CSL
RICHARD WEST HAT-TRICK GIVES YORK REGION IMPORTANT VICTORY…..Toronto Croatia wins, Brampton slips
ANDRE ORLANDO’S TWO GOALS SETS PACE FOR SERBIAN EAGLES VICTORY SATURDAY
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VUCEMILOVIC-GRGIC HAT-TRICK A BIG WIN FOR LONDON CITY….defeat southwestern Ontario rivals 3-2
KINGSTON OFF THIS WEEKEND – BUT WILL REMAIN ON TOP…..the weekend games
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MOHAMMED STRIKES TWICE FOR ST. CATHARINES VICTORY WEDNESDAY
ASTROS VASAS UPSETS BRAMPTON 2-1 SUNDAY ….lightning forces cancellation Waterloo vs York Region
Astros Vasas FC upset Brampton City Utd with a well-deserved 2-1 away victory, while a second game scheduled in the CSL First Division Sunday, SC Waterloo vs York Region Shooters, was called off shortly before kickoff time due to lightning.
Brampton City Utd pressed early to keep up their strong bid for the CSL First Division title, but it was Astros Vasas that struck first with a goal by recently acquired midfielder Erik Luptak at 37 minutes when he picked up the ball outside the 6-yard line to drive into the net to the right of Brampton goalkeeper Camilo Benzi. The goal held up for a 1-0 score at the interval.
Brampton midfielder Thomas McLean equalized at the 64th minute mark with a drive from just outside of the penalty box that left Astros Vasas goalkeeper Matt George with little chance when it hit the top right corner of the net.
Brampton lost defender Mirko Medic at 83 minutes, he was sent off after receiving a second caution from referee Steve Depiero and two minutes later Jose Melo struck the winner for visitors when he beat Benzi from five yards for a 2-1 Astros Vasas victory.
Brampton’s Thomas McLean was also shown the red card just before the final whistle.
It was the fifth victory for Astros Vasas and the win improved their chance of a playoff spot as they moved into eighth position in the standings with a 5-10-2 WLT for 17 points, while the defeat was a set-back for Brampton despite their impressive 12-4-0 record in second place in the standings, and the defeat is the first since July 28.
One other First Division game scheduled for Sunday, the SC Waterloo vs York Region Shooters clash, was called off by referee Scott Decker due to persistent lightning in the area – the game will be rescheduled – and there was one Second Division match Sunday when St. Catharines Wolves B defeated Toronto Croatia B by a score of 4-1.
LATE GOALS GIVE WINDSOR STARS VICTORY SATURDAY
A last minute winner by David Kadoic gave Windsor Stars a 3-2 victory over Niagara United and a much improved chance of a playoff berth in the only game played in the Canadian Soccer League First Division Saturday.
It was Kadoic’s second goal of the match and his fifth of the season and the goals came late when Niagara were leading 2-1 in a game played at a newly constructed soccer complex at Harrow in southwestern Ontario, billed as the feature event in an international tournament and annual Harrow Fair.
Midfielder Ciprian Codea opened the scoring for Windsor Stars at the 22nd minute, he found the net past Niagara goalkeeper Brad Gemmell for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Kevin Lake tied the game 1-1 for Niagara United at 49 minutes and Keith Makubuya put the visiting Niagara side 2-1 up when he found the net past Windsor goalkeeper Anthony Santilli at the 67th minute mark.
Kadoic scored from the penalty spot for his first goal, a penalty called by referee Lucian Burlacu following a foul in the box at 76 minutes for a 2-2 tie, and the Windsor midfielder struck the winner with a well-placed drive from 15 yards that caught the left side of the net, the goal coming at the 90th minute mark.
“We will take the three points, but it wasn’t one of our better efforts,” said Windsor head coach Steve Vagnini following the final whistle.
The three points now means a total of 24 on the season for Windsor Stars, from a 7-6-3 WLT record for fifth place in the standings, while Niagara United are at 2-12-3 for nine points.
