Canadian Professional Soccer League
SeasonMay 28 – September 26 (regular season)
October 1 – October 2 (playoffs)
ChampionsToronto Olympians
Regular Season titleToronto Olympians
Matches played56
Goals scored225 (4.02 per match)
Top goalscorerEddy Berdusco (Toronto Olympians)
Best goalkeeperGeorge Azcurra
Biggest home winToronto Olympians 11–1
North York Astros
(September 19, 1999)
Biggest away winYork Region Shooters
1–7 Toronto Olympians
(June 6, 1999)
Highest scoringToronto Olympians 11–1
North York Astros
(September 19, 1999)
← 1998
2000 →

The 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the second season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 28, 1999, and concluded on October 2, 1999, with Toronto Olympians defeating Toronto Croatia 2-0 to claim their first CPSL Championship.[1] The Olympians made history by becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve a treble. For the second straight season, they went undefeated for the entire season. The league also introduced their first All-Star match where the CPSL All-Stars faced the CSA Development team.[2]

Changes from 1998 season

All founding members of the CPSL returned with the exception of Mississauga Eagles P.S.C. The newest addition to the league were expansion franchise the Oshawa Flames. Other changes were Glen Shields changing their name to Glen Shields Sun Devils, and the York Region Shooters moving to Richmond Hill, Ontario.[3]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Glen Shields Sun Devils Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) Dufferin District Field Dave Benning[4]
London City London, Ontario (Westmount) Cove Road Stadium Tony Laferrara[5]
North York Astros Toronto, Ontario (North York) Esther Shiner Stadium Rafael Carbajal[6]
Oshawa Flames Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) Oshawa Civic Stadium Jens Kraemer
St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) Club Roma Stadium Lucio Ianiero[7]
Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) Centennial Park Stadium Bruno Pilas[8]
Toronto Olympians Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium David Gee[9]
York Region Shooters Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Green Sam Foti

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Olympians 14 13 1 0 56 7 +49 40 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Croatia 14 8 2 4 31 19 +12 26
3 Glen Shields Sun Devils 14 7 4 3 34 18 +16 25
4 London City 14 5 5 4 30 36 −6 20
5 Oshawa Flames 14 3 6 5 19 26 −7 15
6 St. Catharines Roma 14 3 4 7 19 30 −11 13
7 York Region Shooters 14 3 3 8 20 34 −14 12
8 North York Astros 14 2 1 11 16 55 −39 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 23, 1999. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/99cpw17b.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Playoffs

Bracket

The top four teams qualified for a one-game semifinal that led to the championship game played on October 2 at Oshawa Civic Stadium in Oshawa, Ontario.

Semifinals Final
      
1 Toronto Olympians 4
4 London City 1
1 Toronto Olympians 2
2 Toronto Croatia 0
2 Toronto Croatia 5
3 Glen Shields Sun Devils 2

Semifinals

October 1, 1999 Toronto Croatia 5–2 Glen Shields Sun Devils Oshawa, Ontario
7:00 ET
  • Ivica Jelic 6'
  • Josip Draganic 44', 72'
  • Zajac 79'
  • Robert Mandekic 82'
 (Report)
  • Fitzroy Powell 83'
  • Marco Antonucci 88'
 Stadium: Oshawa Civic Stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Andrew Drajinsky (Ontario)
October 1, 1999 Toronto Olympians 4–1 London City Oshawa, Ontario
9:00 ET
(Report) Mesanovic 87' Stadium: Oshawa Civic Stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Steve Mortimer (Ontario)

CPSL Championship

Toronto Olympians2–0Toronto Croatia
 Report
Oshawa Civic Stadium, Oshawa, Ontario
Attendance: 100
Referee: Tony Camacho (Ontario)

Assistant referees:
Steve Cahoon
Nick Rose
Fourth official:
John Lopes

All-Star game

The league's inaugural all-star match was played on September 26, 1999 at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario. The CPSL All-Star team was selected from the six remaining clubs that didn't compete in the CPSL League Cup final, which excluded players from the Toronto Olympians and Toronto Croatia. The Canada Development team featured players from the CSA National Training Centre which consisted of senior national team players with a mix of young prospects with USL A-League experience.[14][15][16]

CPSL All-Stars2–1Canada Development Team
 Report De Rosario 13'
Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 500
Referee: Nigel Johnson (Ontario)

Assistant referees:
Steve Cahoon
O.J. Panic
Fourth official:
Stephanie Denhamm

1999 scoring leaders

Full article: CSL Golden Boot[23]
Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals
1 Eddy Berdusco Canada Toronto Olympians 25
2 Elvis Thomas Canada Toronto Olympians 21
3 Gus Kouzmanis Canada Toronto Olympians 16
4 Mike Glasgow Canada Glen Shields 10
5 Phil Ionadi Canada Glen Shields 10
6 Andy Madeiros Canada Toronto Croatia 10
7 John Matas Canada Toronto Olympians 10
8 Semir Mesanovic Canada London City Soccer Club 10

