Unity FC has entered the Canadian Soccer League as an expansion team this coming season to kickoff the regular season during May through to the playoffs in September and the CSL Championship Final expected to be played early October.
Recently launched, the club’s roster at kickoff time will be international in nature with players from Portugal and Brazil, but also a sprinkling of other nationalities arriving from their native countries and a number of local Canadian players selected during pre-season tryouts in Toronto.
“Welcome to Unity FC” exclaimed the team’s founder Cayo Braz when notified of the decision to accept the newly formed club into the professional CSL. “We are still a little story, but with big projections.”
Braz and club director Pietra Migliari are setting the scene with purpose in the name Unity FC and the importance of developing a culture of being unified as one both on and off the field. “We are what we are, with harmony and respect while developing a healthy community relationship” Braz explained. Unity FC’s other objective of being ready to make a great first run in its debut season, was also emphasized.
Unity FC is the second CSL expansion team to kickoff the 2024 season following the earlier announcement of the addition of Spanish Future Stars FC.
Saturday, June 13, 2026 is the date Vancouverites will host their first of seven World Cup matches at BC Place with an expected attendance of 54,000. BC Place is the favourite venue for major sporting events in Vancouver, including big soccer matches such as the Women’s World Cup 2015 United States championship victory over Japan.
While the games to be played in Vancouver are not known yet, we do know that Canada will play at BC Place on Thursday, June 18 and Wednesday, June 24. There will be five group-stage games, one game from the round of 32 and one game in the round of 16 for Vancouver.
Like Toronto, Vancouver is a diverse city with more than half of the city’s population with a first language other than English and soccer has been for many years one of the favourites sports with its residents. Home to the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer and the recent interest in player Alfonso Davies’ transfer from Vancouver to one of the top clubs of the world Bayern Munich, has lifted soccer in British Columbia’s largest city to mainstream popularity and given the 2026 World Cup a greatest show on earth feel for the west coast province.
Considered one of the most picturesque cities in North America, Vancouver is expected to be a big draw with tourists from many parts of the world during the World Cup.
A total 48 teams representing six confederations will play 104 games with a kickoff date June 11, 2026. Host countries United States, Mexico and Canada qualify automatically. Toronto’s BMO Field will host six games, Vancouver seven games, 11 cities in the United States will host 78 games and Mexico will host 13 games in three cities.
At the end of the upcoming 2024 outdoor soccer season there will be just one more season to go before the 2026 World Cup games arrive in 16 North American cities, 11 of which are in the United States, three venues are in Mexico and two at Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
A total 48 teams representing six confederations will play 104 games from a kickoff date June 11, 2026 with the opener at the well-known Azteka Stadium in Mexico City. The tournament will end on July 19 when the two finalists meet at the not so well-known MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The quarter finals will be played at Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Miami, the semi-finals in Atlanta and Dallas. The bronze medal match will be held in Miami.
The national teams of the United States, Mexico and Canada qualify automatically for the World Cup finals by virtue of being the host countries. It will be Canada’s third attempt in World Cup finals, the first in Mexico in 1986 and the second at Qatar in 2022. Canada has yet to win a game in the World Cup.
The preliminary draw to decide the 32 Concacaf teams to advance to the World Cup finals was made on January 25 for games to be played in 2024 and 2025. The final round matches for the Concacaf teams will be played during the FIFA international match window of September through November 2025. Following the completion of this qualifying final round, three Concacaf group winners will go directly to the FIFA World Cup 26, joining Concacaf teams USA, Mexico and Canada. Also, the best two runners-up will represent Concacaf in the FIFA Play-off Tournament which means that in total, it is possible the Concacaf confederation could have up to record eight teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
Toronto is the the largest city in Canada and the fourth largest city in North America with a population of almost three million and the immediate region of the Greater Toronto Area the population exceeds six million. Toronto is also one of the most diverse cities of the world and thousands of fans from throughout the world will descend on the city to create a competitive soccer fever the extent of which has not been previously experienced in Canada.
