Montreal Impact Academy defeated York Region Shooters 3-1 and Toronto Croatia downed their old rivals Serbian White Eagles 4-0 in the semifinals of the CSL Championship Sunday.
The Montreal Academy side enjoyed their 11th successive victory at the St Jean de Vianney sport centre in Quebec and they will meet the current CSL champions Toronto Croatia following their victory at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke.
Toronto Croatia took a 1-0 lead over Serbian White Eagles when defender Josip Keran found the net at the 19th minute mark and it was 1-0 at the break.
Tihomir Maletic struck twice in the early stages of the second half as the home side began to control the game, the prolific forward beat Serbian Eagles goalkeeper Milos Djurkovic at 51 and 54 minutes for a 3-0 lead.
Toronto Croatia went further ahead at 86 minutes on a goal by midfielder Andelo Srzentic who found the net from a rebound off the post and the 4-0 score held to the final whistle.
The Quebec side took 1-0 lead at the St Jean de Vianney sport centre at the 26th minute mark, a penalty kick called by referee Christopher Grabasse following a heavy challenge in the box and Wandrille Lefevre drove the ball to right of York Region goalkeeper Emanuelle Ameltonis.
Forward Kadian Lecky tied the game 1-1 for York Region Shooters at the 35th minute mark and it was 1-1 at the interval.
Almost immediately after the re-start, Lefevre moved the ball to Anthony Jackson-Hamel on a breakaway to score the home side’s second goal, a 2-1 lead that held until 94 minutes when Yacine Alt Slimane sealed the victory with a third Montreal goal, it was 3-1 at the final whistle.
The two sides will meet at Centennial Stadium on Saturday, October 27, a 3 pm kickoff and the game will be preceded by the Second Division Championship Final for CSL reserve teams at 12.30 pm.
SC Toronto B and Brampton City Utd B will meet in the Second Division Championship following a 2-0 victory by Brampton over York Region Shooters B at the Avondale ground in Brampton Sunday night.
Following a scoreless first half with Brampton coming close to scoring on several occasions, the home side did take the lead at the 69th minute mark on a goal by forward Michael Tcherenkov who drove the ball into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
Midfielder Yusif Walied struck three minutes later to give Brampton a 2-0 lead and the score held to the end of the game to move Brampton to the final.
In the first semifinal played at Downsview Park on Saturday night, Evan Brandon John opened the scoring for SC Toronto, heading home a corner kick out of reach of Mississauga Eagles goalkeeper Mitchell Cavaco, a 1-0 lead at the break.
Mississauga midfielder Laudelino Joe De Sousa then struck twice, at 53 and 58 minutes to put his side 2-1 up and last year’s reserve champions were heading for the Second Division final again this season until Brandon John scored his second goal for the Toronto side, a 2-2 tie at 90 minutes and the score at regulation time.
The teams battled a scoreless15 minutes each way for a 2-2 tie at 120 minutes to take the game into penalty kicks, won 4-3 by SC Toronto reserves.
Weekend summary:
CSL Championship – Semifinals
Montreal Impact Academy 3, York Region Shooters 1
T
oronto Croatia 4, Serbian White Eagles 0
CSL Second Division Championship – Semifinals
Brampton City Utd B 2, York Region Shooters B 0
Played Saturday, October 20: SC Toronto B 2, Mississauga Eagles FC B 2 (after extra time) (SC Toronto won 4-3 on penalty kicks)
Upcoming Games:
CSL Championship – Final
Saturday, Oct 27 Centennial Stadium, Etobicoke 3 pm Montreal Impact Academy vs Toronto Croatia
CSL Second Division Championship – Final
Saturday, Oct. 27 Centennial Stadium, Etobicoke 12.30 pm SC Toronto B vs Brampton City Utd B
