Stan Adamson

There is little doubt that the Canadian Soccer League has earned a reputation for attractive soccer with good pace while being confined for decades to a regional location in the middle of the country. The league has become well-known also for importing many high level players and a select number of coaches on visas. Most return to their various countries, usually in Europe, while others decide to remain in Canada and eventually become Canadian citizens.

 There are two sides to Serbian White Eagles. On one side the club has been a prominent player in the import game, resulting in considerable success on the field of play, while the less known and less obvious side is the encouragement and development of its young kinship that has resulted in a number of players of star quality in the Canadian soccer community.

 The transfer of good players from overseas to the Canadian club began in earnest when in 1973 nine players were brought from the former Yugoslavia to form a more serious professional structure and  more competitive in the National Soccer League, the forerunner league of today’s CSL. Serbian White Eagles has usually exhibited a proud stance and anything less than impressive does not bode well in the local Serbian community.

 Success came in 1975 when Serbian White Eagles became the first Canadian team to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The Toronto area team lost to Mexican side CF Monterrey in Mexico, but  to reach the final was a gigantic step which attracted a lot of attention in the community and with the media.

 Serbian White Eagles then took a step back to play at the amateur level and re-grouped in 2006 to become a member of the semi-professional Canadian Professional Soccer League, today’s CSL. Dragoslav Sekularac, a former Yugoslav international with more than 40 national team appearances and a reputation for having been one of the top players in Europe, was brought to Canada as head coach. It all paid dividends as Serbian White Eagles were back in the spotlight to become one of the most successful clubs in the CSL’s long history. The team was also one of the most popular attractions in Canadian soccer while breaking records with high home and away attendances.

 While players brought from Europe take most of the credit for the Toronto team’s considerable success, there has also been an underlying player development program going on in the local community and the recent appearance of Dejan Jakovic in the past season’s CSL games is a reminder of this.

 Born in the former Yugoslavia, Jakovic was kindergarten age when in 1991 he arrived with his family to settle in Canada. He played his youth soccer in Toronto, Brampton and Vaughan and also at the University of Alabama. He was a standout to eventually be considered good enough to earn a trial with Red Star Belgrade. Jakovic was retained to play several games for the top Serbian club and it was during this period he was also considered by coaches at home to be one of the top youth defenders in Canada. He was impressive while appearing for Canada’s under 23 side and debuted for the Canadian national team in a winning game against Martinique in 2008. During the following decade, Jakovic made 41 national team appearances.

 Jakovic signed for DC United of Major League Ssoccer in 2009, making approx. 100 appearances over four seasons as a well-established defender. He then ventured to Japan to accept a contract with Shimizu 5-Pulse, a top club in that country, playing for three years before returning to MLS with New York Cosmos and Los Angeles FC. This was followed by a brief stint with Las Vegas Lights of the USL.

 Returning to Canada in 2021, Jakovic joined Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League and was then signed by Serbian White Eagles in the 2022 season, playing his first game, a 1-1 draw against Toronto Falcons on June 26.

 At 37 and in the twilight of a great career Jakovic played in his usual centre-back role while playing out the CSL season. At 6ft. 2 inches he was one of the tallest players on the field, showed good positional play including moving up for his team’s corner kicks, challenged hard when necessary, distributed the ball with accuracy and exhibited a style that reflected the great player he has been, and still is to this day. “It’s great to have Dejan on the side and he’s made a big difference,” said club president Dragan Bakoc at a game early August.

 Following a slow early season start, Serbian White Eagles went on to win its fifth CSL regular season title since entering the league in 2006.

Stan Adamson

Scarborough will extend an unusual achievement to now be in the CSL championship final for the sixth time in succession when the Toronto east side team meets opposition Continentals FC at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto on August 27.

Scarborough defeated York Region Shooters 3-1 in the second game of a double-header semi-final at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, while Continentals FC eliminated Serbian White Eagles 2-0 in the opener.

Serbian White Eagles kicked off with confidence in the first game of a double header following a regular season ending with a four-game winning streak that decided the league title. Several early attempts following kickoff  came close to scoring, including a drive by midfielder Nikola Durkovic intended for the left corner and saved by Continentals’ goalkeeper Anatolii Starushchenko. Serbian White Eagles’ defender Adrian Cann drove over the bar at 13 minutes, and other near misses followed.