The BMO Field at Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver will be the two Canadian venues for World Cup games in Canada
The first match in the World Cup finals in Canada will be at an expanded BMO Field in Toronto on June 12 with a capacity increase to 45,000. BC Place in Vancouver will host the next two games in Canada, on June 18 and June 24. The BMO Field will host a total six games, while Vancouver will host seven games at BC Place, an extra game due to its greater capacity 54,000. The United States will host 78 games, Mexico will host 13.
Canada’s major soccer leagues, including the Canadian Soccer League, may avoid scheduling during the World Cup, or will be making changes to enable as many of the soccer community, including fans, players and staff, every opportunity to take in the games.
Hosting the games in Toronto is expected to cost $300 million. The Ontario government has pledged close to $100 million and the federal government is expected to step in as well. Toronto police have said they will require an extra $600,000 to purchase 15 new motorcycles as part of a comprehensive traffic plan to streamline the movement of the teams, FIFA officials, referees and visiting dignitaries, particularly those dignitaries classified as internationally protected people. Toronto police consider motorcycles the most effective way of facilitating movement in a busy city with its attendant traffic congestion.
NEXT – The World Cup games in Vancouver, followed by periodic updates and announcements as the information becomes available.
While continuing to recognize and pay tribute to the more than 40 players in the Canadian Soccer League who played for their country, mostly Canada – the most recent being TFC captain Jonathan Osorio – and also those players who were not capped internationally but moved on to play at a higher level, we think of Skylar Thomas, centre back, who was signed by Charleston Battery and made seven appearances for Canada’s U-23 team, full back Dino Gardner went to Edmonton FC, made appearances for both Canada U-18 and U-20.
We think of the well-travelled forward, the diminutive Allessandro Riggi who made 48 appearances for Montreal FC, with brief stints in Portugal, Spain and Italy and is now playing with AngkorTiger in the Cambodian Premier League, the top tier of Cambodian soccer.
Stefan Vukovic, the CSL leading scorer in 2011, was selected for Canada’s U-18 and U-20 teams and gained interest in Poland, followed by seven appearances for APS Zakynthos in Greece. His most recent club was the CSL’s Brantford Galaxy during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, scoring 11 goals. He was also an assistant coach for Hamilton City.
Ashton Morgan, an impressive defender in the CSL who retired from soccer July 2023, won the MLS Cup with Toronto FC in 2017 and made nine appearances for Real Salt Lake. Morgan was capped 18 times for Canada.
Jonathan Osorio, the standout midfielder who won the Rookie of the Year award in the Canadian Soccer League in 2012, has now been named captain of Toronto FC.
Osorio, who was the second leading goalscorer in that CSL that debut year was given the assignment by head coach John Herdman while training with the Toronto side at Palm Beach, Florida in preparation for the upcoming 2024 MLS season which kicks off February 21. Toronto’s opening match is against NY Red Bulls on February 24 following four exhibition games starting with the first against Nashville on February 2.
Osorio, 31, Toronto-born with Colombian ancestry, played youth soccer with Brampton Youth SC during 2002 to 2005, was then signed by Clarkson Sheridan SC in 2008 to be followed by a stint in Uruguay with the Club Nacional academy in Montevideo.
Settling into a midfielder position, Osorio’s first entry into professional soccer came with Toronto SC of the Canadian Soccer League making 17 appearances and scoring 11 goals during the 2012 season. Osorio has made 71 appearances for Canada’s senior team and has a club record 341 appearances for Toronto FC.
Is the Canadian Soccer League changing its long-standing and successful practice of importing players from other countries to now focus on player development at home ?
The answer is no, the CSL has never wavered in its position that the acquisition of players in a semi-professional environment belongs to the member teams. Signing a player can be on a professional registration agreement or a player can be signed as an amateur and the member club can sign a player or coach from anywhere in the world.
Many member teams have favoured importing professional players and have benefited by improved performance with increasing interest by the fans, while certain teams have searched their community for good amateurs who deserve to be in a more conventional player development environment.
