Toronto Croatia

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Toronto Croatia romped by a score of 7-0 over St. Catharines Wolves to go seven points clear in the First Division standings in the only game played in the Canadian Soccer League Wednesday night.

SC Toronto secured a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over Brampton City Utd in the Canadian Soccer League Friday night and two other games scheduled were postponed due to wet ground conditions at Cove Road in London and malfunctioning of the lights at Downsview Park in Toronto.

Following a scoreless first half during which SC Toronto had most the play, midfielder Dane Roberts opened the scoring for the home side at Lamport Stadium in Toronto, he intercepted a back-pass to Brampton goalkeeper Jason Lopes to find the net from close range at the 49^th minute mark.

Jonathan Osorio increased the lead for SC Toronto when his drive from 35 yards beat the Brampton goalkeeper for a 2-0 score at the 65^th minute mark.

Brampton cut the lead two minutes later, a goal be midfielder David Guzman for a 2-1 score and Brampton continued to press in the late stages of the game, but failed to find an equalizer and the game ended 2-1 in favour of SC Toronto.

SC Toronto improve to 12-2-4 WLT for 40 points for second place in the standings and are assured of a playoff spot following the win. Brampton City Utd are at 7-8-4 for 25 points and tied for a seventh place in the standings with three other clubs.

Two additional games in the CSL First Division were postponed Friday, the first postponement came from London where the City’s game with Mississauga Eagles FC could not be played following heavy rain in the morning. The TFC Academy vs. Montreal Impact Academy game could not be played due to a malfunction of the lights just before kickoff at Downsview Park.

There is one game in the CSL Second Division cancelled, the Serbian White Eagles vs Kingston FC game, due to be played at Eglinton Flats Saturday evening, is off.

Remaining games this weekend:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat, Sep 15 Kalar 7 PM Niagara United vs Montreal Impact Academy

Sat, Sep 15 Invista Centre 7 PM Kingston FC vs North York Astros

Sun, Sep 16 Lions Park 6 PM Brantford Galaxy vs Serbian White Eagles

Sun, Sep 16 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs SC Waterloo

Sun, Sep 16 Windsor Stadium 7 PM Windsor Stars vs St. Catharines Wolves

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Sep 15 Lions Park 4 PM Brantford Galaxy B vs TFC Academy II

Sat, Sep 15 Kalar 4 PM Niagara United B vs Brampton City Utd B

Sat, Sep 15 Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs Kingston FC B CANCELLED

Sun, Sep 16 Windsor Stad. 5 PM Windsor Stars B vs St. Catharines Wolves B

Sun, Sep 16 St. Joan Arc 8:30 PM York Region Shooters B vs SC Waterloo B

Toronto Croatia, SC Toronto and York Region Shooters, all bidding for the CSL league title, registered decisive wins in the three games played in the Canadian Soccer League  Friday night.

SC Toronto roughed up Brantford Galaxy, 6-1 at Lamport Stadium, while Toronto Croatia maintained a four-point lead at the top of the table with a 4-1 victory over TFC Academy at Downsview Park, and York Region Shooters appeared determined to stay in contention with a well earned 4-1 away win over Mississauga Eagles FC at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Toronto Croatia went ahead at the 24^th minute on a goal by Tihomir Maletic and the prolific striker made it 2-0 at 39 minutes with a drive that struck the crossbar before entering the net. The goals were Maletic’s 12^th and 13^th of the season.

Hayden Fitzwilliams increased the Croatia lead to 3-0 at 51 minutes and at 87 minutes TFC Academy scored from the penalty spot to make it 3-1, a goal by Mario Kovacevic following an untidy challenge inside the box.

Marin Vucemilovic Grgic struck for Toronto Croatia two minutes later, also from the penalty spot for a 4-1 final score.

The win lifted Toronto Croatia’s record to 12-1-5 WLT for 41 points on the season and the current CSL champions are the first team to qualify for a playoff berth. TFC Academy are at 10-4-3 for 33 points and are in fourth position in the standings.

Midfielder Anthony Di Biase opened the scoring for SC Toronto in their game against Brantford Galaxy and Ranko Golijanin equalized for the visitors at the 15^th minute mark.

Midfielder Dominic Roberts made it 2-1 for SC Toronto at 42 minutes, the score at the break.

Jonathan Osorio scored twice for the Toronto side in just three minutes, the first at 62 minutes and his second and SC Toronto’s fourth at 65 minutes for a 4-1 lead, and at 76 minutes Roberts beat Brantford goalkeeper Zoran Pusica for his second goal and a 5-1 SC Toronto lead. Di Biase scored his second and SC Toronto’s sixth for a 6-1 score that held to the final whistle.