But it was a breakaway opportunity for Continentals that changed the course of the game at 28 minutes when White Eagles’ goalkeeper Marko Kostic met the ball in a 50/50 challenge on the edge of the box. Kostic was still handling the ball inches outside of the 18 yd. line, causing the assistant referee to raise the flag and leaving a yellow or red card decision for the offence up to the referee. The referee chose the red card which suggests a deliberate attempt to stop an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Kostic was replaced by Bojan Zoranovic who was beaten by a deflected shot by Continentals midfielder Bogdan Borovskyi three minutes later and the ball crossed the line inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.  Serbian White Eagles had near misses closing in on the end of the first half, including a strong drive from 20 yars that crashed the crossbar. It was 1-0 at the interval.

Continentals midfielder Basel Rashrash struck from seven yards at the 78^th minute for a 2-0 result at the final whistle.

Continentals’ coach Viktor Raskov commented following the game of Serbian White Eagles being a good team “But following the goal we were in a position to control the game and that went well with our players,” he said.

Scarborough took the lead at seven minutes on a goal by Misel Klisara and York Region Shooters tied on a goal by forward Mahmood Mehdi at the 33^rd minute mark. The second half was well played and at times physical with frequent cautions and ended with a 1-1 tie and extra time.

York Region Shooters defender Sabree Doka was shown a second yellow card and was ejected, followed by a Scarborough penalty kick for Klisara’s second goal 17 minutes into extra time, a 2-1 lead resulting from a hand ball in the box.  

Scarborough forward Taha Ilyass struck Scarborough’s third goal 23 minutes into extra time for a 3-1 result at the final whistle.

Scarborough head coach Mirko Medic was surprised to not be playing against Serbian White Eagles in the upcoming final following that team’s recent form in winning the league title, “but we are pleased to be in there after missing so many early chances to score. We picked it up and then played well. I now look forward to the final with Continentals and expect a tough game,” he said

The CSL Championship Final is set for Saturday, August 27, an 8 pm kickoff at Lamport Stadium in Toronto

Assuming Continentals FC is a re-branding of the original expansion team that entered the Canadian Soccer League in 2017 – which it is – that means that all four of the semi-final teams at Esther Shiner Stadium this coming Saturday have won the CSL Championship title in years gone by. Continentals have won the title twice, in 2018 and 2020, Scarborough – which entered the CSL in 2015 – has also won the championship title twice, in 2019 and 2021. York Region Shooters first joined the league in 1998 and were champions in 2006, 2014 and 2017.

Serbian White Eagles is a club steeped in Canadian soccer history going back to 1968 eventually becoming a professional team in the National Soccer League, a forerunner of today’s CSL. Serbian White Eagles won the NSL championship in 1974 to then become the first Canadian soccer club to compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.  White Eagles have won the CSL championship twice, in 2008 and 2016.

There is no favorite in this season’s championship playoffs as Serbian White Eagles get ready to face Continentals FC in the upcoming semi-finals this coming Saturday, a 4 pm kickoff at Esther Shiner Stadium, to be followed at 6 pm by York Region Shooters vs Scarborough SC. The CSL Championship Final will be played at Lamport Stadium in Toronto the following week on Saturday, August 27 at 8 pm.

White Eagles struggled to find the net in 2021 with an average just one goal per game in the regular season games and repeated its poor scoring performance during the opening weeks of this season. New signings started to pay dividends with a 7-3 result against BGHC 1 on June 18 and a 10-1 trouncing of the same team July 30 to start a regular season-ending winning streak of four games. The team vaulted into the top position in the standings to capture the league title in an amazing turnaround and change of fortune.   Serbian White Eagles are in top form and may have  edge in these playoffs for the championship.

Continentals FC, which finished fourth in the final standings is the semi-final opposition to the White Eagles and while the team was a last year’s championship finalist and league title winner it has not displayed the consistency of recent years during the regular season just ended. Nevertheless, Continentals  remains a force and yet again very capable of ending the current campaign as champion. Continentals will be missing defender Illia Piltenko for this Saturday’s semi-final while under suspension.