Ideally, certain clubs do both with a roster of players from out of the country together with players from the local community, a blend that is often successful in becoming a strong player development environment while the amateurs play alongside and learn from the seasoned pros.
Serbian White Eagles have been one of the best examples with a procession of high level players brought from Europe, while at the same time placing young players from the local community in the professional CSL.
Serbian White Eagles was the first Canadian club to compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, an annual continental club competition organized by CONCACAF, the confederation that governs North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup automatically qualifies for the World Cup, however, the White Eagles were defeated early in the 1975 CONCACAF Champions Cup competition by Mexican team Monterrey. Nevertheless, the achievement was outstanding and is recognized to this day.
Serbian White Eagles became a member of the CSL in 2006 to be one of the top attractions in CSL history while signing high level players from Europe while also taking the acquisitions a step further by signing Dragoslav Secularac as head coach. Sacularac was legendary, one of the top players in Europe with 41 appearances for Yugoslavia from from 1955 to 1966. Early signings also included outstanding defender Merko Medic, recent head coach for the CSL’s Scarborough SC, and forward – mostly on the left wing – Sasa Viciknez. Nikola Budalic, now on staff for Inter Miami FC of MLS, was also one of the import players in the early days.
FC Vorkuta (now Continentals FC), Brantford Galaxy, Hamilton City and Scarborough SC are also recent clubs that were improved by signing import players.
While Canada’s soccer governance has placed its emphasis on the development of young Canadian players as a pathway for Canada being more competitive on the world stage, the CSL, which for many years was the leading professional league in Canada, has continued to bring seasoned professionals from other countries while holding a view that Canada also needs a stronger and larger professional soccer structure to improve its competitive position.
It’s now more than a decade since the Rethink Management Group, a sports consultancy organization based in San Francisco was commissioned by Canada Soccer to study and recommend a course of action that will lead to Canada being more competitive in world soccer. The Rethink Management Group was founded by James Easton who played most of his professional soccer with the Vancouver 86s following a few appearances for Tampa Bay Rowdies and Hamilton Steelers and a signing by Dundee United of Scotland. Easton failed to make the Dundee first team during his three-year contract. He made seven appearances for Canada’s senior team during the years 1987 to 1992.
The study was commissioned by Canada Soccer in 2010 with a view to improving Canada’s senior men’s team performance after reaching the World Cup finals just once, in Mexico 1986, when the team was eliminated without winning a match or scoring a goal.
The Rethink Management Group considered the Canadian Soccer League preference for importing high level players was a distraction from the domestic player development approach necessary to increase a needed skills level. The recommendations from the study led to the CSL being de-sanctioned by Canada Soccer.
The CSL has maintained a position that development of local players and the benefits obtained by bringing seasoned, experienced high level foreign players to Canada on a temporary permit can accelerate skills development.
While Canadian international Atiba Hutchinson (York Region Shooters) is the most outstanding example of a player from the Canadian Soccer League being selected for his country, there were many more, including 40 players during the three seasons 2010 to 2012. Andre Manders (York Region Shooters) and Bermuda, Adam Janssen (Brampton City United) Canada U-23, Nikola Paunic (Serbian White Eagles) Canada U-20, Odaine Demar (Capital City) Jamaica, are just a few.
“Playing for the Shooters definitely helped me get into the national team of Bermuda and probably helped me get into the starting 11,” he said at the time. “Playing here has helped me physically and mentally”.
While many member teams of the CSL have favoured searching their community for good young amateurs that deserve to be in a player development environment, many member teams have also favoured importing professional players for an immediate benefit on the field of play and improved performance which shows up in the league table.
Others have a mixed roster of players from out of the country together with players from the local community, a blend that often becomes a strong player development environment while the amateurs play alongside and learn from the seasoned pros.
In the coming days we will look even more closely at the CSL.