SECOND DIVISION GAMES – SATURDAY
SC Waterloo B 0, Niagara United B 0
London City B 4, Kingston FC B 4
Serbian White Eagles B vs York Region Shooters B POSTPONED – GROUND CONDITIONS
Remaining games this weekend:
Sun, Sep 1 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd vs Astros Vasas FC
(Ref: Steve Depiero, Assist: Fabrizio Stasolla, Michael Bradley, 4th Michael Stenbring)
Sun, Sep 1 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs York Region Shooters
(Ref: Scott Decker, Assist: Peter Pendli, Jessica Patton, 4th Manuel Orellana)
SECOND DIVISION
Sun, Sep 1 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Toronto Croatia B
KINGSTON, BRAMPTON RELENTLESS WITH VICTORIES FRIDAY NIGHT…….Surot running away with scoring title
Kingston FC and Brampton City Utd both continued their relentless pursuit of the CSL First Division title with away victories Friday night – Kingston defeated London City 3-1, while Brampton gained a 2-0 win over Serbian White Eagles.
Kingston’s prolific striker, French-born Guillaume Surot attracted attention yet again with two goals to keep up his runaway scoring which now totals 23 for the season so far, that’s a 10-goal margin over second place in the race for the First Division scoring title.
Surot struck at 6 minutes and 70 minutes at the Hellenic Stadium in London, and the two-goal Kingston lead was increased to 3-0 when midfielder Jason Massie found the net past London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic at the 73rd minute mark.
Marin Vucemilovic Grgic then scored for London City, he took a free kick from Nenad Begovic to find the net past Kingston goalkeeper Jaroslav Tesar at 83 minutes for a 3-1 Kingston lead which held until the final whistle. The goal was number 11 this season for Vucemilovic Grgic.
Kingston improved to a 13-3-1 WLT record for 40 points, four points ahead of Brampton City Utd now in second place and followed by York Region Shooters and Toronto Croatia each with 34.
London have a 6-10-3 record for 21 points and are tied for seventh place in the standings.
Midfielder David Velastagui opened the scoring for Brampton City Utd over Serbian White Eagles at Centennial Stadium, he collected a cross from Stephen Hall for a 1-0 lead at 20 minutes and Adrian Tismenar made it 2-0 from a well-placed free kick outside the penalty box 17 minutes later.
It was 2-0 at half-time and at the final whistle.
The win gave Brampton a playoff berth and with 12 wins from 15 games moved the Toronto area team into second position in the standings with a 12-3-0 record for 36 points with games in hand over their close rivals at the top.
Serbian White Eagles now have a 4-9-1 record for 13 points.
Remaining games this weekend:
Sat, Aug 31 Harrow Soccer Complex 6 PM Windsor Stars vs Niagara United
(Ref: Lucian Burlacu, Assist: John Dutot, Mike Busuttil, 4th Joe Barile)
Sun, Sep 1 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd vs Astros Vasas FC
(Ref: Steve Depiero, Assist: Fabrizio Stasolla, Michael Bradley, 4th Michael Stenbring)
Sun, Sep 1 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs York Region Shooters
(Ref: Scott Decker, Assist: Peter Pendli, Jessica Patton, 4th Manuel Orellana)
SECOND DIVISION
Sat, Aug 31 Portuguese/Oriental 11 AM SC Waterloo B vs Niagara United B
Sat, Aug 31 Hellenic Centre 5:30 PM London City B vs Kingston FC B
Sat, Aug 31 Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs York Region Shooters B
Sun, Sep 1 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Toronto Croatia B
UPCOMING PLAYOFFS, LEAGUE TITLE GETTING ATTENTION……Windsor Stars, Niagara, take pro soccer to Harrow
Three teams – Kingston FC, York Region Shooters and Toronto Croatia – have clinched playoff berths and Brampton City Utd will almost certainly be number four this coming holiday weekend or shortly afterwards, leaving four spots to be filled by the eight remaining clubs.
But the race for the First Division title involving these four clubs will take longer to decide, particularly because in the last week of the regular season Toronto Croatia has games against the York Region Shooters and Brampton City Utd and Kingston FC will travel to Maple for a last gasp clash with the Shooters.
The playoffs, for the CSL Championship, will be 1 vs 8 from the final league standings, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 with the top four clubs having home advantage.
Windsor Stars have taken their home game with Niagara United on Saturday to Harrow, a community in Essex County which credits Hiram Walker and the Canadian Club whisky for putting the community on the map. Hiram Walker built the railway leading to Harrow 100 years ago and the distillery operated until 2009.
The Windsor Stars vs Niagara United CSL league game introduces pro soccer to the community for the first time. The game will be played in a recently built soccer complex and is the headline feature in the Harrow International Soccer Tournament and Harrow Fair. About 2,000 fans are expected to be in attendance.
