CSL NEWS

Despite the comments of Sam Madeiros, head coach of York Region Shooters on June 12 that while the return of his team to the CSL does not forecast a CSL Championship winning performance, the team from just north of Toronto is still on top of the standings despite its recent loss to Continentals FC, a narrow 3-2 score on June 26.

Madeiros is well focused on his roster and particularly those he identifies as promising players that may have a future at high level and which – as one of Canada’s top technicians in the game — he can help along the way. As soccer coach Gerry Gentile once said ‘there’s nothing in the DNA of a Canadian that says he cannot be a great soccer player’.

The Shooters will be tested on Sunday in the opening game against CSL current champions Scarborough SC, now the only team without a loss and anxious to play its next match following an unexpected postponement of its fixture last week. The two teams met in the opening game of this current campaign, the game ending in a 3-3 tie. The Shooters were ahead 2-0 during the first half and led 3-1 at the break before conceding two goals in the second half.

Toronto Falcons held Serbian White Eagles to a 1-1 draw in its last game, an achievement considering the explosive seven goals scored by White Eagles in the 7-3 rout of BGHC 1 on June 18. The Falcons meet BGHC 1 in the second game of Sunday’s triple header at Centennial Stadium. Commenting on the progress of Toronto Falcons as an expansion team, GM Samad Kadirov said “We are building and with the right people are going in the right direction.”

Serbian White Eagles will be attempting to repeat the form demonstrated in the 7-3 victory when on Sunday they meet Continentals FC, an interesting encounter when it appears Continentals form is trending up also.

Individual statistics following Week 5 in the Canadian Soccer League shows Nikola Durkovic of Serbian White Eagles leads the goal scoring with 5, Scarborough SC are undefeated and BGHC 1 are without a victory.

PICTURE: Falcons have launched with a workmanlike roster

While these are early times for drawing any conclusions to the performance of teams in the Canadian Soccer League it’s hard to resist noticing the results of York Region Shooters in the three games played so far.

Top of the standings and undefeated while conceding the lowest number of goals is just one perspective, while who have they played so far, is another. The Shooters have played three teams against established teams Serbian White Eagles, BGHC 1, and the current champions Scarborough SC. The team from just north of Toronto held Scarborough to a 3-3 draw in the opener on May 29, followed up with a 1-0 win over Serbian White Eagles and a 2-0 victory against BGHC 1, the combined team representing Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City.

It’s worth noting that in the 3-3 tie opener against Scarborough the Shooters, returning from a four-year absence  following 14 highly successful seasons in the CSL, held a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes to suggest a sign of things to come. In the two victories that followed, North York did not concede a goal in the 180 minutes of play.

York Region Shooters meet Toronto Falcons in the next three-game day at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west end on Saturday and it’s clear the Falcons have launched with a workmanlike roster despite its 7-0  loss to Scarborough on June 5, a match fraught with controversies and which ended with  Falcons a man short following a red card ejection . Perhaps a more objective assessment of Toronto Falcons its survival of the strong late rally by the opposition in the 3-2 victory over Continental FC on June 12. While Continental FC is not quite the impressive FC Vorkuta the league has become accustomed to, the win by Falcons was well-earned after leading 3-0 for most of the match.

Continentals FC meet Scarborough in the opening match Saturday, a particularly interesting encounter, followed by a Serbian White Eagles vs BGHC 1 clash in a revised schedule.

PICTURE – Sam Medeiros – ‘ We are here to create champions’…

The expansion teams fared well in the three-game header at Centennial Stadium Sunday when York Region Shooters defeated BGHC 1, 2-0 and Toronto Falcons resisted a late rally to defeat Continentals FC, 3-2.  In the third match Serbian White Eagles struck twice in the final few minutes to overcome a 2-0 deficit for a 2-2 draw with Scarborough at the final whistle.

Scarborough pressed early in the opening match and the east Toronto side had the best opportunity to score when forward Gonzalo Matias Cabrera Celis drove past the left post from 10 yards at 40 minutes in a scoreless first half.

Scarborough midfielder Neven Radakovic scored with a volley from outside the box for a 1-0 lead at 46 minutes and forward Moussa Limane made it 2-0 six minute later, the score at the break. Serbian White Eagles pressed in the second half to reduce the lead and after having a penalty kick saved by Scarborough goalkeeper Bismark Koff Oppong following a foul in the box at 83 minutes, the away team  eventually scored at 89 minutes with a deflection into the net by defender Adrian Cann and Dusan Kovacevic struck from outside the box for the equalizer at the 90^th minute mark, a 2-2 draw.

