League1 Ontario
Men's Division
Season2018
ChampionsVaughan Azzurri
L1 Cup championsVaughan Azzurri
Matches played136
Goals scored488 (3.59 per match)
Top goalscorerAnthony Novak
(18 goals)
Best goalkeeperLucas Birnstingl
(0.42 GAA)
Highest scoringTFC III 10–0 Windsor
(Jun 17)
Oakville 10–0 Sanjaxx
(Aug 26)
← 2017
2019 →

The 2018 Men's League1 Ontario season was the fifth season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Vaughan Azzurri won the league championship and earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship; the top national tournament for men's soccer teams. Vaughan captured the league double for a second time by also winning the L1 Cup, a feat they first achieved in 2016. FC London finished the season with the best regular season record, earning 38 points in 16 games.

Changes from 2017

The men's division grew slightly to 17 teams for this season, with the addition of Darby FC, Unionville Milliken SC, and Alliance United FC (a joint partnership between Markham SC and Wexford SC).[1] Durham United FA and North Toronto Nitros did not return for this season.

During the off-season, Jim Brennan stepped down as head of Aurora FC to accept a position with York 9 FC in the Canadian Premier League.[2] FC London also announced the affiliation of its youth academy with professional side Toronto FC.[3]

This season saw expanded playoffs and a return to single-table competition for the men's division. The top eight teams overall from the men's division entered the playoffs, which consisted of a group stage and a final championship match between the winner of each group. The women's side saw a shorter season which ended in August, followed by a four-team elimination playoff for the league title.[4]

Teams

League1 Ontario Men's Division
Team City Principal stadium Founded First season Head coach[note 1]
Alliance United Markham Centennial College 2018 2018 Canada Ilya Orlov
Aurora FC Aurora Stewart Burnett Park 1964 2016 Republic of Ireland Derek O'Keefe
Darby FC Whitby Whitby Soccer Centre 2018 2018 Scotland David Thorburn
FC London London German Canadian FC Stadium 2008 2016 Canada Michael Marcoccia
Master's Futbol Toronto (Scarborough) L'Amoreaux Park 2012 2014 Trinidad and Tobago Rick Titus
North Mississauga SC Mississauga Hershey Centre 1982 2016 Canada Sam Medeiros[5]
Oakville Blue Devils Oakville Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium[note 2] 1994 2015 England Duncan Wilde
Ottawa South United Force Ottawa Quinn's Pointe[note 3] 2017 2017 Zimbabwe Peter Mapendere
ProStars FC Brampton Victoria Park Stadium[note 4] 2015 2015 Hungary Josef Komlodi
Sanjaxx Lions Toronto Monarch Park Stadium 2012 2015 Jamaica Patrick Lowe
Sigma FC Mississauga Hershey Centre 2005 2014 Canada Bobby Smyrniotis
Toronto FC III Toronto (North York) KIA Training Ground 2008 2014 England Danny Dichio
Toronto Skillz FC Toronto (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium 2008 2016 Trinidad and Tobago Leslie Fitzpatrick
Unionville Milliken SC Unionville Bill Crothers Park 2018 2018 Italy Emanuele Ameltonis[6]
Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan (Maple) McNaughton Park 2014 2014 Canada Carmine Isacco
Windsor TFC Stars Windsor University of Windsor Stadium 2004 2014 Canada Zibby Piatkiewicz[7]
Woodbridge Strikers Vaughan (Woodbridge) Vaughan Grove 1976 2014 Canada Peter Pinizzotto
  1. ^ Unless otherwise noted, this information was obtained from team directories on the league website
  2. ^ Some matches were played at Bronte Athletic Park
  3. ^ Ottawa South United Force played one home match against Windsor TFC Stars at the Ontario Soccer Centre
  4. ^ Some matches were played at Terry Fox Park