The CSL is changing, is what we said almost a decade ago on November 20, 2014. That was two days after the CSL’s Rookie of the Year Jonathan Osorio entered the field for Canada at 62 minutes in an international friendly against Panama, a game that ended in a scoreless tie at the Rommel Fernandez Stadium in Panama City.
Osorio was impressive in that debut 2012 season with the CSL’s Toronto SC, scoring 11 goals in 17 appearances, the second highest in the league. He was then quickly invited by Toronto FC to join the MLS team’s Toronto FC Academy.
The Toronto-born midfielder of Colombian ancestry made his debut in the Toronto FC first team on March 9, 2013 and gained his first international cap on May 23, 2013. Osorio earned his first call up to the Canadian senior team for a friendly the following week against Costa Rica.
Osorio was one of 40 CSL players to play internationally, mostly in national youth teams during a period when developing players was a desire and an overriding feature of many CSL clubs. During the period up to 2015 Toronto Croatia, Kingston FC, York Region Shooters and SC Waterloo put the strongest emphasis on developing players. During that time York Region hired Bob De Klerk, a former player, manager and coach for 10 years with the Ajax youth system before moving to North America in 2011 when he joined Toronto FC as first assistant coach.
The player development attitude paid big dividends for the Shooters when the club won the CSL Championship in 2014 and 2017 and the Second Division title with the reserve team in 2016. The First Division side was undefeated in the 1914 season, only the third time the historic achievement has occurred in the CSL.
Developing local players has faded somewhat as CSL teams move to importing players mostly from Europe, a change that brought increasing pace with the greater skills and a more attractive game for the fans.
But is there change in the works yet again ? As more players arrive from elsewhere are we paying enough attention to the development of local players ? We’ll explore that for answers in the days ahead, a heads-up as we move toward a new season.
With approximately one million registered players, the game of soccer continues to be the most popular sport in Canada in terms of participation. There is also an increasing demand for the indoor game with more facilities accommodating soccer during the off season winter months for a year-round activity for many.
The Hanger, as it is known, is a longstanding spacious Toronto indoor soccer location known in earlier times a part of the Downsview air base for the Canadian Air Force and which was also for a period of time occupied by the military. its proximity to Pearson International brought an occasional commercial overseas flight mistakenly landing on the Downsview runway.
But today The Hanger is a sports centre to become newsworthy for other reasons, such as its recent soccer tournament which brought together 48 teams in a highly competitive, two-day 6 v 6 indoor competition of many high level professional players with a background of skills forged in other parts of the world and Canadian players having made the grade in North America. Many of the players are with Canada’s professional leagues during the regular season. There was one U.S.team, from Detroit.
The 48-team competition culminated with the final being played at the Hanger on December 27 when Salo United defeated Republic Athletic Elevate by a 1-0 score. The winning team was a roster of Ukrainian players from the Canadian Soccer League, while the Republic Athletic Elevate side fielded players from the Canadian Premier League and Ontario League 1.
First Touch Football Canada and Sports Leagues Canada are partners in this indoor soccer venture which is named The Classics. The success of this well attended tournament – together with a likelihood of increasingly lucrative prize money for the winners – provides much encouragement for staging it as a regular annual event. “We are also hoping to use this as momentum to further expand competitive money tournaments in the GTA,” said Josh Kohn manager of Sports Leagues Canada.
The concept of ‘money tournaments’ is more advanced over the border where TST (The Soccer Tournament) is presently launching two $1 million winner-take-all (men and women) soccer tournaments. “We are thrilled to add a third event to our portfolio and to have it be our highest stakes competition ever,” said Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of The Tournament on the company’s website. “This instantly becomes one of the highest stakes events in all of women’s sports, with the only thing standing between teams and one million dollars being four exceptional hours of soccer. This will attract some of the most talented players and clubs from around the world,” he said.
In the meantime, Yaroslav Malibo and his winning team of Ukrainian players from the CSL are on top of the world and the players will share in the modesty of $15,000, a winner’s prize that is bound to grow as similar indoor competitions take hold in Canada.