York Region Shooters jumped into a 2-0 lead by midfielder Osman Hussein at 27 minutes and forward Gianpiero Sansonetti at 31 minutes against the BGHC 1 combined team from Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City to win its second game for an unbeaten three games which includes a 3-3 draw that opened  the new season on May 29. With the two goal lead at the interval, the Shooters appeared to have an edge in the second half and the match ended 2-0 at the final whistle.

York Region Shooters’ head coach, the highly regarded Sam Medeiros who is considered one of the top technical members of the Canadian soccer community, was pleased with the result and the team’s impressive start to the new season. “While we don’t expect to win the CSL championship in this first year, we are here to create champions and that is what we intend to do,” he said following the game.

Midfielder Maksym Rohovskyi headed in to put Toronto Falcons into the lead against Continentals FC at the 40^th minute, a 1-0 score at half-time, and Rinat Kasymgereev increased the lead to 2-0 at the 47^th  minute mark. The Falcons scored a third goal eight minutes later when Denys Diachenko took a cross to beat Continentals goalkeeper Andrei Ciurchin at 55 minutes.

Midfielder Sergii Ivliev reduced the lead for Continentals from the penalty spot following a foul in the box at 83 minutes and defender Mykyta Tkachev struck at 90 minutes for a 3-2 score in favour of Toronto Falcons at the final whistle.
Stan Adamson

 

When Serbian White Eagles players walked off the field following the final whistle of their match against York Region Shooters last Sunday, June 5, it was reminiscent of a key semi-final match lost on Sunday, October 17 2021  when with seconds remaining and leading 1-0 their opponents FC Vorkuta tied the game 1-1. Then with almost no time remaining Vorkuta scored from a snap shot just inside the box for a 2-1 victory which took the winner to the ProSound Cup Final on October 24.

Serbian White Eagles did not score in the 1-0 loss to the Shooters last week, it was yet another lost opportunity for a victory following weak finishing during a second half that gave the White Eagles no less than six serious opportunities to score, but failed to find the net.  The poor finishing, a breakdown inside the opponent’s box is a repeat of the 2021 season when the team tallied a dismal approx. one goal per game for a disappointing position in the regular season standings and nowhere to go in the playoffs.

Serbian White Eagles meet Scarborough in the early game this coming Sunday, June 12 and last season’s championship winner looked strong on June 5 with a 7-0 victory over Toronto Falcons.

“We look forward to meeting Scarborough with a side that needs some luck better than last week and  we are improving with new signings,” said SWE president Dragan Bakoc  midweek. Bakoc was referring to defenders Srdjan Simovic and Ivan Cendic, midfielder Nikola Durkovic, also goalkeeper Nikola Timotijevic who steps in for the injured John Trye, out since the Sierra Leone international ‘keeper came crashing down after leaping for a high cross above the six yard line in last year’s ProSound semi final.  Adrian Cann, one of Canada’s top defenders over the years, has also re-signed for this season, but it’s goals that count and whether strengthening the defence will bring form and much needed goals so well demonstrated in the championship years of 2008 and 2016 remains to be seen.

York Region Shooters come off the June 5 victory to meet BGHC 1 at 4 pm on Sunday, the Brantford Galaxy/Hamilton City combined team went down 5-0 to Continentals FC that day. Expansion team Toronto Falcons and Continentals FC clash in the late game at 6 pm.

 Stan Adamson

PICTURE: Adrian Cann, a sparkling career in Canada and Europe

Scarborough SC displayed championship form with a 7-0 rout of Toronto Falcons in the first match of a triple header at Centennial Stadium Sunday, to be followed by a 5-0 Continentals FC victory over BGHC 1. In the late game, York Region Shooters scored a narrow 1-0 win over Serbian White Eagles giving the team above Toronto its first victory since returning to the Canadian Soccer League following a four-year absence.

Scarborough forward Moussa Limane headed in past Falcons’goalkeeper Voloymyr Sydorenko at 14 minutes to open the scoring for the east Toronto side and added a second goal just before the interval. Taha Ilyass scored from the penalty spot at 60 minutes following a foul in the box and Ilyass scored his second for a 4-0 Scarborough lead at 68 minutes. Forward Jordan Webb, Camaal Reid and Lukas Risto each struck late for a 7-0 score at the final whistle.