The weekend games:
FIRST DIVISION
Fri, Aug 30 Hellenic Centre 8:30 PM London City vs Kingston FC
(Ref: Arthur Korbiel, Assist: Scott Decker, Alex Themistocleous, 4th Jozsef Jr Horvath)
Fri, Aug 30 Centennial Stadium 9 PM Serbian White Eagles vs Brampton City Utd
(Ref: Manuel Orellana, Assist: Michael Bradley, Armando Pereira, 4th Benjamin Jacobs)
Sat, Aug 31 Harrow Soccer Complex 6 PM Windsor Stars vs Niagara United
(Ref: Lucian Burlacu, Assist: John Dutot, Mike Busuttil, 4th Joe Barile)
Sun, Sep 1 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd vs Astros Vasas FC
(Ref: Steve Depiero, Assist: Fabrizio Stasolla, Michael Bradley, 4th Michael Stenbring)
Sun, Sep 1 Warrior Field 7 PM SC Waterloo vs York Region Shooters
(Ref: Scott Decker, Assist: Peter Pendli, Jessica Patton, 4th Manuel Orellana)
SECOND DIVISION
Sat, Aug 31 Portuguese/Oriental 11 AM SC Waterloo B vs Niagara United B
Sat, Aug 31 Hellenic Centre 5:30 PM London City B vs Kingston FC B
Sat, Aug 31 Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs York Region Shooters B
Sun, Sep 1 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Toronto Croatia B
SUROT SCORES FOUR IN KINGSTON’S 6-0 ROUT….top teams Shooters, Brampton also win
<![CDATA[Kingston FC striker Guillaume Surot led his team with four goals to a 6-0 rout of Astros Vasas FC and sole possession of first place in the CSL First Division, while in two other games played Sunday, the top teams continued to keep pace – a York Region Shooters 3-0 victory over London City and a Brampton City Utd 3-1 win over Burlington SC.
TORONTO CROATIA VICTORY …..Keran scores late winner
<![CDATA[It was almost the last kick of the match when Toronto Croatia defender Josip Keran took a free kick against Niagara United from 25 yards, the Niagara United wall did its job, but the rebound came back to Keran who then drove the ball into the net for the winning goal, a 2-1 victory in the only game played in the CSL Saturday night.
Toronto Croatia opened the scoring in the close contest at the Kalar Sports Park in Niagara Falls when Sven Arapovic headed in a corner kick at the 31st minute mark for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Arapovic, a defender, was on the receiving end of a red card from referee Jeff Fearnall at 55 minutes when he prevented a goalscoring opportunity by bringing down Niagara’s Andy Tiedt in the box. Tiedt took the penalty and found the net past Toronto Croatia goalkeeper Sergio Moralo for a 1-1 score.
Niagara was also reduced to 10 men when John Grabowski received a second caution at 66 minutes and the game went to 93 minutes and almost a tie until Keran found the net with just seconds remaining, a 2-1 score in favour of the visitors. It was Keran’s sixth goal of the season.
Toronto Croatia now have a 10-2-4 WLT record for 34 points, which is tied with Kingston FC for top position in the standings, and Niagara United are at 2-11-3 for nine points.
In one Second Division match played Saturday, Toronto Croatia B defeated Niagara United B 5-2, and there was one postponement when the Serbian White Eagles vs Kingston FC was rescheduled to be played September 28.
Remaining games this weekend:
FIRST DIVISION
Sun, Aug 25
JELIC’S LATE WINNER GIVES SERBIAN WHITE EAGLES VICTORY
<![CDATA[A goal by Serbian White Eagles defender Vitomar Jelic at 92 minutes broke the 1-1 tie to give his team the three points against London City at Centennial Stadium Friday night, to lift the Toronto-based team into 10th position in the standings with an opportunity to bid for a playoff spot. It was the only game in the CSL Friday.
Jelic was just five yards from London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic when he collected a pass from midfielder Daniel Chamele to tap the ball into the net following some good play by Kiril Dimitrov.
It was Dimitrov who opened the scoring in a game played mostly in the midfield during the first half and became end to end following the break. The midfielder struck at 38 minutes after taking a low cross from Nikola Miodrag to place the ball in the middle of the net. It was 1-0 at the interval.
London City forward Aldin Kukic tied the game 1-1 at 50 minutes, he collected cross from Nened Bergovic to chip the ball from the edge of the box just under the bar out of reach of Serbian Eagles goalkeeper Scott Cliff.
The game was heading into a 1-1 draw before Jelic scored the winner in added time for a 2-1 final score.
Remaining games this weekend:
FIRST DIVISION
Sat, Aug 24