SC Toronto are in second position in the standings with a 11-2-4 record for 37 points, while Brantford Galaxy continue their slump and now have a 8-8-1 record for 25 points.

York Region Shooters were also full marks for their victory over Mississauga Eagles FC and it was defender Fitzroy Christey who opened the scoring for a 1-0 Shooters lead at 3 minutes.

Midfielder Matthew O’Connor made it 2-0 at 10 minutes and Chris Thomas increased the lead to 3-0 at 36 minutes.

Mississauga Eagles were awarded a penalty following a hand ball at 38 minutes and Jose Melo found the net for a 3-1 score, but Kadian Lecky struck the fourth goal for York Region Shooters four minutes later and the game ended 4-1 in favour of the York Region.

The Shooters are 9-1-8 on the season for 35 points and have moved into third position in the standings, while Mississauga Eagles FC are at 7-7-4 for 25 points.

The remaining games this weekend are:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat, Sep 8 Kalar 7 PM Niagara United vs London City

Sat, Sep 8 Invista Centre 7 PM Kingston FC vs Serbian White Eagles

Sun, Sep 9 Claude Robillard 2 PM Montreal Impact Academy vs Serbian White Eagles – New ground location

Sun, Sep 9 Lions Park 6 PM Brantford Galaxy vs Toronto Croatia

Sun, Sep 9 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs TFC Academy

Sun, Sep 9 St. David SS 7 PM SC Waterloo vs North York Astros

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Sep 8 Hershey Centre 4 PM Mississauga Eagles FC B vs SC Waterloo B

Sat, Sep 8 Kalar 4 PM Niagara United B vs SC Toronto B

Sat, Sep 8 Invista Centre 5 PM Kingston FC B vs Serbian White Eagles B

Sat, Sep 8 Windsor Stadium 5:30 PM Windsor Stars B vs Brantford Galaxy B – GAME CANCELLED

Sun, Sep 9 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Brampton City Utd B

Sun, Sep 9 St. Joan of Arc 8:30 PM York Region Shooters B vs TFC Academy II

Toronto Croatia are unbeaten in their last seven games and have suffered just one loss all season, at SC Waterloo by a 1-0 score on July 8 to keep up the impressive performance of 2011 (18-3-5) when they finished runners-up in the standings (SC Toronto finished on top) and went on to capture the CSL title.

The champions are on a similar path with just a little more than a month to go before the regular season wraps up and the CSL moves into the playoffs.

Toronto Croatia are at home to Niagara United this Labour Day weekend as the only team of the top four in action, so their league-leading top position is not under threat.

Windsor Stars are in fifth position in the standings and will be making a strong bid against Brampton City Utd to make the most of their game at Victoria Park on Sunday, while Mississauga Eagles FC – eighth position in the table – will be hoping for three points from their home clash with close-by Serbian White Eagles.

The weekend games:

FIRST DIVISION

Fri, Aug 31  Cove Road 8:30 PM London City  vs Brampton City Utd 

Fri, Aug 31  Centennial Stadium 9 PM Serbian White Eagles vs Mississauga Eagles FC

Sun, Sep 02  Victoria Park  3 PM Brampton City Utd  vs Windsor Stars

Sun, Sep 02  Centennial Stadium 8 PM Toronto Croatia  vs Niagara United 

SECOND DIVISION

Fri, Aug 31  Downsview Park 8 PM TFC Academy II vs York Region Shooters B

Sat, Sep 01  Lions Park  4 PM Brantford Galaxy B vs St. Catharines Wolves B

Sat, Sep 01  Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs Mississauga Eagles FC B

Sun, Sep 02  Victoria Park  5:30 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Windsor Stars B

SC Toronto scored an impressive 5-0 away victory over London City to take over the top spot in the CSL First Division Friday, and in one other game played that night, TFC Academy were also decisive with a 4-1 home win over SC Waterloo.

The SC Toronto victory was driven by a hat-trick from 20 year old midfielder Jonathan Osorio who scored the opening goal at 36 minutes at the Cove Road ground in London, then two goals, the fourth and fifth in the second half at 85 and 88 minutes.

Forward Kyle Hall scored twice for the visitors, he found the net past London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic for the second goal at 69 minutes, followed by goal number three six minutes later.

Osorio’s hat-trick follows his two goals in a 3-2 SC Toronto win over Kingston FC on August 10.

Friday’s win gives SC Toronto a 10-1-4 WLT record for 34 points, three points ahead of second place Toronto Croatia, with TFC Academy in third place following their victory tonight.

