Toronto Croatia

Two second half goals by prolific striker Tihomir Maletic assured Toronto Croatia of a decisive 4-0 victory over Mississauga Eagles FC in the opening quarterfinals game of  CSL playoffs at The Hershey Centre Friday.

 

It was Croatia midfielder Tonci Pirija who opened the scoring at 20 minutes when he beat Mississauga goalkeeper Melford James Jr and Marin Grgic added a second at 36 minutes for a 2-0 score at halftime.

 

Toronto Croatia pressed again in the second half and Maletic scored his first at 53 minutes and struck his team’s fourth goal at 90 minutes for a 4-0 final. Maletic scored 17 goals for Toronto Croatia in regular season play.

 

Mississauga lost defender Shaun MacDonald when he was shown a red card by referee Justin Tasev at the 85^th minute mark for Serious Foul Play. He will miss the second leg quarterfinal.

 

The 4-0 win puts Toronto Croatia in a strong position in the home and away two-leg quarterfinals series which takes into account total points over the two games and if tied on points at the end of 90  minutes of the second game, total goals over the two games will decide.

 

The two teams move to Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on Sunday, October 16, a 7 pm kickoff,  for the second leg of the quarterfinals series and the winner will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for the weekend of October 21. The CSL Championship Final will be played the last weekend of October.

 

Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:

 

CSL CHAMPIONSHIP – Playoffs

 Quarterfinals – First leg

Saturday, October 8, Marie Victorin 1 pm Montreal Impact Academy vs. Capital City FC

Sunday, October 9, Maple, 4 pm York Region Shooters vs. SC Toronto

Sunday, October 9, Victoria Park 8 pm Brampton City Utd. vs. Serbian White Eagles

 

Regular Season

FIRST DIVISION

Sat, Oct 8 Windsor Stadium 7 pm Windsor Stars vs.TFC Academy

Sun, Oct 9 Polish Club London 1 pm London City vs. TFC Academy

 

 

CSL Second Division Championship – Playoffs

Quarterfinals – One game only – winner advances to the semifinals

(Home teams listed first)

 

Sat, Oct 8 St. Joan of Arc 12:00 PM Brampton City Utd B vs York Region Shooters B

Sat, Oct 8 St. Joan of Arc  3:00 PM SC Toronto B vs TFC Academy II

Sat, Oct 8 Kalar 7:00 PM Niagara United  vs KW United FC

 

 

 

 

Toronto Croatia defeated TFC Academy 2-1 and in doing so eliminated the Toronto FC senior academy team from the playoffs at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke Thursday night.

 

Defender Josip Keran scored the opening goal for Croatia at 9 minutes of the game with a run down the left wing before driving the ball between the goalkeeper and the near post. It was 1-0 at half-time.

 

Forward Bozenko Lesina made it 2-0 at 61 minutes, he put the ball past TFC goalkeeper Chad Bush from close range after collecting the ball from a corner kick.

 

TFC pressed to get back into the game and they did eventually score with a drive by Mchael Bilak from just outside the 18 yard line for a 2-1 score, the goal coming at 76 minute and an equalizer appeared a possibility in the last 20 minutes, but the final whistle came with the score 2-1 in favour of Toronto Croatia.

 

It was Toronto Croatia’s 17^th win of the campaign for a 17-3-5 WLT record and they occupy second position in the standings with one game remaining in the regular season. They travel to Windsor for a game with the Stars on Saturday night.

 

The loss put TFC Academy out of the playoffs with four games remaining, they have a 7-13-2 record for 23 points.

 

The eighth spot still open will be filled by Mississauga Eagles FC or Brantford Galaxy and with a six point edge and superior goals, the Mississauga Eagles are strongly favoured to fill the last position.

 

 

SC Toronto captured the CSL First Division title with a 5-2 come-from-behind victory over Brampton City Utd, while Serbian White Eagles and Toronto Croatia played to a 1-1. In one other game scheduled for Friday night, the London City vs. TFC Academy game was called off following heavy rain at Cove Road in London.

 

It was the 19^th win of the season for SC Toronto and the win came in spectacular fashion after being down 2-0 to a gritty and determined Brampton squad battling for a playoff spot.

 

Brampton’s Oswald Adu opened the scoring at the 7^th minute mark at Lamport Stadium in downtown Toronto and the visitors made it 2-0 from the penalty spot at 20 minutes, the goal scored by forward Kevin Omokhua.

 

SC Toronto’s Jarek Whiteman scored his first of two goals at 33 minutes to reduce the lead to 2-1 and Alexandros Halis scored his first of two goals to tie the game 2-2 at 38 minutes.

 

It was 2-2 at the break, but not before referee Richard Oliveira ordered Toronto head coach Carmine Isacco out of the game for persistent dissent.

