FULL SLATE OF GAMES IN BUSY CSL WEEKEND
The CSL season is gaining some momentum with a full slate of First Division and Second Division games being played this coming weekend June 1- 3, the third weekend of a 5-month campaign that goes through to the playoffs for the CSL Championship and the CSL Second Division title during October.
The weekend opening First Division game is on Friday evening when Serbian White Eagles are at home to CSC Mississauga in Centennial Stadium at 7 pm.
Serbian White Eagles, with a strong presence in Canadian soccer both at the professional and amateur levels for many years, entered the Canadian Soccer League in 2006 to be only the second team in the history of the CSL to be a finalist in the CSL Championship during the first four years of operation. Serbian White Eagles won the championship in 2008 and 2016.
“We aim to be on top again this season, particularly with new signings from Europe now taking place,” explained Dragan Bakoc, president of the Toronto area –based club while watching his team’s recent opening game at home ground Centennial Stadium in west Toronto. It was the team’s only First Division game so far in 2018, which ended in a 1-1 tie with FC Vorkuta.
Opposition team against the White Eagles is Mississauga; CSC is an expansion team entering professional soccer for the first time. The Mississauga side has also played only one game, an evenly contested scoreless tie with Brantford Galaxy on May 25.
The contrast between these two sides should make for an interesting weekend opener.
There are two First Division games on Saturday with SC Waterloo opening its season against new club Real Mississauga, that’s a 6.30 pm start at RIM Park, Waterloo, and Brantford Galaxy is opening its new season against Hamilton City at the Heritage Field, an 8.30 pm kickoff.
Brantford Galaxy made its mark in spectacular fashion early when in its inaugural year 2010 the new team from Southwestern Ontario became the first expansion franchise in CSL history to win the CSL Championship in its first season.
There is one First Division game on Sunday when FC Ukraine United visits Birchmount Stadium to take on Scarborough SC.
A schedule in the CSL Second Division has Halton United B at home to Brantford Galaxy reserve team on Saturday – an 8 pm kickoff, and the other game will be Scarborough B will visit FC Vorkuta B at 2 pm, .
Stan Adamson