Scarborough, with its excellent defensive record of conceding an average less than one goal per game, will be tough in defence of the championship despite finishing third in the standings where only four points separated the top four teams. While usually close to the top of the table at season end, the east Toronto team has a remarkable record of being a championship finalist in each of the last five seasons which includes two championship victories.

York Region Shooters completed a regular season schedule impressively while at times holding top position in the standings after returning to the CSL following an absence of four years. The Shooters were CSL champions and third in the league standings on taking a hiatus in 2017 and returned to this new campaign holding the current CSL champions Scarborough to a 3-3 tie in the opener on May 29.The runner-up position in this season’s regular season standings speaks volumes of the team’s chances to pull off a semi-final victory against Scarborough on Saturday and the team based in York Region cannot be ruled out of a repeat of the championship win of 2017. Missing on Saturday will be defender Carlex Mbobda and midfielder O. Hussein, both serving suspensions.

Saturday’s semi-final games add up to an intriguing affair with results hard to predict, but with much attractive soccer to see while deciding the two teams to advance to the championship final match the following week.

CSL CHAMPIONSHIP –  SEMI-FINALS

Saturday, August 20, Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto 

 4 pm  Serbian White Eagles vs Continentals FC

6 pm  York Region Shooters vs Scarborough SC

 CSL CHAMPIONSHIP – FINAL

Saturday, August 27 at 8 pm, Lamport Stadium, Toronto

Scarborough SC advanced to the semi-finals of the CSL Championship following a 3-2 close contest at Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday.

But it was not an easy passage while opposition BGHC 1, the combined team from Brantford and Hamilton, fought every step of the 90 minutes while on a mission to win its first game of the season and in doing so upset the Toronto east side team and current champions.

Two early goals, at three minutes and five minutes, gave Scarborough the start needed to overcome a surprisingly confident BGHC 1 that rallied the game to a 2-2 tie just before the interval and setting the stage for a possible second half southwestern Ontario upset.

Defender Misel Klisara opened the scoring for Scarborough at the 3-minute mark, lobbing the ball into the top corner out of reach of BGHC goalkeeper Janko Milosevic and Neven Radakovic made it 2-0 two minutes later.

Petar Djordjevic struck for BGHC 1 at 12 minutes and Sandro Rajkovic equalized at 42 minutes, collecting the ball on the right wing corner of the box for a drive that set-up the 2-2 tie at the break.

Midfielder Vladimir Zelenbaba entered the game as a substitute at 45 minutes to meet a cross and head into the net from close in at the 48^th minute mark. But the match was not lost for BGHC showing determination to score an equalizer and more in an attractive, well-played encounter that ended 3-2 in favour of Scarborough.

A jubilant Scarborough GM Kiril Dimitrov agreed it was a close game, “But we expect to win the championship again, “ he said in repeating previous season predictions that have been remarkably accurate.

The semi-finals will be played on Saturday, August 20 at Esther Shiner Stadium, a Serbian White Eagles vs Continentals FC and York Region Shooters vs Scarborough double header expected to kickoff at 4 pm

The Canadian Soccer League has announced that the Continentals FC vs Toronto Falcons match scheduled for Esther Shiner Stadium Saturday, August 13 at 4 pm has been cancelled for reasons of Toronto Falcons failing to meet the requirements of the CSL Championship competition.

There will be one game only  – the Scarborough vs BGHC 1 quarter final match will kickoff as previously scheduled at 6 pm.

Continentals FC will advance to the semi-finals, together with Serbian White Eagles and York Region Shooters, and the winner of the Scarborough vs BGHC 1 game.

The semifinals are scheduled for August 20, to be followed by the CSL Championship Final the following week.

The Canadian Soccer League playoffs get underway at Esther Shiner Stadium in mid-town Toronto this coming Saturday, August 13 when four teams, Continentals FC, Toronto Falcons, the current CSL champions Scarborough and BGHC 1 will play two quarter-final games in their bid for the CSL Championship.

The winners will then draw against league title winners Serbian White Eagles and runners-up York Region Shooters, both teams gaining a bye to the semifinals after finishing one-two in the final regular season standings. The semifinals are scheduled for August 20, to be followed by the CSL Championship Final the following week.

