The season opener on Sunday will see CSC Mississauga, a team in its second year in the CSL after struggling to find its feet during their inaugural 2018 season, take on SC Waterloo, a team that has been consistent and successful since first entering the CSL Second Division as KW United FC in 2011.
Waterloo’s most outstanding season came in 2013 when the Southwestern Ontario club won both the CSL Championship and the CSL Second Division Championship, a double never previously won by a CSL club in the same season. In 2018 Waterloo finished an impressive third in the standings behind the runaway leaders FC Ukraine United and FC Vorkuta.
CSC Mississauga was taking its first step into professional soccer in the 2018 campaign, finishing the season with just one victory and an average scoring rate of less than one goal per game.
“But you will find our team a little different this season,” said CSC Mississauga’s Mile Milkovic, GM of Sunday’s home side playing out of the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. “We learned a lot last year, our fitness level will be improved this season and we now have new players that will make a difference”.
Kristian Puljic, 23, an attacking midfielder recently transferred from Hamilton City, who beforefore entering the CSL attracted the attention of several European clubs and made nine appearances for Hrvatski Dragovoljac in the Druga HNL league of Croatia, and Peter Vukadin, a central defender also from that country, have been signed.
CSC Mississauga continues its development of young players and has entered a reserve team in the CSL Second Division in support of the first team. “And we have other options for strengthening our First Division side for the upcoming season,” said Milkovic.
SC Waterloo GM Vojo Brisevac is beaming with confidence while facing the five-month regular season campaign and the prospect of breaking what is developing into a dominance of the CSL First Division by current CSL champions FC Vorkuta and FC Ukraine United, both finishing nine points clear of third place Waterloo in 2018.
Brisevac is ready to challenge the dominant top two, explaining: “ I’m very pleased with our team for the upcoming season. We have retained very good players from last year and we now have the addition of several outstanding players arriving this week from Serbia. They are going to make a difference,” he said.
Brisevac was referring to the arrival of Alexandar Milovanovic who played for FC Loznica and FK Buducnost, Petar Djordjevic, played for FK Sloga 33 and First Division OFK Petrovac in Montenegro, Dalibor Ivanovic, was with OFK Divci and FK Buducnost, Nikola Milinkovic, with FK Buducnost and FK Loznica, and Vladimir Dojcinovic for liptovski Mikulas in Slovakia and Dubocica.
But the club’s immediate focus is this coming holiday weekend’s opening game on Sunday, May 19 between CSC Mississauga and SC Waterloo with a kick off at 9 pm.
There will be a full slate of five CSL First Division matches scheduled for the following weekend, May 25 and 26.