fall campaign with a win, having lost 4-1 in the haunted grounds of San Pedro Sula and bowing out of the continental competition as a result. Still, a test against Pacific FC is exactly what Bobby Smyrniotis' side will relish, as it provides an opportunity to return to the hunt for three points, and gives Forge the kind of competition they need to sharpen themselves right back up.

Pacific has a week to prepare for another bout at Westhills Stadium, with another Ontario side heading west in York9 (Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET, available on OneSoccer). Forge gets right back to action on Sunday, also taking on York9 FC at Tim Hortons Field in another exciting edition of the 905 Derby (Sept. 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET, available on OneSoccer).

• If you're scoring, outscore 'em: Two of the league's highest scoring outfits clash at Westhills for this one, with Tristan Borges and Anthony Novak bringing the firepower for the visiting side, and an in-form Marcus Haber playing up top alongside the CPL's top scorer Terran Campbell for Pacific. The last time these two met? A 3-2 back-and-forth goal fest in Forge's favour. Might we see a similar battle of goals in this third encounter?​
• Pounce on travel fatigue: Forge has had a busy few weeks on their hands as they balance the CPL's Fall campaign as well as CONCACAF League trips to Guatemala and Honduras, and a cross-country flight from Hamilton to Victoria won't help ease any travel weariness, either. As such, Pacific has a good opportunity to take on a Forge team looking to maybe catch its own breath, having travelled to San Pedro Sula in Honduras just last Thursday.​
• Win the middle of the park: If Forge wants to overwhelm Pacific, who will likely turn to a combination of Haber and Campbell up top, then cutting the supply route to those two strikers is the easiest way of neutralizing the home side. Forge's central midfield options Elimane Cisse, Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson, or Kwame Awuah will need to keep an eye on a central midfield pairing of Pacific's choice, while the Forge fullbacks contain Pacific's wide attackers, too.​

Pacific FC: Mark Village; Kadin Chung, Hendrik Starostzik, Lukas MacNaughton, Blake Smith; Alexander Gonzalez, Noah Verhoeven; Victor Blasco, Ben Fisk; Terran Campbell, Marcus Haber

Forge FC: Triston Henry; Kwame Awuah, Dominic Samuel, David Edgar, Jonathan Grant; Kyle Bekker, Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson, Elimane Cisse; Kadell Thomas, Anthony Novak, Tristan Borges



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