Final positions in the league standings, which determined the playoff schedule, were delayed following the abandonment of the Continentals FC vs York Region Shooters last game of the regular season on August 6 and which was eventually ruled as a 0-0 draw which placed York Region Shooters in the runner-up position and Continentals FC in fourth position in the table.

CSL Championship Playoffs

Quarter-finals

Saturday, August 13     4 pm  Continentals FC vs Toronto Falcons

Saturday, August 13     6 pm   Scarborough vs BGHC 1

 Admission to both games is $10 and there is free parking at Esther Shiner Stadium which is located on Bathurst Street just north of Finch Avenue.

Serbian White Eagles’ league title win is the sixth since 1974 with victories in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015.

CANADIAN SOCCER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2001 – 2021

2001 – St. Catharines Wolves

2002 – Ottawa Wizards

2003 – Brampton Hitmen

2004 – Toronto Croatia

2005 – Oakville Blue Devils

2006 – Italia Shooters

2007 – Toronto Croatia

2008 – Serbian White Eagles

2009 – Trois-Rivieres Attak

2010 –Brantford Galaxy

2011 – Toronto Croatia

2012 – Toronto Croatia

2013 – SC Waterloo

2014 – York Region Shooters

2015 – Toronto Croatia

2016 – Serbian White Eagles

2017 – York Region Shooters

2018 – FC Vorkuta

2019 – Scarborough SC

2020 — FC Vorkuta

2021 –Scarborough SC

Serbian White Eagles moved into the top position in the Canadian Soccer League standings following a 2-0 victory over Toronto Falcons, Scarborough defeated BGHC 1-0,  and a third game between Continentals FC and York Region Shooters played at Esther Shiner Stadium in mid-town Toronto Saturday was abandoned  near the end of the first half following a period of dissent and physical altercations that could not be controlled sufficiently by the match officials to continue the play.

Vladimir Strizovic  opened the scoring for Serbian White Eagles at 38 minutes heading into the net from a left wing cross by Srdjan Simovic for a 1-0 lead at the break.

Strizovic added a second goal at 77 minutes, a shot inside the left post out of reach of Toronto Falcons’ goalkeeper Allessandro Ciampaglia.The goal followed several near misses when Marko Stajic of White Eagles hit the post and midfielder Marko Krasic came close to scoring. The goals by Strizovic moves the striker into the leading scorer position with nine goals for the season.

Toronto Falcons was reduced to 10 men at 40 minutes when Stanislav Katana was shown the red card for serious dissent, and the team was reduced to nine when Maksym Rohovskyi was ejected at 87 minutes following an untidy challenge.

Serbian White Eagles complete its regular season with a 5-1-4 WLT record for 19 points and will gain a bye in the quarter-final opening games of the playoffs for the CSL Championship

Scarborough took the lead at 43  minutes, a goal by forward Milos Scepanovic in a well played close encounter which included new signings Ivan Stojakovic and Vladimir Dojcinovic in the BGHC 1 line-up.. The 1-0 victory gives Scarborough a  4-1-5 record for 17 points and ending its regular season schedule to now defend the 2021 CSL Championship victory.  BGHC 1 is at the foot of the table with a 0-8-2 record.

The Continentals vs York Region Shooters opening game of three was scoreless and close to the interval when Continentals found the net at 45 minutes, a goal disallowed by the referee when the flag was raised by an assistant. A verbal dispute between the players led to a further confrontation followed by a confrontation with match officials.

Three players, Serhii Ursulenko and Illia Piltenko of Continentals and Osman Hussein of York Region Shooters were shown the red card and ejected. Piltenko and Hussein were ordered off for Violent Conduct, while Usulenko received two cautions before being shown the red card for making contact with a match official. The match officials considered there was not sufficient control to continue and the match was abandoned.

CSL Championship – playoff analysis

  The August 6 games ended the regular season schedule with the exception of the abandoned Continentals vs York Region Shooters game, the status of which will be decided by the CSL Discipline Panel.

The CSL Championship playoffs:

The following are the tie breaker In the event of a tie on points:

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.

