National Soccer League
Season1971
Champions
League cupToronto First Portuguese
Top goalscorerFerruccio Deni (24)[1]
Best goalkeeperŽeljko Bilecki[1]
← 1970
1972 →

The 1971 National Soccer League season was the forty-eighth season under the National Soccer League (NSL) name. The season began in early May and concluded in October with the Canadian Open Cup final where Toronto Croatia defeated Challenge Trophy champions Vancouver Eintracht.[2] The Croatians would secure a treble by successfully defending their regular-season title, and defeating Toronto First Portuguese for the NSL Championship.[3][4][5] The NSL Cup was successfully defended by Toronto First Portuguese who defeated Sudbury City.[6]

The Canadian Open Cup was created by the NSL to determine a national champion through an annual knock-out cup competition where all professional and amateur Canadian clubs were invited to participate.[7]

Overview

The National Soccer League became centered once more within the boundaries of Ontario after the departure of Soccer Portugais du Quebec of Montreal. Northern Ontario was added to the circuit once again as Sudbury Italia returned under the name Sudbury City.[8] The league expanded into the Niagara region for the first time as St. Catharines Heidelberg was granted a franchise. Heidelberg previously competed in the Inter-City Soccer League.[6] Ottawa Sons of Italy began a process of Canadianizing their organization by renaming the team Ottawa Tigers.[9][10]

The NSL experienced competition from the American-based North American Soccer League as it expanded into Ontario with the creation of the Toronto Metros.[11][12] The league's match attendance continued to surge and surpassed the previous season's gate earnings at Stanley Park Stadium.[12][13] The Toronto-based teams averaged around 1100 fans at Stanley Park.[12] The league ownership also approved the creation of an under-23 division.[14]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Hamilton Apollos Hamilton, Ontario Andy Pollock[15]
Hamilton Croatia Hamilton, Ontario
London German Canadians London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium[16]
Ottawa Tigers Ottawa, Ontario St. Joseph's High School[17]
Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[18] Dragan Popović[19]
Kitchener Kickers Kitchener, Ontario
St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines, Ontario
Sudbury City Sudbury, Ontario Queen's Athletic Field[20]
Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[21] Ivan Jazbinšek[22]
Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[21]
Toronto Hellas Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[21]
Toronto Hungaria Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[15]
Toronto Olympia Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[21]
Toronto Ukrainia Toronto, Ontario Stanley Park Stadium[21] Alan O’Neill[23]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Croatia (C, O) 26 22 3 1 58 14 +44 47 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto First Portuguese 26 17 4 5 45 19 +26 38
3 Hamilton Croatia 26 14 5 7 38 31 +7 33
4 Toronto Ukrainians 26 14 3 9 47 28 +19 31
5 Sudbury City 26 14 3 9 55 34 +21 31
6 Toronto Olympia 26 11 5 10 49 40 +9 27
7 London German Canadians 26 12 2 12 57 54 +3 26
8 St. Catharines Heidelberg 26 11 3 12 42 42 0 25
9 Serbian White Eagles 26 9 5 12 37 39 −2 23
10 Toronto Hellas 26 10 3 13 36 41 −5 23
11 Toronto Hungaria 26 11 1 14 40 52 −12 23
12 Ottawa Tigers 25 5 8 12 29 53 −24 18
13 Hamilton Apollos 26 3 5 18 23 69 −46 11
14 Kitchener Kickers 26 2 6 18 31 65 −34 10
Updated to match(es) played on October 30, 1971. Source: [1][24]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

October 3, 1971 Toronto Croatia 3–0 Sudbury City Toronto, Ontario
Bradvic 18'
Mesik Slatko 27'
Pilaš 37'		 [[25] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 1837
October 3, 1971 Hamilton Croatia 2–0 London German Canadians Toronto, Ontario
[[26] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
October 4, 1971 Toronto First Portuguese 5–2 Toronto Olympia Toronto, Ontario
Antonio Rodrigues 16', 22', 43'
Emilio Hernandez 21'
Costa 37'		 [[27] Report] John McGurk 22'
John Wark 70'		 Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium

Semifinals

October 7, 1971 Toronto Croatia 1–0 Hamilton Croatia Toronto, Ontario
Pilaš 30' [[28] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
October 8, 1971 Toronto First Portuguese 3–0 Toronto Ukraina Toronto, Ontario
20:30 Antonio Rodrigues ,
Paulino Ferrari 		[[29] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium

Finals

October 11, 1971 Toronto Croatia 1–0 Toronto First Portuguese Toronto, Ontario
15:00 Pilaš 31' [[4] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 7000
Referee: Alf Roberts

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all fourteen teams took part. The tournament would conclude in a final match for the Cup.

Semifinals

August 23, 1971 Toronto First Portuguese 1–0 Toronto Hellas Toronto, Ontario
Correia 56' [[30] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 3457
Referee: Alf Roberts
September 26, 1971 Sudbury City 1–0 Ottawa Tigers Sudbury, Ontario
Ferruccio Deni 10'
George Courtney 49'		 [[31] Report]

Finals

October 3, 1971 Toronto First Portuguese 3–0 Sudbury City Toronto, Ontario
Piotti 26'
Valdemar Serrano 40'
Paulino Ferrari 65'		 [[32] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 3518

Canadian Open Cup

The Canadian Open Cup was a tournament organized by the National Soccer League in 1971 where the NSL champion would face the Challenge Trophy winners to determine the best team throughout the country.[33] The tournament intended to form an annual knock-out cup competition open to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs to determine a national champion.[7] The championship was initially sponsored by the Macdonald Tobacco Company and was named the Export Trophy.[34] Toronto Croatia as the NSL champions was selected as the league's representative while their opponents were Vancouver Eintracht of the Pacific Coast Soccer League, who were the Challenge Trophy titleholders.[35]