Regular season

Each team played 16 matches as part of the season; one match against all other teams. The top eight teams competed in the league playoffs at the end of the season, the winner of which earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship.[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC London 16 12 2 2 49 19 +30 38 Playoffs
2 Sigma FC 16 11 4 1 33 9 +24 37
3 Oakville Blue Devils 16 10 5 1 41 9 +32 35
4 Toronto FC III 16 10 3 3 48 25 +23 33 No playoffs[a]
5 Vaughan Azzurri (C, X) 16 10 1 5 45 23 +22 31 Playoffs
6 Woodbridge Strikers 16 8 4 4 43 18 +25 28
7 Alliance United FC 16 7 3 6 34 24 +10 24
8 Unionville Milliken SC 16 6 5 5 25 21 +4 23
9 Darby FC 16 6 3 7 22 27 −5 21
10 Master's Futbol 16 4 7 5 28 28 0 19
11 Sanjaxx Lions 16 5 3 8 14 26 −12 18
12 Toronto Skillz FC 16 4 2 10 25 50 −25 14
13 North Mississauga SC 16 3 4 9 15 30 −15 13
14 Ottawa South United 16 3 4 9 19 50 −31 13
15 Aurora FC 16 3 3 10 20 40 −20 12
16 ProStars FC 16 2 4 10 14 34 −20 10
17 Windsor TFC 16 1 5 10 13 55 −42 8
Source: http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2309115-standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal differential; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(C) Champion and qualification to 2019 Canadian Championship; (X) L1 Cup winner
Notes:
  1. ^ Toronto FC III voluntarily withdrew from league playoffs.[9]

Playoffs

The top eight teams from the regular season were divided into two groups of four for the playoffs. Each team played three matches; one match against all other teams in their group. The top team from each group advanced to the league championship, the winner of which earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship.

Group stage

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VGN DBY ALU LON
1 Vaughan Azzurri (O) 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9 League Championship — 4–0 1–0 3–2
2 Darby FC 3 1 1 1 3 6 −3 4 — 2–1 1–1
3 Alliance United FC 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3 — 1–0
4 FC London 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1 —
Source: https://www.league1ontario.com/standings/show/3999907?subseason=553364
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(O) Play-off winners
Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WDB SIG OAK UNV
1 Woodbridge Strikers 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 7 League Championship — 3–1 2–2 3–0
2 Sigma FC 3 2 0 1 6 6 0 6 — 3–2 2–1
3 Oakville Blue Devils 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4 — 2–0
4 Unionville Milliken SC 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0 —
Source: https://www.league1ontario.com/standings/show/3999907?subseason=553364
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match

League Championship

The league champion was determined by a single match between the two group winners in the first round of the playoffs. The winner qualified for the 2019 Canadian Championship.

October 20, 2018 Vaughan Azzurri 2–0Woodbridge StrikersVaughan, Ontario
3:00 pm ET Sacramento 35'
Ricci 89'		 Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

L1 Cup

The L1 Cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all 17 teams from the men's division took part. It is not a form of playoffs at the end of the season (as is typically seen in North American sports), but is more like the EFL Cup, albeit only for League1 Ontario teams. All matches are separate from the regular season, and are not reflected in the season standings.

The cup tournament for the men's division is a single-match knockout tournament with a total of four rounds culminating in a final match in the start of August, with initial matches determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes advanced directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.[10]

Preliminary round
  
Alliance United2 (4)
Darby FC2 (5)
 
First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
FC London2
 
 
 
Darby FC0
 
FC London0
 
 
 
Sigma FC8
 
Sigma FC4
 
 
 
Sanjaxx Lions0
 
Sigma FC1 (5)
 
 
 
Toronto FC III1 (6)
 
ProStars FC2 (4)
 
 
 
Aurora FC2 (3)
 
ProStars FC0
 
 
 
Toronto FC III3
 
Windsor TFC Stars1
 
 
 
Toronto FC III4
 
Toronto FC III1
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
Master's Futbol4
 
 
 
Unionville Milliken SC0
 
Master's Futbol2
 
 
 
Oakville Blue Devils3
 
Oakville Blue Devils3
 
 
 
Toronto Skillz1
 
Oakville Blue Devils0
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
North Mississauga SC0
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri6
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
 