 

SC Toronto went ahead 3-2 on the second goal by Halis, his 11^th of the season at 48 minutes and Whiteman also scored his second and also his 11^th of the season with picture goal  at the 51^st minute mark to increase the home lead to 4-2.

 

Whiteman’s goal came off a corner kick and the Toronto forward volleyed from 15 yards for one of the most impressive strikes of the season.

 

 Andy Garcia was shown the red card by referee Oliveira following a second caution to the Brampton midfielder, the ejection coming at the 79^th minute mark.

 

Massimo Mirabelli scored SC Toronto’s fifth goal at 83 minutes for a 5-2 final score.

 

The win, coupled with a 1-1 tie for second place Toronto Croatia, gave SC Toronto the first division title with three games remaining for both teams. SC Toronto have a nine-point margin over Croatia, but the 19^th win for SC Toronto secured the title – it’s the total wins criterion used as a tie-breaker should the teams finish the season tied on points. Toronto Croatia can tie on points at the conclusion, but they are unable to match the total wins.

 

The Toronto Croatia tie with Serbian White Eagles was the right outcome from a game played with highly attractive soccer with good pace at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke. It was Croatia that took the lead on a goal by Hayden Fitzwilliams at the 38^th minute mark. Fitzwilliams showed good footwork to maneuver himself into a position to shoot after picking up the ball headed out from a corner kick. He beat Serbian Eagles’ goalkeeper Milos Djurkovic with a low shot into the corner of the net.

 

 It was 1-0 at half-time.

 

Serbian White Eagles pressed in a second half that became more physical as the game progressed and the home side broke through at 65 minutes when Nikola Milosevic lifted the ball into the Croatia box, the ball was picked up by midfielder Milan Rakic who was brought down by Croatia goalkeeper Antonio Ilic.

 

Referee Yursi Rudolf pointed to the spot and Milos Scepanovic scored the tying goal, his ninth of the season.

 

Toronto Croatia have a 15-3-5 WLT record for 50 points, while Serbian White Eagles are at 11-5-9 for 42 points and now in fourth position in the standings.

 

 Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:

 FIRST DIVISION

 Sat, Sep 24   Saputo Stadium 1:00 PM Montreal Impact Academy vs Mississauga Eagles FC

Sat, Sep 24   Windsor Stadium   7:00 PM Windsor Stars vs  Brantford Galaxy     

Sun, Sep 25 Terry Fox Stadium 1:00 PM Capital City FC vs Mississauga Eagles FC

Sun, Sep 25 Victoria Park 3:00 PM Brampton City Utd vs Windsor Stars

Sun, Sep 25 Centennial Stadium 5:00 PM TFC Academy vs St. Catharines Wolves

Sun, Sep 25 St. Joan of Arc 6:00 PM York Region Shooters vs SC Toronto

Sun, Sep 25 Centennial Stadium 8:00 PM Toronto Croatia vs North York Astros

 SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Sep 24   St. Joan of Arc 2:00 PM North York Astros B vs Brampton City Utd B

Sat, Sep 24   Norval Park  4:00 PM Toronto Croatia B vs London City B

Sat, Sep 24   St. Joan of Arc 4:00 PM York Region Shooters B vs SC Toronto B

Sat, Sep 24   Kalar  7:00 PM Niagara United vs St. Catharines Wolves B

Sat, Sep 24   Tindall Field 7:00 PM Prospect FC vs TFC Academy II                      

Sun, Sep 25 Norval Park  4:00 PM Toronto Croatia B vs Brantford Galaxy B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toronto Croatia dropped an important 2-1 decision to Mississauga Eagles FC and in four other games played in the CSL Sunday, York Region Shooters defeated Brampton City Utd 2-1, Montreal Impact Academy cruised to a 5-1 result over St. Catharines Wolves, TFC Academy edged Brantford Galaxy 3-2 and London City scored a 1-0 victory over Windsor Stars.

 

The loss by Toronto Croatia may be a crucial one while bidding for the First Division title with SC Toronto.

 

It was Mississauga midfielder Jose Melo who opened the scoring and also struck the winner for the home side at the Hershey Centre in Missisauga. He took a pass from Shawn Brown to drive the ball from 18 yards past Croatia goalkeeper Antonio Ilic at the 17^th minute mark, but just three minutes later Toronto Croatia equalized on a goal by Bozenko Lesina and it was 1-1 at half-time.

 

The winning goal came when Brown was brought down just inside the 18 yard line and referee Yusri Rudolf pointed to the spot. Melo made no mistake with his shot to lift the score to 2-1 at 77 minutes, a 2-1 result for Mississauga Eagles at the final whistle.

 

It was Mississauga’s 11^th win of the season and they are in seventh position in the standings with four games remaining.

 

Toronto Croatia has a 15-3-4 record for 49 points, training SC Toronto by seven points with each team also having four games remaining.