Toronto Falcons’ midfielder Stanislav Katana was shown the red card at 73 minutes following a second caution.

Continentals FC forward Oleksii Boiko found the net past BGHC 1 goalkeeper Aleksander Nikolic for a 1-0 early lead at the 4^th minute mark and this was followed five minutes later by a goal from Vitalii Tymofienko to give the away side a 2-0 lead. Defender Ernest Astakhov increased the Continentals lead to 3-0 at 23 minutes and Boiko struck a second goal at 45 minutes to give his side a commanding 4-0 lead at the break.

Striker Mykola Temniuk hit number five at 85 minutes for a 5-0 victory for Continentals that never appeared in doubt as the match progressed.

Serbian White Eagles were fielding several new signings, and included former Canadian international defender Adrian Cann who turned professional with York Region Shooters before a sparkling career with Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada’s national team, a stint with Esbjerg of Denmark.

Following a scoreless and even first half Serbian White Eagles took control most of the second half with several near misses and other opportunities to find the net, particularly forward Dusan Kovacevic with a drive inside the box that struck the left post out of reach of Shooters’ goalkeeper Daniel Gosciniak at 50 minutes and opportunity at 69 minutes when Gosciniak saved from close in.

York Region midfielder Osman Hussein scored against the run of play when awarded a penalty kick at 78 minutes following a tripping incident inside the box, a 1-0 lead that held to the final whistle.

The next games in the Canadian Soccer League are at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west end. The all-day admission is $10 and free parking is available.

 

Stan Adamson

Scarborough SC went undefeated in league play last season and capped off a successful campaign by winning the CSL championship. To consider the east Toronto side’s struggle to achieve a draw against expansion team York Region Shooters in the season opener at Centennial Stadium May 29, might be considered, therefore, a shocker. Scarborough was trailing 3-1 during the second half after being down 2-0 during the first 20 minutes.

To put this in some perspective, eight players in the Scarborough line-up at kickoff were starters in the 2021  championship final which ended in a 4-1 victory over the always impressive FC Vorkuta. Midfielder Lukas Risto, who scored twice in last Sunday’s 3-3 draw was also in the championship final as a substitute.

The answer may well be a sign of things to come, that the Shooters may prove to be a handful, capable of making an early bid for honors and the recently appointed head coach, the highly regarded Sam Madeiros, can move the Shooters into that position.

Toronto Falcons held BGHC 1 to a 1-1 draw, a match which could have gone either way to suggest the Toronto side will be competitive in its professional soccer debut season under head coach Willy Giummarra. Sasa Vukovic was head coach for the experienced Brantford-Hamilton combined BGHC 1 squad in an attractive match that was in doubt until the final whistle.

While Serbian White Eagles took a 1-0 second half lead they appeared to be losing their opener with Continentals FC which overcame the deficit to lead 2-1 during the late stages.  A goal by the White Eagles in the final minute of the match for a 2-2 draw was a good reflection of an even contest which included a controversial appeal by Continentals for a penalty kick, leading to a red card for dissent when the match was almost at an end.

The openers suggest a more balanced CSL for 2022.

The CSL has announced a change in the schedule for games to be played at Centennial Stadium on Saturday, June 18 and the revised three-game schedule is now:

 Sat, Jun 18  2 PM Continentals FC vs Scarborough SC

Sat, Jun 18  4 PM Serbian White Eagles vs BGHC 1

Sat, Jun 18 6 PM York Region Shooters vs Toronto Falcons

 The next games at Centennial Stadium are set for Sunday, June 5:

2:00 PM Toronto Falcons vs Scarborough SC

                4:00 PM BGHC 1 vs Continentals FC

                6:00 PM York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

 Day admission for all three games is $10    Parking is free.

 Stan Adamson

Late goals denied victories in all three opening games in the Canadian Soccer League Sunday.

CSL champions Scarborough were held to a 3-3 draw by York Regions Shooters in the opener, Toronto Falcons struck a second half equalizer for a 1-1 tie with BGHC 1, and Serbian White Eagles salvaged a 2-2 result with a goal in the last minute of play against Continentals FC.