 
Woodbridge Strikers0
 
Woodbridge Strikers4
 
 
Ottawa South United1
 

Preliminary round

May 8, 2018 Alliance United 2–2
(4–5 p)		 Darby FC Toronto, Ontario
8:00 pm Beader 74', 90+2' Report
Article		 Young 80'
Sears 82'		 Stadium: L'Amoreaux Park

First round

May 26, 2018 FC London 2–0 Darby FC London, Ontario
Seymour 50'
Pucci 90'		 Report
Article		 Stadium: German Canadian FC Stadium
May 27, 2018 Sanjaxx Lions 0–4 Sigma FC Toronto, Ontario
Report
Article		 Zajac 23', 86'
Buchanan 34'
Thomas 74'		 Stadium: Monarch Park Stadium
May 27, 2018 Aurora FC 2–2
(3–4 p)		 ProStars FC Aurora, Ontario
Rennie 10'
Juta 80'		 Report
Article		 George 40'
Chrysanthou 90'		 Stadium: Stewart Burnett Park
Penalties
  • Doner soccer ball with check mark
  • Juta soccer ball with check mark
  • Buitrago soccer ball with red X
  • Perez Padilla soccer ball with check mark
  • Medeiros soccer ball with red X
  • George soccer ball with check mark
  • Zwierzynski soccer ball with check mark
  • Arora soccer ball with check mark
  • Klinovskyy soccer ball with check mark
May 27, 2018 Windsor TFC Stars 1–4 Toronto FC III Windsor, Ontario
Pio 55' Report
Article		 Dada-Luke 17'
Hamilton 38'
Corbeanu 53'
Bilousov 71'		 Stadium: University of Windsor Stadium
May 26, 2018 Master's Futbol 4–0 Unionville Milliken SC Toronto, Ontario
Reid 4'
Rollocks 36'
De Sousa 65'
Brown 69'		 Report
Article		 Stadium: L'Amoreaux Park
May 26, 2018 Toronto Skillz 1–3 Oakville Blue Devils Toronto, Ontario
Jashan 54' Report
Article		 Hernandez 12'
Khalon 46'
Santos 65'		 Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
May 26, 2018 Vaughan Azzurri 6–0 North Mississauga SC Vaughan, Ontario
Raposo 22'
Lay 48', 76'
Kloutsouniotis 85', 92'
Kotsopoulos 90'		 Report
Article		 Stadium: McNaughton Park
May 27, 2018 Woodbridge Strikers 4–1 Ottawa South United Vaughan, Ontario
Isaac 3'
El Zeir 5'
Rayne 50', 67'		 Report
Article		 Cornwall 81' Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park

Quarterfinals

June 22, 2018 Sigma FC 8–0 FC London Mississauga, Ontario
9:00 pm
Report Stadium: Hershey Centre
June 23, 2018 ProStars FC 0–3 Toronto FC III Brampton, Ontario
8:30 pm Report
Stadium: Victoria Park Stadium
June 24, 2018 Oakville Blue Devils 2–2
(4–2 p)		 Master's Futbol Oakville, Ontario
6:00 pm Khalon 37'
Gallo 61'		 Report Reid 33'
*Brown 80'		 Stadium: Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium
Penalties
  • Reid soccer ball with check mark
  • Woods soccer ball with red X
  • Fenton soccer ball with red X
  • De Sousa soccer ball with check mark
June 24, 2018 Woodbridge Strikers 0–2 Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan, Ontario
7:00 pm Report
Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park

Semifinals

July 21, 2018 Toronto FC III 1–1
(6–5 p)		 Sigma FC Toronto, Ontario
4:00 pm
Report
  • Afzaly 33'
 Stadium: BMO Training Ground
Penalties
July 22, 2018 Oakville Blue Devils 0–2 Vaughan Azzurri Oakville, Ontario
4:00 pm Report
  • Whiteman 48'
  • Kovacevic 63'
 Stadium: Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium

Final

August 4, 2018 Vaughan Azzurri 2–1 Toronto FC III Vaughan, Ontario
7:30PM
Report
  • Gorgees 78'
 Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Statistics

Awards

The following players received honours in the 2018 season:[11]

