North Toronto Nitros
Full nameNorth Toronto Soccer Club
Nickname(s)Nitros
Founded1980
StadiumDownsview Turf
Head CoachMarko Milanovic (men)
Billy Wilson (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2022League, 4th; Playoffs, QF (men)
League, 7th; Playoffs, DNQ (women)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

North Toronto Nitros is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club was founded in 1980 as a youth soccer club and added its men's semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2016 and its women's team in the League1 Ontario women's division in 2021.

History

The club was founded in 1980 as a youth soccer club.[1] They updated the club logo in 2019, combining the club logo and Nitros team logo.[2]

Club and team logo until 2019

Originally a youth soccer club, the team added a men's semi-professional team in League1 Ontario in 2016,[3] playing their home games at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium.[4] They played their inaugural match on April 30, 2016, on the road against Vaughan Azzurri, which they lost by a score of 2–1.[5] They defeated Aurora United by a score of 5–0 in their home debut.[6]

In 2018, the club departed the league, going on hiatus.[7] Two years later, they were set to return to the league for the 2020 season and also added a women's team to the League1 Ontario women's division for the first time, providing a full senior high-performance pathway for players based in downtown Toronto,[8] however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled, delaying their return (and the women's team's debut) to 2021.[9][10] They moved their home field to the Downsview Park turf fields.[11]

Squad

As of 16 April 2023[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Canada CAN Ali Ghazanfari Moghadam
— GK Canada CAN Alexandre Lin
— GK Canada CAN Quinn Stahmer
— DF Canada CAN Brandon Barone
— DF Canada CAN Daniel Casa
— DF Canada CAN Kaostubh Bolla
— DF Canada CAN Thomas Maccarone
— DF Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VIN Tristan Marshall
— DF Canada CAN Kai Martin
— DF Canada CAN Alex Meczarski
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Canada CAN Gabriel Mikina
— DF Canada CAN Emmanuel Obiefuna
— DF Canada CAN Christian Westlaken
— MF Canada CAN Jacob Carlos
— MF Canada CAN Juan Pablo Delgadillo
— MF Canada CAN Pablo Hempelmann-Perez
— MF Canada CAN Bilal Reslan
— MF Canada CAN Justin Santos
— MF Canada CAN Akeim Villous
— MF Canada CAN Tadija Vukas
— FW Canada CAN Zakaria Abdi
— FW Canada CAN Asher Barnes
— FW Canada CAN Luca Di Marco

Seasons

Men

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2016 League1 Ontario 16 14–3–5 3rd, East (4th overall) did not qualify Semi-finals [13]
2017 16 11–3–8 3rd, East (7th overall) did not qualify Round of 16 [13]
2018 on hiatus
2019
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[14]
2021 League1 Ontario 15 1–1–10 7th, East (14th) did not qualify –
2022 22 13–5–3 4th Quarter Finals – [13]
2023 21 9–4–7 10th did not qualify – [13]

Women

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs Ref
2021 League1 Ontario 7 4–0–8 6th did not qualify [15]
2022 20 10–6–3 7th did not qualify
2023 19 12–2–4 3rd Quarter-finals

Notable former players

The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:

Men

Women

References

  1. ^ "North Toronto Soccer Club". The Voyageurs. November 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "A History of NTSC". North Toronto SC.
  3. ^ "League1 Ontario Growing Again In 2016". League1 Ontario. February 1, 2016.
  4. ^ Nelson, Norm (May 4, 2016). "Catch Toronto Rush, North Toronto Nitros this season at Varsity Stadium". City Centre Mirror.
  5. ^ Glover, Robin (May 3, 2016). "April 30, 2016 League 1 Ontario–Vaughan Azzurri vs North Toronto Nitros". Northern Starting XI.
  6. ^ Cudmore, John (May 17, 2016). "Durham spoils League1 Ontario soccer home opener for Aurora United women". Aurora Banner.
  7. ^ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". League1 Ontario. March 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Three new teams join 2020 League1 Ontario Men's And Women's divisions". Canadian Premier League. November 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to North Toronto Nitros". League1 Ontario. October 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "North Toronto Nitos". League1 Ontario.
  12. ^ "North Toronto Nitros". League 1 Ontario.
  13. ^ a b c d "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  14. ^ "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
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