If still tied, team with the lowest disciplinary points according to FIFA Fair Play rules.

Playoff quarter-finals: The first two teams in the final league standings will receive a bye to the semi-finals. Serbian White Eagles will end the season first or second and will qualify. Either York Region Shooters or Continentals will also qualify for a bye.

The third team in the final league standings will play the sixth team. York Region Shooters, Scarborough or Continentals will occupy the third position in the standings. BGHC 1 will occupy the sixth position .

The fourth team in the league standings will play the fifth position. Scarborough or Continentals will occupy the fourth position. Toronto Falcons will occupy the fifth position.

The status of the Continentals vs York Region Shooters game and the early playoff games with venues will be announced during the week of August 8

While the repair work continues at Centennial Stadium, it is necessary to again transfer Canadian Soccer League games to another location. This coming Saturday, August 6 we relocate to Esther Shiner Stadium in North York.

Sat. Aug 6     2 pm  Esther Shiner Stadium     Continentals FC vs York Region Shooters

Sat. Aug 6     4 pm  Esther Shiner Stadium     Scarborough SC vs BGHC 1

Sat. Aug 6     6 pm  Esther Shiner Stadium     Serbian White Eagles vs  Toronto Falcons

This represents the final games in the regular season standings and details for the playoffs leading to the CSL Championship to be followed by the Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy will be released during the week of August 8

Serbian White Eagles, the team which in earlier times had trouble finding the opponent’s net, continued its recent transformation to become the most prolific team in the Canadian Soccer League so far this season with a crushing 10-1 defeat of BGHC 1 Saturday.

In the other two matches played at the Churchill Meadows and Mattamy Sports Park in Mississauga, Scarborough suffered its first defeat in regular season play since the 2020 season, losing 1-0 to Continentals FC, and York Region Shooters beat Toronto Falcons 3-1 in a physical encounter that resulted in three players being shown the red card.

Serbian Eagles’ forward Dusan Kovacevic led his team with four goals in the one-sided opening match, finding the net twice in the first half and twice following the interval. Vladimir Strizovic and  Marko Pavicevic each scored twice while midfielder Nikola Durkovic and Adam Waithe each struck  singles. The score at the break was 4-1.

Tomislav Pinjuh struck for BGHC at the 23^rd minute.\

Three players with Serbian White Eagles now league the league’s goal scoring with Kovacevic on top with seven, Durkovic and Strizovic each have six. Serbian White Eagles move to second in the standings with a 4-1-4 WLT record for 16 points, while BGHC are 0-7-2 for two points.

Forward Mahmoud Mehdi opened the scoring at the 35^th minute for York Region Shooters in the second match for a 1-0 lead and Falcons’defender Vadym Kucherevskyi  beat Shooters’ goalkeeper Gieson Njehia from outside the box to tie the game at the 82nd minute mark.

Jordan Davis Ewan gave Shooters a 2-1 lead at 88 minutes and midfielder Michael Nwobosi increased the lead to 3-1 at 93 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

A physical game overflowed into an altercation resulting in injury during the second half which brought charges of Serious Foul Play and Violent Conduct. There were also Unsporting Behaviour decisions by the referee, one of which resulted in a second yellow card to Gumen Osypenko of Toronto Falcons who was ejected at 63 minutes, to be followed by a Serious Foul Play call against Carlex Mbobda of York Region Shooters at 77 minutes and a Violent Conduct decision against Vallerii Yarmosh of Toronto Falcons, both of whom were also shown the red card.

The victory moves York Region Shooters to a one point lead in the standings with a 5-2=2 record for 17 points, while Toronto Falcons are in fifth position with a 1-4-4 record for seven points.

It was well-played and a result in doubt most the late game between Scarborough and Continentals FC until striker Mykola Temniuk broke the scoreless encounter with a goal at 75 minutes, a strong drive that caught the top left corner out of reach of Scarborough goalkeeper Christan Moraldo.

Continentals FC improve to a 4-2-3 record for 15 points, now third in the standings, while Scarborough with a 3-1-5 record and 14 points drop to fourth following the long, unbeaten streak in regular season games.

There are three games scheduled to end the regular season on Saturday, August 6, to be followed by the CSL Championship playoffs, then the Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy competition through to October.