October 17, 1971 Toronto Croatia 3–0 Vancouver Eintracht Toronto, Ontario
14:30 Pilaš 38'
Solak 45'
Bradvic 87'		 [[36] Report] Stadium: Stanley Park Stadium
Attendance: 4373
Referee: Emerson Mathurin

Individual awards

The NSL awards were given to recipients from St. Catharines Heidelberg, Sudbury City, and Toronto Croatia.[14] The most gentlemanly team award was given to St. Catharines, and league official John Parfect received the most dedicated official award.[37] Željko Bilecki of Toronto Croatia was named the goalkeeper of the year, and would later represent the Canada national team and play in the North American Soccer League. The league's top goal scorer was Sudbury's Ferruccio Deni, and he later returned to the NSL to play with the Sudbury Cyclones.[38] The final award went to Hugh Morrow as the top referee throughout the season.[14]

Award Player (Club)
NSL Top Goal scorer Ferruccio Deni (Sudbury Italia)
NSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Željko Bilecki (Toronto Croatia)
NSL Referee of the Year Award Hugh Morrow
NSL Official of the Year Award John Parfect
NSL Most Gentlemanly Team Award St. Catharines Heidelberg

References

  1. ^ a b c "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-28. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Kernaghan, Jim (October 18, 1971). "Toronto Croatia overcomes Vancouver". Toronto Daily Star. p. 31.
  3. ^ "CSL Past Champions" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Koep, Bob (October 12, 1971). "Croatia confirms right to crown". Toronto Daily Star. p. 20.
  5. ^ Waring, Ed (October 12, 1971). "Croats spent $80,000 on team to win National Soccer League". The Globe and Mail. p. 33.
  6. ^ a b Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. pp. 117, 119.
  7. ^ a b Kernaghan, Jim (October 14, 1971). "Open soccer championship is in offing". Toronto Daily Star. p. 23.
  8. ^ Pascal, Randy (June 20, 2020). "The Sudbury Cyclones and their semi-pro soccer stint". Sudbury Star. p. B1.
  9. ^ "Require 66 Young Soccer Players". Ottawa Journal. April 1, 1971. p. 20.
  10. ^ Henderson, Bruce (May 12, 1971). "Pro brand slowly gaining popularity". Ottawa Journal. p. 23.
  11. ^ Waring, Ed (April 30, 1971). "Zagreb soccer team plays Croatia July 3". The Globe and Mail. p. 29.
  12. ^ a b c Kernaghan, Jim (September 28, 1971). "Soccer loop having a great year at gate". Toronto Daily Star. p. 14.
  13. ^ Waring, Ed (June 10, 1971). "MSL pays its way drawing 1,507 fans". The Globe and Mail. p. 42.
  14. ^ a b c Kernaghan, Jim (November 22, 1971). "Expansion planned for NSL next season". Toronto Daily Star. p. 19.
  15. ^ a b Waring, Ed (June 4, 1971). "Apollos' coach pleased with feam despite 4 defeats in 5 games". The Globe and Mail. p. 28.
  16. ^ "London Ontario Competitive Soccer History". www.gcfclondon.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  17. ^ "Tigers on road". Ottawa Citizen. May 15, 1971. p. 25.
  18. ^ Waring, Ed (June 15, 1971). "5,321 watch Croatia blank White Eagles". The Globe and Mail. p. 36.
  19. ^ Serbian White Eagles FC. "Head Coaches". Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  20. ^ "420 Players In Sudbury's Soccer Boom" (PDF). INCO Triangle. 1971. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-24. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c d e Waring, Ed (June 2, 1971). "Teams coyer soccer costs with picnics, social evenings". The Globe and Mail. p. 31.
  22. ^ "6,000 fans see soccer opener". Toronto Daily Star. May 3, 1971. p. 17.
  23. ^ "Alan O'Neill". thecnsl.com. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Soccer scores, standings - National League". Toronto Daily Star. September 21, 1971. p. 13.
  25. ^ "Sudbury beaten twice in games at Toronto". The Globe and Mail. October 4, 1971. p. S7.
  26. ^ "Soccer scores - National League playoffs". Toronto Daily Star. October 4, 1971. p. 15.
  27. ^ Kernaghan, Jim (October 5, 1971). "First Portuguese suffer no letdown". Toronto Daily Star. p. 15.
  28. ^ "Croatia in soccer final". Toronto Daily Star. October 8, 1971. p. 22.
  29. ^ "Portuguese in finals". Toronto Daily Star. October 9, 1971. p. 48.
  30. ^ "Penalty goal ousts Hellas in cup play". The Globe and Mail. August 24, 1971. p. 29.
  31. ^ "Ottawa Tigers lose to Sudbury". Ottawa Journal. September 27, 1971. p. 19.
  32. ^ "Sudbury beaten twice in games at Toronto". The Globe and Mail. October 4, 1971. p. S7.
  33. ^ Jose, Colin (1998). Canadian Encyclopedia of Soccer - Keeping Score. Vaughan, Ontario: Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 121. ISBN 0-9683800-0-X.
  34. ^ "Plane switch saves playoff in soccer". The Globe and Mail. October 16, 1971. p. 45.
  35. ^ "Semi-pros knock off Eintracht". Times Colonist. October 18, 1971. p. 21.
  36. ^ Waring, Ed (October 18, 1971). "Croatia too good for Eintracht; Toronto team blanks champs, 3-0". The Globe and Mail. p. S10.
  37. ^ "Croatia sweeps honors at NSL awards dinner". The Globe and Mail. November 22, 1971. p. S9.
  38. ^ "Meet your 1979 Sudbury Cyclones". Sudbury Star. May 3, 1979. p. 15.

External links

Canadian National Soccer League
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