The Toronto FC senior academy team found themselves 1-0 down at the 10 minute mark against visiting SC Waterloo at Downsview Park in Toronto, a goal by midfielder Drazen Vukovic. The 1-0 score at the break came close to being equalized when TFC’s Sergio Camargo failed to find the net from the penalty spot, a save by Waterloo goalkeeper Imad Hakura just before the interval.

TFC Academy midfielder Mario Orestano did score an equalizer at 47 minutes, then put the home side in front 2-1 at the 69^th minute mark.

Midfielder Mario Kovacevic increased the TFC Academy lead to 3-1 at 76 minutes and Adrian Avila drove the ball from just outside the box to beat Hakura for a 4-1 score at 85 minutes. It was 4-1 at the final whistle and TFC Academy now have a 9-3-2 record for 29 points, while SC Waterloo are at 6-8-0 for 18 points.

Remaining games in the CSL this weekend are:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat, Aug 18 Lions Park 7 PM Brantford Galaxy vs St. Catharines Wolves

Sat, Aug 18 Invista Centre 7 PM Kingston FC vs Montreal Impact Academy

Sat, Aug 18 Windsor Stadium 7:15 PM Windsor Stars vs Toronto Croatia

Sun, Aug 19 Victoria Park 3 PM Brampton City Utd vs Niagara United

Sun, Aug 19 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs North York Astros

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Aug 18 Hershey Centre 4 PM Mississauga Eagles FC B vs Serbian White Eagles B

Sat, Aug 18 Windsor Stadium 4 PM Windsor Stars B vs SC Waterloo B

Sat, Aug 18 Invista Centre 5 PM Kingston FC B vs Brantford Galaxy B – POSTPONED – To be rescheduled

Sun, Aug 19 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Niagara United B

With only one goal separating Toronto Croatia and SC Toronto at the top of the First Division – each has 31 points –  and with little to separate the remaining teams in the top half of the standings, the race for the CSL Championship continues to be close as we enter the final one-third of the campaign.

Most teams are now looking in earnest to secure a berth in the playoffs – the top eight at the end of the regular season will qualify and games through to the final will consist of a quarter-final game and a semi-final leading to the CSL Championship on October 27.

A close race is also developing to establish the top goalscorer in the CSL First Division, with Milos Scepanovic of Brampton City Utd on top with 12 goals, Jarek Whiteman of SC Toronto has 11, the consistently prolific Tihomir Maletic of Toronto Croatia is never far off – he has 10 and so has Drazen Vukovic of  SC Waterloo.

They will all see action this weekend, here are the games, with one late postponement in the CSL Second Division:

FIRST DIVISION

Fri, Aug 17 Downsview Park 8 PM TFC Academy vs SC Waterloo

Fri, Aug 17 Cove Road 8:30 PM London City vs SC Toronto                                               

Sat, Aug 18 Lions Park  7 PM Brantford Galaxy vs St. Catharines Wolves

Sat, Aug 18 Invista Centre 7 PM Kingston FC vs Montreal Impact Academy

Sat, Aug 18 Windsor Stadium 7:15 PM Windsor Stars vs Toronto Croatia                                                

Sun, Aug 19 Victoria Park 3 PM Brampton City Utd vs Niagara United

Sun, Aug 19 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs North York Astros

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Aug 18 Hershey Centre 4 PM Mississauga Eagles FC B vs Serbian White Eagles B

Sat, Aug 18 Windsor Stadium 4 PM Windsor Stars B vs SC Waterloo B

Sat, Aug 18 Invista Centre 5 PM Kingston FC B vs Brantford Galaxy B – POSTPONED – To be rescheduled

Sun, Aug 19 Victoria Park  5:30 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Niagara United B

SC Toronto moved into second position in the First Division standings with a 3-2 last-minute victory over Kingston FC, Mississauga Eagles FC outlasted Serbian White Eagles to win a 6-4 goal-fest and London City came back from a 1-0 deficit to tie Montreal Impact Academy 1-1, three games in the CSL Friday.

Midfielder Vitaliy Sidorov opened the scoring to give Kingston FC a 7^th minute 1-0 lead  at Lamport Stadium in Toronto and Jonathan Osorio tied the game for SC Toronto three minutes later It was 1-1 at half-time.

Forward Alex Campbell put Kingston up 2-1 at 58 minutes, but Evroy Junior Ellis tied the game 2-2 for the home side at 79 minutes.

In a game that could have gone either way and heading for a tie, Osorio struck the winner for SC Toronto at 91 minutes. The midfielder collected a left wing cross to beat Kingston goalkeeper Shane Lopez from close range.

SC Toronto move into second position in the standings with an 8-1-4 WLT record for 28 points, two points behind league-leading Toronto Croatia, while Kingston FC are at 3-12-1 for 10 points.

