Cavalry FC won the Canadian Premier League title with a 2-1 win over defending champion Forge FC on Saturday afternoon.

Tobias Warschewski scored from the penalty kick in the 31st minute^st Sergio Camargo fired the ball in the minute and it turned out to be the winner after about seven minutes.

After the break, Forge FC halved the deficit when Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson headed a loose ball into the net ahead of Cavalry goalkeeper Marco Carducci.

However, the Cavalry strengthened on defense and after that they managed to stop the 2023 champions.

The Hamilton team pressed as time went on but failed to equalize.

Led by Foot Soldiers, Cavalry FC’s official fan support group, the crowd chanted, screamed and sang throughout the final seven minutes of injury time.

The sellout crowd of 7,052 at ATCO Field roared as the referee blew the whistle after seven and a half minutes of extra time.

Cavalry players and coaches hugged each other and wiped tears from their eyes after “slaying the dragon” and defeating four-time champion Forge.

In 2019, Forge beat Cavalry in their first CPL Cup final with a 2-0 aggregate win in the two-match series.

Then came Forge’s 2-1 overtime win at Tim Hortons Field in 2023.

Warschewski was named Finals MVP.

Cavalry FC became the third CPL team to win the title. Others are Forge FC (2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023 and Pacific FC (2021)

The CPL currently has teams in eight cities: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and Halifax.

Both teams have qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the region’s elite club championship.

With files from The Canadian Press