 

York Region Shooters went ahead at the St. Joan of Arc ground on a goal at two minutes by forward Jason Di Thomasis, a low shot from just outside the box which found the centre of the net, it was 1-0 at half-time.

 

Striker Kadian Lecky increased the lead to 2-0 at 73 minutes, his 13^th of the season, then Lecky was red-carded by referee Archie Korbiel on receiving a second yellow card at 77 minutes.

 

Brampton midfielder Marcos Nunes reduced the lead to 2-1 at 84 minutes, the final score in favour of York Region Shooters.

 

The Shooters are the fourth team to secure a playoff berth, they now have an improved 12-6-5 record for 41 points and are in fourth position in the standings.

 

Midfielder Wendrille Lefevre scored twice for Montreal Impact Academy in the game against St. Catharines Wolves at the Marie Victorin Stadium in Montreal, he found the net at 44 and 49 minutes.

 

The Quebec side opened the scoring on a goal by Anthony LeGall at the seventh minute mark, Victor  N`Diaye added a second at 31 minutes and Bastien Bourgault struck the third at the 38^th minute mark.

 

Matthew Cain scored for St. Catharines Wolves at the 22^nd minute mark in a 5-1 result that mathematically eliminated St. Catharines Wolves from the playoffs.

 

Montreal have an improved 11-8-5 record for 38 points and are fifth in the First Division standings.

 

London City and Windsor Stars battled to a scoreless tie to the interval at Cove Road in London and it was just after the break that London`s Gent Miftari scored his side`s winning goal following a play started in the London half by Gentjan Dervishi.  Dervishi moved the ball to Younan Samra, who set up Miftari on the 6 yard line where the midfielder beat Windsor goalkeeper Anthony Santilli.

 

Windsor had an opportunity to tie the score when awarded a penalty at 54 minutes. Forward Gino Berdardi was fouled in the box, but the spot kick, taken by the border team’s David Kadoic, was saved by London ‘keeper Fabian Knezevic. It was 1-0 London at the final whistle.

 

Brantford Galaxy midfielder Nenad Begovic opened the scoring at the 15^th minute mark at Lions Park in Brantford, he struck the goal from 35 yards off a corner kick and TFC Academy tied the game at 34 minutes on a goal by Sebastian Arrangio, it was 1-1 at the half.

 

Arrangio scored his second goal to put the visitors ahead 2-1 at 61 minutes and five minutes later Ranko Golijanin equalized 2-2 from a free kick from 20 yards, a low drive that caught the bottom left corner.

 

Striker Stefan Vukovic hit the winner at 89 minutes after receiving a cross from Tristan Jackman. It was a hard drive that gave Galaxy goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic little chance to make a save and it was Vukovic`s 15^th goal of the season

 

The weekend’s Second Division results:

 

SUNDAY:

 

Brantford Galaxy B 3, St. Catharines Wolves B 1

 

North York Astros B 2, KW United 1

 

Mississauga Eagles FC  B  2, Toronto Croatia B 1

SATURDAY: 

London City B  3, Prospect FC 1

Niagara United 1, Brampton City Utd B 0

Serbian White Eagles B  9, Prospect FC 2

York Region Shooters B  2, KW United 0

 

 

SC Toronto continued its relentless pursuit of the First Division title with a 2-0 victory over Mississauga Eagles FC and Toronto Croatia held its position with a 5-1 defeat of North York Astros. In two other games in the CSL Sunday, Brampton dropped London City 5-2 and it was a scoreless tie in a game cut short between St. Catharines and Capital City FC.

 

Following a scoreless first half at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga during which the home side had a decided advantage in the play, it was visiting SC Toronto that opened the scoring at 58 minutes following a defensive miscue when a pass back involving goalkeeper Melford James Jr. went wrong.

 

The pass was intercepted and this allowed Toronto forward Andrea Lombardo to intercept and he quickly put the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

 

Toronto SC increased their lead at 82 minutes when Jarek Whiteman struck from just outside the box, a 2-0 lead that held to the final whistle.

 

The league-leading SC Toronto has 53 points from 21 games.

 

Toronto Croatia kept pace at Esther Shiner Stadium with a 5-1 victory over the winless Astros and it was Tihomir Maletic who opened the scoring with a penalty kick goal at 26 minutes and this was followed by a tying goal just two minutes later by North York Astros`defender Diego Benzi.

 

Astros`goalkeeper Enea Perego was shown the red card by referee Richard Oliveira at 35 minutes for foul on a Croatia forward and he was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Damon Naghavi. It was 1-1 at half-time.

 

Croatia went ahead 2-1 on a goal by Milan Grgic who found the net past Naghavi at 54 minutes and Maletic scored a second goal, also on a penalty kick at 77 minutes, for a 3-1 lead. It was Maletic`s sixth goal of the weekend following his four goals on Friday night in a 5-2 defeat of Montreal Impact Academy and his 16^th of the season.