CPSL Executive Committee

The 1999 CPSL Executive Committee.[24]

Position Name Nationality
Chairman: Bill Spiers England English
Director of Operations: Chris Bellamy[25] Canada Canadian
Director of Finance: Peter Li Preti Canada Canadian
Director of Officials: Tony Camacho Portugal Portuguese

Awards

Weekly awards

Week CPSL Player of the Week Reference
Player Club
Week 1 Semir Mesanovic London City [26]
Week 2 John Matas Toronto Olympians [27]
Week 3 Eddy Berdusco Toronto Olympians [28]
Week 4 Gus Kouzmanis Toronto Olympians [29]
Week 5 Mike Glasgow Glen Shields Sun Devils [30]
Week 6 Leo Marasovic Toronto Croatia [31]
Week 7 Mich D'Angelo York Region Shooters [32]

Individual awards

George Azcurra was voted the Goalkeeper of the Year

The CPSL held their second annual awards ceremony on November 21, 1999 at the Hollywood Princess in Concord, Ontario.[33] The Toronto Olympians went home with the majority of the awards with 4 wins.[34] David Gee along with Tony LaFerrara of London City won the Coach of the Year award. Gee became the first manager to win the award consecutively twice. Canadian internationals Elvis Thomas and Eddy Berdusco received the MVP and Golden Boot award. Toronto's final award was the Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season. London City produced their fourth straight Rookie of the Year with Semir Mesanovic. While Toronto Croatia received their first CPSL club award with George Azcurra being named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Silviu Petrescu who later went on to officiate matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was recognized with the Referee of the Year award.

Award Player (Club)
CPSL Most Valuable Player Elvis Thomas (Toronto Olympians)
CPSL Golden Boot Eddy Berdusco (Toronto Olympians)
CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia)
CPSL Rookie of the Year Award Semir Mesanovic (London City)
CPSL Coach of the Year Award David Gee (Toronto Olympians)
Tony LaFerrara (London City)
CPSL Referee of the Year Award Silviu Petrescu
CPSL Fair Play Award Toronto Olympians

References

  1. ^ Glover, Robin. "Toronto Olympians vs Toronto Croatia". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  2. ^ "Canada Kicks -- CPSL Names All-Stars". 2000-05-21. Archived from the original on 2000-05-21. Retrieved 2016-12-28.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Canada Kicks - CPSL Update". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  4. ^ "1999 - August 7 - Mid-Season Review". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  5. ^ "CPSL announced its All-Star Team". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Ontario SoccerNet - CPSL Ontario Update. September 22, 1999. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  6. ^ "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  7. ^ Wallace, Jim (4 March 1999). "Ianiero takes over as Wolves' top dog: New coach will install new offensive system". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C3.
  8. ^ "Toronto Croatia family relations". rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  9. ^ "Shooters Still Alive". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Ontario SoccerNet. August 30, 1999. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  10. ^ "Ian Cardey (2015) - Hall of Fame". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  11. ^ "Tommaso Bianchi 2001 Men's Soccer - Vanguard University". www.vanguardlions.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  12. ^ "Golden Hawk Athletics - Profile - Dan Pilas - LaurierAthletics.com". www.laurierathletics.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  13. ^ "Successful Diaspora Returnee Stories: Domagoj Šain, Data Domain, Korcula". www.total-croatia-news.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  14. ^ "Ontario SoccerNet - CPSL Ontario Update". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  15. ^ Bailey, David. "Canada Kicks -- Olympians Take Cup". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  16. ^ Glover, Robin. "CPSL All Stars vs Canada's Development team". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  17. ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  18. ^ "Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group hires Adrian Sciarra as vice-president". Ottawa Sun. 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  19. ^ "Ontario Tech Ridgebacks - Anthony Whitney - Staff Directory - Ontario Tech". goridgebacks.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  20. ^ "Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  21. ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  22. ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  23. ^ "Canada Kicks - CPSL Update". 2001-06-19. Archived from the original on June 19, 2001. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  24. ^ "CPSL (Ontario Division) - Awards Banquet 1999". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  25. ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  26. ^ "1999 - June 9 - Player of the Week Semir Mesanovic". 2002-03-29. Archived from the original on 2002-03-29. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  27. ^ "1999 - June 15 - Player of the Week John Matas". 2002-05-03. Archived from the original on 2002-05-03. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  28. ^ "1999 - June 22 - Player of the Week Eddy Berdusco". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. ^ "1999 - July 8 - Player of the Week Gus Kouzmanic". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  30. ^ "1999 - July 9 - Player of the Week Mike Glasgow". 2002-03-29. Archived from the original on 2002-03-29. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ "1999 - July 14 - Player of the Week Leo Marasovic". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  32. ^ "1999 - July 21 - Player of the Week Mich D'Angelo". 2001-11-26. Archived from the original on 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2017-03-23.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ^ Glover, Robin. "1999 CPSL Awards". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  34. ^ "CPSL 1999 Award Winners". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.

External links

Canadian Soccer League
Categories