If you have a touch of Spanish heritage, originally from South or Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean or Spain, and you now reside in southern Ontario and love the game of soccer, you may want to keep an eye on the most recent addition to the Canadian Soccer League.
Future Stars FC, also known as the Spanish Future Stars FC, will be worth the trip to Centennial Stadium at Toronto’s west-end where the CSL will kickoff its 2024 regular season around mid-May, playing through to September and followed by the CSL Championship Final late October.
While Future Stars FC is presently in the building stage after gaining approval following the various steps of its membership application to enter Canada’s oldest soccer league founded in 1925, it is clear that the team will be competitive and attractive with a driving force centred in Colombia but determined eventually to be a strong part of Canada’s growing soccer community.
The diversity of Canadian soccer was appealing to the organization’s president Oscar Caribali who resides in Cali, Colombia and vice president Juan Mina who emigrated to Canada from Cali in 2005 and lives minutes from Centennial Stadium. Caribali is presently selecting players in Colombia and Brazil and other parts of South America, while also assisting the selected players gain a visa and approval for temporary residence in Canada. Wellington Zuca De Sousa ls the club’s head coach and with Mina will be scouting local players. Super Stars FC will establish a soccer academy for younger players.
Cali is the largest city in southwest Colombia with a population of more than two million and where soccer (fútbol) is the only sport at the professional level and the passion for the game is high. Other sports, such as basketball, volleyball are in a secondary position at the amateur level. Future Stars will explore the viability of exhibition matches between a team from South America and its CSL side. A team from Sao Paulo, Brazil — the Anarqui Futebol & Amigos — toured North America in 2018 and played the CSL Veteran All Stars at Maple in York Region. The CSL Veteran All Stars took a 3-0 lead at half-time and went on to a 6-2 victory.
“ For our president Oscar Caribali and the entire organization I would like to say how pleased we are to be a team in the Canadian Soccer League. It is our vision to be very competitive and be a helpful proud member of Canada’s soccer community”, said Mina
Danny Dichio made more than 300 appearances for several top flight clubs in England and Italy before moving to Canada to sign for Toronto FC. He took part in the opening debut match, scoring for the history book with Toronto’s first MLS goal against Chicago Fire on May 12, 2007.
Dichio ended his playing career in 2009, remaining with Toronto FC as a coach of the second squad and in 2021 he left Canada to take up coaching with Sacremento of the US-based United Soccer Leagues He was was then appointed to his first head coaching job with Detroit City, also of the USL. Lack of good coaching positions in Canada has been said to be a major reason for the goal scorer going south of the border. A form of brain drain.
To be more competitive on the world stage, Canada needs a stronger professional soccer structure. Countries high on the FIFA list of ratings all have a strong professional soccer base which ensures a robust player development environment to accommodate an abundance of technical positions including coaches. Also, it has been well established that not all of Canada’s soccer player talent wants to go out of the country in pursuit of a professional career.
The launch of the Canadian Premier League in 2017 was a step in the right direction. But it’s not enough and can be a long uneasy journey to maturity which includes sufficient coverage in the media, eventually leading to an increased fan base and a greater attraction for players and coaches.
The Canadian Soccer League, now a regional league in southern Ontario, encourages seasoned senior amateur clubs to step up and consider a place at the semi-pro level. The CSL accommodates many outstanding import players approved for temporary residence in Canada while playing. Such an accommodation raises the standard for greater attraction on the field of play and accelerates the further development of local players of the CSL teams..
The CSL, formed in 1925, has been the starting point for many high level players such as Atiba Hutchinson who ended his playing career in the 2022 World Cup after representing Canada more than 100 times and a sparkling career mostly in Europe. Today, Jonathan Osorio with Toronto FC is one of the most recent from a long list of former CSL players to shine at a higher level. Osario now has more than 70 caps for Canada.
Senior amateur teams in southern Ontario interested in taking a step up to semi-pro level for the 2024 season can obtain more information by sending an email to info@canadiansoccerleague.ca.