 

Toronto Croatia continued to attack the 10-men Astros and went further ahead with a goal at 85 minutes by Hugo Herrera and it was Herrera who completed the scoring in added time for a 5-1 final score.

 

Brampton opened the scoring in the third minute at Victoria Park in Brampton when midfielder Andy Garcia put the ball though to Judah Hernandez to tap in past London goalkeeper Fabian Knezevic.

 

London tied the game 1-1 at 27 minutes when Eris Tafaj struck a drive into the top left corner out of reach on Brampton ‘keeper Roy Blanche game remained tied to the half-time whistle.

 

Hernandez scored his second goal at the 61^st minute mark for a 2-1 Brampton lead, but 10 minutes later London’s Omar Brani equalized at 2-2.

 

The home side went ahead 3-2 at 76 minutes on a goal by Jeremy Shepherd, and Richard West increased the lead to 4-2 two minutes later – it was West’s 17^th goal of the campaign and he continues to lead the CSL scoring race.

 

Denny Velastagui rounded the scoring for Brampton from the penalty spot after Richard West was brought down by Knezevic in the box, a 5-2 final.

 

The three points gives Brampton City Utd a fighting chance for a playoff spot, they have 33 points from 20 games, while London City will not make the top eight in the CSL First Division this season.

 

While the first half between St. Catharines Wolves and Capital City FC was played in the best of conditions, that all changed quickly as the teams left the field for the dressing rooms at Club Roma in St. Catharines. A sudden, severe thunderstorm accompanied by lightning caused flooding on the playing surface such that referee Jeff Fearnall had little alternative but to suspend the game, which he later abandoned with the score tied 0-0.

 

CSL rules consider a first half completed as a game completed if abandoned, so the score goes into the record books as a scoreless tie.

 

In the CSL Second Division Sunday:

 

St. Catharines Wolves B  2,  KW United FC  2

 

There is one game in the CSL this weekend remaining:

 

Sun, Sep 11 Hershey Centre 9:00 PM Mississauga Eagles FC B vs Niagara United 

 

 

 

 

 

SC Toronto continue to show determination while bidding for First Division title honours with an 8-0 mauling of Windsor Stars at Lamport Stadium Friday night and in one other game in the CSL, Capital City FC kept up their strong performance with a 1-0 victory over Serbian White Eagles.

 

SC Toronto were completely in command to dominate the visiting border team in every department on the field to produce the highest score in the CSL First Division this campaign. The score overshadowed the 7-1 Serbian White Eagles victory on July 15 and a Montreal Impact Academy 7-2 win on July 2.

 

Toronto forward Massimo Mirabelli opened the scoring in the first minute and Andrea Lombardo made it 2-0 at the 21^st minute mark.  David Guzman celebrated his first game with the home team by scoring two minutes later, a picture goal from 35 yards and the standout midfielder struck again at 34 minute for a 4-0 score at the break.

 

Defender Douglas Sereti increased the lead to 5-0 at 55 minutes, Dane Roberts scored to make it 6-0 at 66 minutes, David Alva struck at 71 minutes and Gorgo Mika completed the rout at 81 minutes, an 8-0 final.

 

SC Toronto are on top of the First Division with a 15-2-2 WLT record for 47 points, seven in front of second place Toronto Croatia which has one game in hand.

 

Capital City FC won their eleventh game of the season, a 1-0 squeaker at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke and they did so on a goal at 65 minutes by defender Julien Edwards. He picked up a free kick from the left side to beat Milos Djurkovic in the Serbian Eagles goal.

 

It was a close contest throughout and the game could have gone either way. Mirko Medic, a strength in the Serbian White Eagles defence had the best opportunity to equalize near the end of the game, but drove the ball over the crossbar.

 

The Ottawa team has a 11-4-5 record for 38 points, just two behind second place Toronto Croatia, while Serbian White Eagles are in seventh position with an 8-5-6 record for 30 points.

 

Remaining games in the CSL this weekend:

 

FIRST DIVISION                                                                                                          

Sat, Sep 3 Esther Shiner Stadium 4:30 PM North York Astros  vs Capital City FC                                        

Sat, Sep 3 Cove Road 7:30 PM London City  vs TFC Academy  

Sun, Sep 4 Victoria Park  6:00 PM Brampton City Utd  vs Toronto Croatia 

Sun, Sep 4 Lions Park  6:00 PM Brantford Galaxy vs York Region Shooters 

Sun, Sep 4 Hershey Centre  7:00 PM Mississauga Eagles FC vs St. Catharines Wolves

 

SECOND DIVISION

Sat, Sep 3 Portugest/Oriental Field 11:00 AM KW United FC  vs Serbian White Eagles B

Sun, Sep 4 Victoria Park  8:00 PM Brampton City Utd B vs North York Astros B