The opening day triple header at Centennial Stadium in the Toronto west-end  kicked off a five-month season to be the longest in three years following two abbreviated seasons in 2020 and 2021 during COVID 19 restrictions.

York Region Shooters returned for the first time since 2017 after 14 years in the CSL to surprise CSL current champions Scarborough. York Region took a a 2-0 lead on goals by forward Jacob Yankey finding the net past Scarborough goalkeeper Daniel Gosciniak at eight minutes, and this was followed by a goal by Shooters’ defender Abubahar Hussein at the 19^th minute mark. Scarborough midfielder Lukas Risto cut the lead to 2-1 at 27 minutes but York Region went ahead 3-1 on a second goal by Hussein at the 36 minutes, the score at the break.

Risto scored a second goal for Scarborough at 65 minutes and Camaal Reid struck the equalizer three minutes later for a 3-3 tie that held to the final whistle.

BGHC 1, the combination of Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City, took a 1-0 lead at 23 minutes in the second game when midfielder Nebojsa Cetkovic collected a loose ball in the box to drive it inside the left post, beating Falcons’ goalkeeper Allessandro Ciampaglia from 10 yards. It was 1-0 at the interval. Rinat Kasymgereev struck the equalizer for Toronto Falcons at 74 minutes, a 1-1 final score.

Following a scoreless first half, Serbian White Eagles took a 1-0 lead at 56 minutes in the evening third game of the CSL season opener when Adam Waithe collected a through ball 10 yards out to drive past Continentals’ goalkeeper Olrksandr Musiienko. Continentals’ forward Oleksii Boiko tied the game 1-1 at 67 minutes, deflecting a free kick taken by Sergii Tvliev and leaving White Eagles’ goalkeeper Nikola Postic with no chance.

Serhii Ursulenko put Continentals FC 2-1 up with a goal at 79 minutes, a strong drive from the edge of the box inside the right post and Serbian White Eagles’ midfielder Nikola Durkovic volleyed from 15 yards to tie the game 2-2 at 92 minutes to be followed by the final whistle.

Continentals’ defender Mykyta Trachev was shown the red card by referee Craig Williams for dissent just before the final whistle.

Next games are at Centennial Stadium Sunday, June 5

2 PM – Toronto Falcons vs Scarborough SC

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs Continentals FC

6 PM – York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

 

Stan Adamson

The soccer community has high expectations of Toronto Falcons, a new entry in  the Canadian Soccer League about to kickoff its inaugural season on Sunday, May 29 at Centennial Stadium in Toronto.

Samad Kadirov, the former GM with FC Vorkuta (now named FC Continentals) who left a trail of achievements with that club since Vorkuta entered the CSL in 2017, is the major reason for the anticipated success.  Kadirov, who also coached at times, accumulated an outstanding 10 championship or league titles in the five seasons the club’s first team and reserve side have been in the CSL.

Other principals in the new club are Zhane Gendunov, previously with a trophy- winning FC TFT team in Toronto, and recently signed head coach Willy Giummarra with a high level background  as a goal scorer sometimes midfielder, he appeared in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), played also in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL),  and the A-League, also based in the United States. Giummarra won the MVP award in the 2000 season with York Region Shooters in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) the forerunner league of the CSL, and also had a stint with Darlington FC in England.

Kadirov is placing greater emphasis on local talent to launch Toronto Falcons in the semi-professional CSL, including an early signing of Giummarra’s son, Antonio Giummarra,  also Rinat Kasymgereeve with experience  in several league’s in the Toronto area, Aubrey Mpla, a speedy winger and Oleksandr Novikov, who has been named team captain in a growing list of impressive players from throughout the region.

Toronto Falcons  will open its season against  BGHC 1, the team formed by Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City 1 during the  COVID 19 pandemic restrictions, on Sunday, May 29 when all six teams will be in action.

Sunday May 29 – Centennial Stadium – Toronto

2 PM – Scarborough vs York Region Shooters

4 PM – Toronto Falcons vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs  Continentals FC

Six teams will play a 10-game schedule leading to the playoffs for the CSL Championship, followed at the end of August by the Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy through to the final game at the end of October.