When Les Anning gives the match ball a thumping kick from the 4th Official touchline area it arrives with some accuracy on a direct kick spot or corner kick location on the other side of the pitch. Anning’s replacement ball for the one that’s lost deep in the end zone of a Canadian Soccer League match sends a message ‘let’s not keep them waiting’.
But that impressive accurate kick and the body language of the CSL operations manager reflects a unique set of experiences in sport that goes back several decades and takes place on two continents involving both soccer and ice hockey.
It all begins with Les Anning Sr. the father of the CSL’s Les Anning, who was a top flight hockey ace in the UK with more than 600 games for London-based Wembley Lions and others in the 1940s and 1950s. Remarkably, one of the records set in the history of Britain’s ice hockey is Anning’s long run of games played without missing a single match through injury. The elder Les Anning was renowned in Britain as the fastest skater and most consistent scorer of his era. During the years following his arrival from Canada in 1946 he was the talk of the town and sought-after sport celebrity for advertising while playing in the Wembley community located in the north-west of the British capital, a location famous also for nearby Wembley Stadium, home of the England national soccer team.
While in the UK Anning also played for Wembley Monarchs and later for Earl’s Court Rangers in London, Brighton Tigers on the south coast and Ayr Raiders in Scotland. There were many goal scoring feats with All Star appearances and an induction into the British ice hockey Hall of Fame.
Anning Sr. ended his UK and European hockey career in Sweden, returning to Canada in the 1960s.
The CSL’s Les Anning (Jr.) was born and raised in a hockey environment at Rimouski, Quebec, located on the banks of the St.Lawrence. But as time went by, soccer became his game of choice and when the family moved to the UK in his late teens, his skills were obvious enough to be offered high level trials which included London club Tottenham Hotspur.
On returning to Canada and with the friendship of the former Tottenham and Scottish international goalkeeper Bill Brown involved in the Canadian game, Anning was offered an opportunity with the Toronto Falcons, in the 1960s the most recent top pro team based in Toronto and playing out of Varsity Stadium as a member of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL). In the early 2000s Anning was assistant coach with the Toronto Lynx of the US-based A-League while also its equipment manager.
Les Anning Jr. joined the CSL in 2021, was appointed Operations Manager in 2022 and for many years has also been an active referee officiating throughout Southern Ontario.
Sports excellence is obviously deeply ingrained in his personality and in his blood, whatever the game may be.
Today, the CSL and Canadian soccer are the beneficiaries.
A hat-trick by Scarborough substitute striker Gonzalo Matias led his team to a 6-4 victory to capture the regular season Canadian Soccer League title in the opening match of three at the Paramount Stadium Saturday September 16. The intense, highly attractive clash with Serbian White Eagles was followed by an 8-0 drubbing of a struggling Hamilton City side by Toronto Falcons and in another high-scoring encounter due mostly to the prolific Ivliev Sergii scoring four goals, Dynamo Toronto thrashed Ooty Black Pearl 7-1 in the late game.
Defender Marko Johansen’s header opened the scoring for Scarborough at the 7th minute mark and the Toronto east side team went up 2-0 two minutes later when Jordan Web collected a left wing cross to find the net from close in. Forward Devroy Decardova Grey scored the other goal for Scarborough. Matias scored his winning hat-trick after entering the field as a substitute at 60 minutes.
Two goals by Marko Stajic, and singles by Adrian Cann and Vladimir Strizovic allowed Serbian White Eagles to keep pace until the last few minutes, but the Scarborough side held a lead most of the game and near the end increased to a two goal margin at the final whistle.
Scarborough won the regular season league title in 2020 and has been prominent in the playoffs by reaching the last six CSL Championship finals, winning the CSL Championship in 2019 and 2021. Serbian White Eagles won the CSL Championship in 2016 and were regular season league title winners in 2015 and 2022.