Award Player (Club)
Most Valuable Player Dylan Sacramento (Vaughan Azzurri)
Golden Boot Anthony Novak (Oakville Blue Devils)
Coach of the Year Mike Marcoccia (FC London)
Young Players of the Year Marko Maletic (FC London)
Kunle Dada-Luke (Toronto FC III)
Defender of the Year Dominic Samuel (Sigma FC)
Goalkeeper of the Year Robert Stillo (Woodbridge Strikers)
Fair Play Award Matthew Arnone (Vaughan Azzurri)
Goal of the Year Jack Sears (Darby FC)
First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Robert Stillo (Woodbridge Strikers) Jarred Phillips (Vaughan Azzurri)
Marko Maletic (FC London)
Dominic Samuel (Sigma FC)
Afram Gorgees (Toronto FC III) 		Mohammed Reza Nafa (FC London)
Giuliano Frano (Sigma FC)
Dylan Sacramento (Vaughan Azzurri) 		Kadell Thomas (Sigma FC)
Anthony Novak (Oakville Blue Devils)
Austin Ricci (Vaughan Azzurri)
Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Triston Henry (Sigma FC) Justin Springer (Vaughan Azzurri)
Konnor McNamara (Oakville Blue Devils)
Parker Seymour (FC London)
Morey Doner (Aurora FC) 		Matthew Arnone (Vaughan Azzurri)
Mehdi Essoussi (Toronto FC III)
Stefan Nikolic (Sanjaxx Lions) 		Connor Wilson (FC London)
Kunle Dada-Luke (Toronto FC III)
Emmanuel Issac (Woodbridge Strikers)
Third Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Lukas Birsingl (Oakville/Unionville) Tim Mahabir (Toronto Skillz)
Reggie Laryea (Sigma FC)
Bruce Cullen (Woodbridge Strikers)
Aaron Schneebli (FC London)
Michael Borowski (ProStars FC)
Brendan Woodfull (Windsor TFC) 		Raphael Reynolds (Darby FC)
Lee Victor Massunda (North Mississauga)
Barou Junior Mbuyamba (Ottawa South United)
Mansoor Alfazy (Sigma FC)
Joshua Paredes-Proctor (Woodbridge Strikers)
Josh Moreira (Toronto FC III) 		Steven Furlano (Alliance United/Darby)
Jose De Sousa (Woodbridge/Masters FA)
Tre Crosby (Unionville Milliken)
Filipe Vilela (Oakville Blue Devils)
Marcel Zajac (Sigma FC)

All-Star Game

The league announced that an All-Star Game between League1 Ontario and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) would once again take place this season. The game was hosted by the PLSQ and was played on June 30.

June 30 PLSQ All-Stars 2–2
(1–4 p)		 L1O All-Stars Montreal, Quebec
8:00 pm
Report
Stadium: Stade Desjardins

References

  1. ^ Cudmore, John (December 21, 2017). "League1 expansion focus zooms in on Unionville, Markham entries". Markham Economist & Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Cudmore, John (December 30, 2017). "Former TFC captain Jimmy Brennan steps down as Aurora FC executive director". Aurora Banner. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Dalla Costa, Morris (November 29, 2017). "FC London's academy changes look, adds programs with Toronto FC link". The London Free Press. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". League1 Ontario. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Glover, Robin (May 5, 2018). "May 5, 2018 League 1 Ontario--North Mississauga Panthers vs Pro Stars FC game report (by Rocket Robin)". Rocket Robin Soccer in Toronto. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  6. ^ Glover, Robin (July 7, 2018). "July 7, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Unionville Milliken FC vs Sigma FC game review (by Rocket Robin)". Rocket Robin Soccer in Toronto. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  7. ^ Vanza, Ricardo (April 15, 2017). "Windsor TFC finds new head coach". iHeartRadio. CKLW. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". League1 Ontario. March 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Glover, Robin (June 26, 2018). "L1O Game of the Week: Woodbridge falls to Vaughan in League Cup quarter-final". Waking The Red. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Mens L1 Cup". League1 Ontario. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Top 2018 Performers Recognized At Year-End Awards Gala". League1 Ontario. November 26, 2018.

External links

League1 Ontario – Men's Division
2018 in Canadian soccer
Categories