PLAYOFFS – Centennial Stadium

Saturday August 13(Quarter finals) 2 PM and 4 PM

Saturday August 20 (Semi finals) 5 PM  and  7 PM

Saturday August 27 CSL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL    8 PM

Stan Adamson

 

 

 

It’s been many years since Brantford Galaxy or Hamilton City SC were celebrated and in the limelight in the Canadian Soccer League standings or experienced a championship victory following the playoffs.

But that may change anytime now as the two clubs kickoff the upcoming new season once again as a combined BGHC 1 following the merging of player and technical resources which on paper and probably on the field as well are impressive enough to pose a legitimate challenge for the league title, perhaps the  CSL Championship and the Enio Perruzza Memorial Award.

The two teams, while in every respect except on the playing field are independent clubs and business entities, are putting the fans on notice they have a combined pool of more than 30 very good players for 2022, together with great coaching, all of which is expected to bring long overdue results to the two southern Ontario communities located just west of Toronto.

Coaches Matija Popovic of Hamilton City SC and Milan Prpa of Brantford Galaxy will have  the two rosters to choose from as they prepare for a season that will run from the end of May through to the end of October.

The merging of these two teams in a reduced compact CSL during another year with a single stadium venue continues to be necessary while COVID 19 is still a threat. Player movement internationally is still not back to normal in the scaled down semi-professional CSL But unlike many similar leagues around the world, the CSL has not missed a beat and is regaining its strength while on its way getting back to normal.

Hamilton City and Brantford Galaxy will continue to import players from Europe to join with the local squad of mostly permanent residents of Canada. The selection process is not an easy one, but Popovic and Milan Prpa are experienced career coaches, both from a part of Europe known for its strong presence in the world game.

“Respect is important both with your opposition and your own players, including how to accept not only winning, but losing as well,” said the highly regarded Popovic,  a certified coach in Europe with academy experience who retains an impressive detailed knowledge of his player’s skills and how individual players can contribute in a match.

‘Safe goalkeeper Stefan Avramovic’, the ‘quick defender Dinilo Simic’, ‘the very good creative attacking midfielder Sasa Vidovic’, ‘scorer Petar Djordjvic’, ‘reliable midfielder Uros Vidovic’ are just a few of the many players described as part of Popovic’s  knowledge and vocabulary when discussing players.

BGHC 1 will open its season against new entry Toronto Falcons on Sunday, May 29 when all six teams will be in action.

Sunday May 29 – Centennial Stadium – Toronto

2 PM – Scarborough vs York Region Shooters

4 PM – Toronto Falcons vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs  Continentals FC

 Brantford Galaxy Roster

Sasa Vidovic

Uros Vidovic

Miljan Milović

Petar Djordjevic

Aleksandar Bozovic

Aleksa Markovic

Milan Beader

Danilo Simic

Stefan Kozar

Vlade Bubnjevic

Aleksandar Kalabic

Janko Milosevic

Aleksa Rajić

Dušan Sasic

Nemanja Stijisavljevic

Miroslav Lovic

Milan Milosavljević

Head Coach: Milan Prpa

Owner: Bosko Borjan

Hamilton City Roster

Aleksandar Nikolic

Stefan Avramovic

Aleksandar Lasic

Miloš Vuruna

Djordje Vukobrat

Vukasin Kovacevic

Arsen Platiš

Dragan Antanasijevic

Nebojsa Ćetković

Tomislav Pinjuh

Luke Rankin

Joe Willingham

Luka Jankovic

Sandro Rajković

Ilija Bajčetić

Sava Arsic

Head Coach: Matija Popovic

Owner: Sasa Vukovic

 

 

The Canadian Soccer League will kickoff the upcoming season with a new-look name change for one of its most successful teams and included in the 2022 schedule are two new clubs with an attachment from the past.

FC Vorkuta has announced that effective immediately the club will be known as Continentals FC with a new logo and a website  http://continentalsfc.com.

“But our winning attitude is still the same as we kickoff soon with a desire and focus to regain the CSL Championship,” said owner Igor Demitchev in making the announcement. Vorkuta was the reigning CSL champion going into 2021, but were defeated by Scarborough – the current CSL champion – in last season’s final.

FC Vorkuta  entered the CSL in 2017 and were  CSL champions in 2018 and 2020 and took the league title in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The club took the CSL Second Division title in 2018 and 2019 and the ProSound Cup in 2021.