Due to vandalism that has resulted in damage to the playing surface at Centennial Stadium, all three matches scheduled to be played at that ground this coming Saturday, July 30 have been relocated to the Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Mattamy Sports Park in Mississauga.

The games scheduled at this location with a re-arrangement of the schedule with changed kickoff times for two of the three games are:

Location of the Churchill Meadows Community Centre is 5320 Ninth Line, Mississauga, and further details can be obtained by accessing:

Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Mattamy Sports Park Direction

Due to the uncertainty  of the timetable for the repairs to be completed to the playing surface at Centennial Stadium, there may be additional  relocation of games in the near future. All changes will be announced.

York Region Shooters struck two late goals to defeat BGHC 4-2 to take a position tied on points with Scarborough at the top of the standings following Saturday’s three games in the Canadian Soccer League. Scarborough tied 1-1 with Serbian White Eagles and it was the same 1-1 score in the Toronto Falcons vs Continentals late game, all three games at Centennial Stadium in Toronto.

It was an attractive opening match with both teams conceding little most of the first half until Scarborough’s Milos Scepanovic took a left wing cross to shoot just wide,  then two minutes later at 42 minutes midfielder Neven Radakovic drove the ball into the net from 20 yards and out of reach of Serbian White Eagles goalkeeper Adrian Ibanez for a 1-0 lead at the break.

Scarborough had three new signings in the game roster with midfielder Maximilian Never in the starting lineup, forward Murillo Gabriel entering the game as a substitute at 18 minutes and defender Joao Emmanuel.

Scarborough had a second goal ruled offside at 49 minutes and Vladimir Zelenbaba shot just wide for Scarborough 10 minutes later, but Serbian White Eagles scored an equalizer at 76 minutes when Vladimir Strizovic headed in a cross from the right wing past Scarborough goalkeeper Christan Moraldo. It was Strizovic’s 4^th goal of the season. It was 1-1 at the final whistle.

York Region Shooters took a 1-0 lead at 27 minutes when defender Yussuf Yussuf found the net past BGHC goalkeeper Janko Milosevic at 27 minutes and Petar Djordjevic equalized for BGHC 10 minutes later. Aleksandar Bozovic struck for a 2-1 BGHC lead at 45 minutes, the score at the interval.

Shooters equalized with a goal by midfielder Osman Hussein at the 70^th minute mark. A 2-2 score, and two late goals, the first at 89 minutes when Faris Abubaker scored, then at 92 minutes when Mahmoud Mehdi completed the scoring for a 4-2 final in favour of York Region Shooters.

Two first half goals within less than three minutes decided the outcome of the late game, an opening goal at 37 minutes by Continentals FC  when forward Mykola Temniuk beat Falcons’ goalkeeper Vasyl Shpuk and the equalizing goal scored by Toronto Falcons’ midfielder Aubrey Mpala. There were two opportunities during the second half when Continentals’ forward Oleksii Boiko drove the ball just wide from 15 yards at the 59^th minute mark and at 88 minutes defender Borys Orlovskiy had a shot saved by Shpuk. The game ended 1-1.

It’s a very close race at the top of the standings with just two points separating the top three which means either of these three could end the day at Centennial Stadium on top, or second or could be the trailing team of the three.

Scarborough is back on top and continues to be the only unbeaten side, but Serbian White Eagles now second in the standings are in fine form defensively and in attack to be unbeaten in the last five games while scoring 14 goals. It’s not surprising that three of the top five in the leading goalscorer chart, Durkovic, Kovacevic and Strizovic, are with Serbian Eagles. Scarborough and Serbian White Eagles tied 2-2 in their game of June 12.

York Region Shooters are favoured to win over winless BGHC 1, the team formed by Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City on a temporary basis during the restrictions of COVID 19. The Shooters will be out to make amends after running into in-form Serbian White Eagles, losing narrowly on July 16.

Continentals FC and Toronto Falcons clash in the late game Saturday when Falcons will be out to repeat a narrow, but impressive victory on June 12 for the side’s first win in its inaugural CSL season.

A day admission for all three games is $10 and parking at Centennial Stadium is free.