Mississauga Eagles FC opened the scoring at The Hershey Centre in Mississauga at the 17^th minute when referee Abdalla Mohammed ordered a penalty for a tripping incident and Jose Melo scored from the spot.

Defender Antoine Paul made it 2-1 for the home side at 22 minutes, but Boris Mirlcic struck seven minutes later for Serbian White Eagles to reduce the score to 2-1.

Serbian Eagles’ forward Richard West levelled the score 2-2 at 31 minutes and seven minutes later Zoran Rajovic also scored for the visitors for a 3-2 lead. West scored his second of the game to move Serbian White Eagles ahead 4-2 at 41 minutes, the score at the break.

Antoine Paul scored his second of the game at 58 minutes, he headed home a corner kick to reduce the lead to 4-3 and Christian Kaollega tied the game 4-4 for Mississauga at 67 minutes.

Jose Mello scored his second goal at 83 minutes to give Mississauga Eagles a 5-4 lead and Andrew Samuels sealed the victory for the home side at 91 minutes, a 6-4 final score.

It was a close, well-played encounter at Cove Road in London where the first half ended scoreless. Montreal Impact Academy opened the scoring at 73 minutes when Victor Ndiaye beat London goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic following a breakaway.

London tied the game at 83 minutes on a goal by defender Mustafa Mohammed who struck from 25 yards to beat Montreal goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu and the game ended 1-1.

Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:

FIRST DIVISION

Sat, Aug 11 Kalar 7 PM Niagara United vs Toronto Croatia

Sat, Aug 11 Windsor Stadium 7:15 PM Windsor Stars vs Montreal Impact Academy

Sun, Aug 12 Victoria Park 3 PM Brampton City Utd vs Mississauga Eagles FC

Sun, Aug 12 Esther Shiner Stadium 5:30 PM North York Astros vs SC Toronto

Sun, Aug 12 St. Joan of Arc 6:30 PM York Region Shooters vs Serbian White Eagles

Sun, Aug 12 Club Roma 8 PM St. Catharines Wolves vs Windsor Stars

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Aug 11 Portuguese/Orient 1 PM SC Waterloo B vs Serbian White Eagles B

Sat, Aug 11 Hershey Centre 4 PM Mississauga Eagles FC B vs Niagara United B

Sat, Aug 11 Downsview Park 6 PM SC Toronto B vs Kingston FC B – POSTPONED – To be rescheduled

Sun, Aug 12 Victoria Park 5:30 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Mississauga Eagles FC B

Sun, Aug 12 Club Roma 6 PM St. Catharines Wolves B vs Windsor Stars B

Sun, Aug 12 St. Joan of Arc 8:30 PM York Region Shooters B vs Brantford Galaxy B

The top of the table standings in the CSL First Division at the end of this coming weekend rests with Toronto Croatia and Brantford Galaxy. Croatia are on top with a narrow one-point margin over second place TFC Academy, while  Brantford Galaxy, moves into the holiday weekend in fifth place.

 Only these two teams of the top five will see action – Toronto Croatia visits Kingston FC on Saturday, while the Galaxy have two games, a trip to London with a game against the City at the TD Waterhouse Stadium on Friday night and a visit to Victoria Park for a clash with Brampton City Utd on Sunday afternoon.

TFC Academy, SC Toronto and York Region Shooters are off, so there is every good chance the current CSL champions Toronto Croatia will keep the top spot, although the Galaxy have an outside chance if they pick up enough points and Croatia falters.

The weekend games

FIRST DIVISION

Fri, Aug 3  TD Waterhouse 8:30 PM London City vs Brantford Galaxy 

Fri, Aug 3  Esther Shiner Stadium 8:30 PM North York Astros vs Mississauga Eagles FC – televised Rogers TV, Toronto, check your local listings.

Fri, Aug 3  Centennial Stadium 9 PM Serbian White Eagles vs Niagara United 

Sat, Aug 4  Invista Centre 7 PM Kingston FC vs Toronto Croatia – televised TV Cogeco, Kingston – check your local listings 

Sun, Aug 5  Victoria Park  3 PM Brampton City Utd vs Brantford Galaxy 

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Aug 4  Downsview Park 6 PM SC Toronto B vs Mississauga Eagles FC B

Sat, Aug 4  Eglinton Flats 7 PM Serbian White Eagles B vs York Region Shooters B

Sun, Aug 5  Victoria Park  5:30 PM Brampton City Utd B vs Brantford Galaxy B

Sun, Aug 5  Club Roma  6 PM St. Catharines Roma Wolves B vs Niagara United B