As announced earlier, new teams York Region Shooters and Toronto Falcons will kickoff with the Shooters returning following a hiatus which followed the 2017 season, while the Falcons enter the CSL for the first time with GM Samad Kadirov who held a similar position with FC Vorkuta.  Scarborough, Serbian White Eagles, and BGHC 1 makeup the six-team league.

The following schedule will lead to the CSL Championship playoffs starting with the quarter finals on Saturday, August 13 (2 pm and 4 pm), the semifinals on Saturday, August 20 (5 pm and 7 pm) and the CSL Champioship Final on Saturday, August 27 at 8 pm.

The two top teams at the end of the regular season will gain a bye to the semi-finals. Team third in the standings will play the team ending sixth and the team fourth will play the team ending fifth.

The CSL Championship Final  on August 27 will be followed by the Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy competition.

Sunday May 29 – Centennial Stadium – Toronto

2 PM – Scarborough vs York Region Shooters

4 PM – Toronto Falcons vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs  Continentals FC

Sunday June 5 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – Toronto Falcons vs Scarborough SC

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs Continentals FC

6 PM – York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

Sunday June 12 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – Scarborough SC vs Serbian White Eagles

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs York Region Shooters

6 PM – Continentals FC vs Toronto Falcons

Saturday June 18 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – York Region Shooters vs Toronto Falcons

4 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Continentals FC vs Scarborough SC

Sunday June 26 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – York Region Shooters vs Continentals FC

4 PM – Toronto Falcons vs Serbian White Eagles

6 PM – BGHC 1 vs Scarborough SC

Sunday July 3 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – York Region Shooters vs Scarborough SC

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs Toronto Falcons

6 PM – Continentals FC vs Serbian White Eagles

Saturday July 16 –  Ontario Soccer Centre – Vaughan

2 PM – Scarborough SC vs Toronto Falcons

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs Continentals FC

6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs York Region Shooters

Saturday July 23 -Centennial Stadium

2 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs Scarborough SC

4 PM – York Region Shooters vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Toronto Falcons vs Continentals FC

Saturday July 30 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – Toronto Falcons vs York Region Shooters

4 PM – BGHC 1 vs Serbian White Eagles

6 PM – Scarborough SC vs Continentals FC

Saturday August 6 – Centennial Stadium

2 PM – Continentals FC vs York Region Shooters

4 PM – Scarborough SC vs BGHC 1

6 PM – Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Falcons

 

PLAYOFFS – Centennial Stadium

Saturday August 13

(Quarter finals)

2 PM and 4 PM

 

Saturday August 20

(Semi finals)

5 PM  and  7 PM

 

Saturday August 27

(Final)

8 PM

 

 

Stan Adamson

Canadian Soccer League current champions Scarborough SC will meet expansion team York Region Shooters in the league’s opening game at Centennial Stadium in Toronto’s west end  on Sunday, May 29, a 2 pm kickoff.

The opening schedule announcement at an upbeat  meeting of league owners April 30 sets up a season looking more like pre-COVID 19 times suggesting a quick return to normalcy and that just maybe, happy times are here again.

The end of May opener brings together two contrasting teams, with a Toronto east-end side with several players on its roster having reached a high level while playing in countries overseas, and York Region Shooters displaying for many years a distinct Azzurri blue to reflect its cultural allegiance but demonstrating always a longstanding reputation of developing and using players almost entirely from the Canadian community.

The opener will be a test for the return of  the York Region side. The Shooters last played in the semi-professional CSL in 2017-and it’s with some irony that Scarborough was the opposition in that last game squeaker championship final. York Region Shooters finished  on top with a 5-4 penalty kicks victory following a 1-1 tie.

CSL president Dragan Bakoc announced also at the virtual meeting that six teams will compete for the league championship from a May 29 start, through to an August 29 final, to be followed by the invitational Enio Perruzza Memorial Trophy competition which takes the season into October. A 12=day break is included in the expanded schedule.

“ We are pleased to see the return of York Region Shooters which brings back memories of a team once going the entire season undefeated, and to welcome new club Toronto Falcons. We appreciated the support in the stands last season and the five-month season will  bring even more of those very attractive games, “ said Bakoc following the meeting.

Teams in the upcoming schedule being released soon are  Scarborough SC,  Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Falcons, FC Vorkuta ,York Region Shooters and BGHC 1 which represents Brantford Galaxy and Hamilton City.

Stan Adamson