A depleted Hamilton City, playing without several players selected for the starting line-up but held up in traffic en route, struggled against an improving Toronto Falcons most of the 90 minutes when the goals came with frequency and with ease. A drive from 15 yards by Artem Nazarenko opened the scoring for Toronto Falcons just five minutes into the game and the midfielder struck a second five minutes later. Singles came from Kyrylo Antonenko and Yazoslav Nidzelskyi, while Nemo Shelia and forward Sviatoslav Dziadykevych each also scored twice.Toronto Falcons ended the season with an 8-3-1WLT for 25 points in third position in the table, while Hamilton City ended in fifth position with a 5-6-1 record for 16 points.
With four goals by Sergii, two by forward Mykola Temniuk and one by Mykyta Pishchulin, Dynamo Toronto dominated the late game 7-1 to lift the winning side into a clear fourth position in the standings. Dario found the net past Dynamo goalkeeper Mosbah Ezzalden for the loan Ooty Black Pearl goal scored at 14 minutes of the first half. Sergii ended the season the 2023 leading goal scorer with a total of 13 and his team registered 6-5-1 for 19 points.
The three games concludes the 2023 season following an announcement that the CSL Championship playoffs will not be played due to financial and venue considerations and that the league will in the coming weeks begin its interviews with organizations considering membership application as expansion teams for 2024.
A first half scoring spree of four goals in six minutes at the Mattamy Sports Park Saturday, September 9, lifted Scarborough to an 8-1 trouncing of Ooty Black Pearl and moved the east Toronto side into a league title opportunity when it meets league-leading Serbian White Eagles in the regular season finale September 16. In two other games on Saturday, Toronto Falcons defeated Weston United 2-0 and Hamilton City scored a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Toronto.
Edmond Amadeo opened the scoring for Scarborough at 17 minutes, the goal coming from a rebound after Black Pearl goalkeeper Paramveer Singh made the save. Gonzalo Matias made it 2-0, scoring off the crossbar at 20 minutes, Petar Dordevic headed in for Scarborough at 21 minutes, scoring again with a drive outside the box at 23 minutes. Jair Cruz made it 5-0 at 39th minute mark and Matias found the net with his second goal at 42 minutes for a 6-0 score at the break.. Midfielder Dario Brezak scored for Ooty Black Pearl at 80 minutes for a 6-1 score and Scarborough truck twice in the late stages on goals by Devroy Decardova Grey and Jaime Grandona at 81 and 86 minutes respectively.
With just one game remaining for teams in the final week of the regular season (Weston United is an exception having played its last regular season match on September 9) Scarborough will meet Serbian White Eagles on September 16, a match that will decide the league title. Serbian White Eagles has a 9-2-0 WLT record for 27 points, while Scarborough has an 8-2-1 record for 25 points, which means win or draw will mean a repeat of the 2022 season’s league title victory for Serbian White Eagles.
Scarborough must win to add to its regular season league title victory of 2020 during a period when Kiril Dimitrov’s squad has also been prominent in the playoffs by reaching the last six championship finals, winning the CSL Championship in 2019 and 2021. Serbian White Eagles won the CSL Championship in 2016 and were regular season league title winners in 2015 and 2022.
Midfielder Nemo Shelia opened the scoring for Toronto Falcons in the opening game of three on Saturday, to be followed 10 minutes later by a strike from Andrii Sukhetskyi and the score held through a scoreless second half for a 2-0 result at the final whistle. Toronto Falcons has a 7-3-1 record for 22 points and retains third position in the table, while Weston United has completed its regular season with a 1-9-2 record for five points in sixth position.
Hamilton City midfielder Aleksander Bozovic scored 17 minutes into the game with Dynamo Toronto and forward Moussa Limane added a second with a drive from the edge of the box. The score held until the last minute when Dynamo Toronto midfielder Ivliev Sergii cut the lead to 2-1 at 90 minutes, a score in favour of Hamilton City at the final whistle. Hamilton City and Dynamo Toronto are tied on points for fourth position in the standings, both having a 5-5-1 record for 16 points.
