Pacific FC will host Forge FC at Royal Athletic Park on Sunday, April 26, 2026, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET as the Island side opens a two-game stay in Victoria.
Forge arrives unbeaten through its opening league matches and has not conceded a goal in league play, coming off wins over Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC and a 0-0 draw with Cavalry FC; the results have Forge sitting second in the standings, behind Cavalry.
Pacific, by contrast, is still searching for consistency. The club is currently seventh in the eight-team league, has not won any of its three games this season, and enters Sunday's match having scored five goals while allowing seven. Earlier in April Pacific lost back-to-back league matches and drew 2-2 with HFX Wanderers in its most recent result.
The April 26 meeting will be the first time this season Pacific faces Forge, and it comes as Pacific prepares to play its next two games at Royal Athletic Park — a move the club says builds on a positive reception last year when it played one game at the venue as a special Downtown Derby in 2025. Ross Marshall said, "We had exceptional feedback on our match at RAP last season and we look to recreate that vibrant atmosphere with back-to-back soccer matches in the core of the city these next two weekends." He added, "This is a big year for soccer in our country and we look forward to engaging downtown fans."
For supporters who cannot attend, the match will be available on FOX Sports 2 and can also be streamed on Fubo. Pacific's next home date after Forge is May 3, when it will face Vancouver FC at Royal Athletic Park — that May 3 fixture will be Pacific's first meeting with Vancouver this season.
The matchup sets up a clear mismatch on paper: Forge's early-season defensive form, with zero goals conceded, against a Pacific side that has yet to win and has surrendered seven goals in three matches. The tension is simple and sharp — Pacific needs a lift at home to stop a slide, while Forge will look to extend an unbeaten start and keep its clean-sheet streak intact.
There is a further practical subtext. Pacific's temporary use of Royal Athletic Park follows the one-off Downtown Derby in 2025 that received exceptional feedback, and the club has framed the move as an attempt to reconnect with downtown fans. That comes against a backdrop reported by local media that Pacific previously had a dispute with the City of Langford over unpaid bills and a practice facility; the team reached an agreement in January to use Starlight Stadium game by game with fees due two weeks in advance, but the Royal Athletic Park dates give Pacific a different setting for two straight weekends.
On balance, the facts point to Forge entering Sunday as the favorite: unbeaten, with wins over Atlético Ottawa and Vancouver FC and a scoreless draw with Cavalry FC, Forge sits high in the table while conceding nothing. Pacific's best path back into the race is immediate — a home performance at Royal Athletic Park that turns the crowd energy Marshall hopes for into a result. If that does not happen, Pacific risks falling further behind in a compact eight-team table where every early match carries oversized consequence.
