SERBIAN EAGLES IN PLAYOFFS WITH FRIDAY VICTORY….SC Toronto and Niagara United win

Serbian White Eagles clinched a playoff spot with a 3-1 victory over Brampton City Utd, Niagara United kept its playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 defeat of Mississauga Eagles FC and in one other game in the CSL Friday night SC Toronto defeated TFC Academy 2-1.


 


Serbian Eagles midfielder Djorjije Strunjas opened the scoring at 3 minutes at Centennial Stadium, he found the net off a free kick from Zoran Rajovic and at 36 minutes the prolific Richard West made it 2-0 with Rajovic again involved in the play. It was West’s 14th goal of the season.


 


Serbian White Eagles went ahead 3-0 when Rajovic drove a free kick into the bottom corner of the net from 25 yards, well out of reach of Brampton goalkeeper Jason Lopes, and at 81 minutes Brampton City Utd reduced the lead to 3-1 when David Guzman intercepted a back pass to Serbian Eagles goalkeeper Milos Durkovic to place the ball into the net for his 14th goal of the season. It was goal number 15 for Rajovic.


 


 It was 3-1 at the end and Serbian White Eagles take the seventh playoff position with a 9-7-5 WLT record for 32 points. Brampton City Utd have a 8-9-4 record for 28 points and currently ninth in the standings.


 


The eighth and final playoff spot will be taken by one of four clubs – Niagara United, Brampton City Utd, SC Waterloo or Brantford Galaxy.


 


TFC Academy opened the scoring against SC Toronto at Downsview Park, a goal by forward Nicolas Lindsey at the 15th minute mark, but the visitors tied the game at 26 minutes on a goal by midfielder Jonathan Osorio. It was 1-1 at the break.


 


SC Toronto defender Evan Brandon John scored the game winner for SC Toronto, he drove the ball from eight yards into the top right corner of the net out of reach of TFC Academy goalkeeper Alexander Pothemount and the score remained to the final whistle.


 


SC Toronto now have a 14-2-4 record for 46 points, just one point behind league leading Toronto Croatia, while TFC Academy are at  10-5-5, tied for sixth place in the standings.


 


It was an important victory for Niagara United at the Hershey Centre where the first half ended scoreless and Niagara defender Malcom Mings opened the scoring against Mississauga Eagles FC at the 58th minute mark.


 


The home side tied the game 1-1 six minutes later on a goal by forward Jose Melo, his  12th of the season.


 


Matthew Waddington put Niagara into the lead at the 68th minute and Matthew Cain assured Niagara of the victory at 92 minutes, it was 3-1 at the final whistle.


Niagara United have a 9-9-3 record for 30 points in eighth place in the standings to stay in the race in pursuit of the one remaining playoff spot, while Mississauga are eliminated from the playoffs following the defeat. Mississauga has a 7-9-5 record for 26 points.


 


Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:


 


FIRST DIVISION


 


Sat, Sep 29 Esther Shiner Stadium 4:30 PM North York Astros vs Montreal Impact Academy


Sun, Sep 30 Lions Park 6 PM Brantford Galaxy vs Kingston FC


Sun, Sep 30 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs Montreal Impact Academy


Sun, Sep 30 St. David 7 PM SC Waterloo vs SC Toronto


Sun, Sep 30 Centennial Stadium 8 PM Toronto Croatia vs Windsor Stars


 


SECOND DIVISION


 


Sat, Sep 29 Portuguese/Oriental 1 PM SC Waterloo B vs Kingston FC B


Sat, Sep 29 Terry Fox Stadium 2 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Mississauga Eagles FC B


Sat, Sep 29 Lions Park 4 PM Brantford Galaxy B vs Windsor Stars B


Sat, Sep 29 Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs Niagara United B


Sun, Sep 30 Downsview Park 2 PM TFC Academy II vs Kingston FC B – CANCELLED


 


IN THE EVENT OF A TIE IN THE STANDINGS


 


In the event teams are tied on points in the final regular season standings, the CSL rules apply the following tie breakers in this order:


 


1. Total wins in regular season games.


2. Head-to-head record based on total points in league games.


3. Goal difference in regular season games.


4. Goals scored in regular season games.


 


 


CAF CELEBRATION


 


The CAF U-15 teams are celebrating the academy’s first year this weekend with a festive day at the St. Joan of Arc ground in Maple. It’s a one-day tournament, there are sponsors on hand, prizes, a free lunch and an opportunity to be photographed with an FC Barcelona jersey signed by every member of a team that is one of the top clubs of the world.


The day kicks off at 9.15 am and goes through to late afternoon.