Forge FC has come up just short on their first hope of giving Canada a second team in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Canadian Premier League outfit from Hamilton, Ontario, fell in penalty kicks against Haitian side Arcahaie in the Dominic Republic during CONCACAF League quarterfinal on Tuesday.
A spot in the 2020-21 CCL was up for grabs, as all four semifinalists qualify for the CCL. Forge can still make the CCL via two routes, the next chance being a play-in round game against the loser of the quarterfinal between Honduras’ Marathon and Costa Rica’s Saprissa.
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Forge qualified for the CONCACAF League by winning the inaugural CPL season title in 2019.
Forge had beaten Salvadoran side Municipal Limeno and Panamanian mainstays Tauro by matching 2-1 scores to reach the quarterfinals.
University of Albany product Daniel Krutzen (Belgium) had put the CPL side ahead with a first-half stoppage-time penalty on Tuesday, but a goalkeeper error gave Haitian teenager Kervens Jolicouer an equalizer before the hour mark.
That sent the match to kicks, where the Haitian side made all four of its penalties and its Canadian counterparts missed two.
Several players beyond Krutzen played NCAA Soccer in the United States, including Connecticut star Kwame Awuah, Syracuse’s Chris Nanco, and Akron’s Marcel Zajac. The club also boasts former MLS players Kyle Bekker and Maxim Tissot, as well as former Newcastle and Burnley defender David Edgar.
🇭🇹 Arcahaie FC advances to the semifinals! 🔥 Check out the goals and penalty shootouts in these highlights! 📹 #SCL20 pic.twitter.com/PMCDQtpuOM
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) December 2, 2020