The CSL Championship semifinals to be played Saturday and Sunday, October 17, 18, could not be more competitive. There are no surprises here.

Toronto Croatia has been the most successful team in the post-season games, winning four championships 1970 through 73, and they were champions in 1992, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2012. Serbian White Eagles were champions in 2008, SC Waterloo in 2013 (and took the Second Division title the same year for good measure) and York Region Shooters in 2014, defeating Toronto Croatia in the final.

But to tell the full Shooters’ story a mention of the 1-0 championship final loss to Brampton Hitmen in 2003 and a championship final defeat to Toronto Croatia in 2004, is essential.

These four teams shaped the top four in the standing at the end of the regular season and that their success in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals points to two great semis and a spectacular final on October 25, whatever the outcome this weekend.

CSL Championship Playoffs

SEMIFINALS

Sat October 17, Centennial Stadium, Etobicoke 7 pm  Serbian White Eagles vs SC Waterloo

Sun October 18, Centennial Stadium, Etobicoke 7 pm Toronto Croatia vs York Region Shooters

CSL Second Division Championship Playoffs

SEMIFINALS

Sun, October 18 Rim Park, Waterloo 3 pm SC Waterloo B vs Niagara United B

Sun, October 18 Jean Vanier Field, Milton 3.30 pm Milton SC B vs Brantford Galaxy B

 

SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters and Toronto Croatia advanced in the CSL Championship with quarterfinal victories Sunday, to join Serbian White Eagles in the semifinals the weekend 16 -18, and in the CSL Second Division Championship, it will be Brantford Galaxy B, SC Waterloo B, Milton SC B and Niagara United B.

Slobodan Milanovic put SC Waterloo ahead at 48 minutes against Toronto Atomic FC at Warrior Field, Waterloo, and Adis Hasecic scored the second at 90 minutes for the 2-0 final score.

There were four red cards in the game, the first being Aleksandar Stojiljkovic of Waterloo at 38 minutes for an off the ball incident, defender Michael Tischer of Atomic was ordered off at 60 minutes for a foul on Milanovic, forward Ihor Mihalevskyy of Atomic was ejected at 66 minutes on receiving a second yellow card and Ihor Melnyk of Atomic was sent off at 80 minutes for dissent.

Striker Richard West led York Region Shooters with a hat-trick in the 4-2 victory over Burlington SC at the St. Joan of Arc Stadium at Maple. West opened the scoring at 10 minutes and Camilo Veloza tied the game 1-1 for Burlington eight minutes later.

West struck his second goal at 36 minutes for a 2-1 Shooters lead and Aleksander Stojanovski made it 3-1 at 40 minutes, the score at the interval.

Veloza scored a second goal for Burlington at the 50 minute mark for a 3-2 score and West completed his hat-trick for a 4-2 score at 92 minutes and the game result.

West has found the net 13 times in the last three games – two games at the end of the regular season and Sunday’s quarterfinal playoff.

Jure Glavina also scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s quarterfinals to lead Toronto Croatia to their 4-0 defeat of Milton in the game at Centennial Stadium at Etobicoke.

Glavina opened the scoring with a blistering free kick from 35 yards that beat Milton goalkeeper Zoran Pusica at the 10 minute mark, and Shawn Brown made it 2-0 three minutes later. It was 2-0 at half-time.

Glavina increased the Toronto Croatia lead to 3-0 at 58 minutes and completed his hat-trick for a 4-0 lead at 70 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

In the CSL Second Division Championship quarterfinals, Milton SC reserves eliminated Toronto Atomic FC reserves 6-0 and Niagara United B defeated York Region Shooters B 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 4-4 tie at the end of regular time and extra time.

PLAYOFFS SUMMARY

CSL CHAMPIONSHIP

Quarterfinals

Serbian White Eagles 1, London City 0

SC Waterloo 2, Toronto Atomic FC 0

York Region Shooters 4, Burlington SC 2

Toronto Croatia 4, Milton SC 0

Serbian White Eagles, SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters and Toronto Croatia advance to the semifinals.

 CSL SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

Quarterfinals

Brantford Galaxy B 1, Burlington SC B 0

SC Waterloo B 5, Serbian White Eagles B 0

Milton SC B 6, Toronto Atomic FC B 0

York Region Shooters 4, Niagara United B 4 EXTRA TIME – Niagara United won 4-3 on penalty kicks

Brantford Galaxy B, SC Waterloo B, Milton SC B and Niagara United B advance to the semifinals.

 

Serbian White Eagles scored a narrow 1-0 victory over London City in the opening game of the CSL Championship quarterfinals Saturday night to advance to the CSL Championship semifinals being played next weekend, leading to the final on October 25.

It was a closely contested playoff encounter at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, scoreless at the break and into the second half until Serbian White Eagles midfielder Branislav Vukomanovic took a free kick with pace from 26 yards that left London City goalkeeper Vladimir Markotic helpless and unmoved when it caught the top right corner of the net.

The goal came at 69 minutes, just five minutes after Djorjije Strunjas missed a clear cut opportunity to put Serbian Eagles into the lead earlier. London City also missed an opportunity to score when forward Aldin Kukic shot just wide at 88 minutes with only Serbian White Eagles’ goalkeeper Bojan Vranic to beat and the game ended 1-0.

There was one Second Division championship playoff game Saturday night when SC Waterloo reserves took control of the game against Serbian White Eagles reserves to win 5-0 at Warrior Stadium in Waterloo.

Five scorers accounted for the goals which came from Nikola Miokovic, Mo Ali Heydarpour, Edward Syllie, Kevin Benavides and Johnson Luyiga.

There was one game in the Second Division championship playoffs Friday, when Brantford Galaxy reserves advanced to the semifinals with a 1-0 result over Burlington SC reserves.

For the remaining playoff schedule this Thanksgiving Weekend, there are three games in the CSL Championship quarterfinals and two games in the Second Division quarterfinals Sunday:

CSL CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS

Sunday October 11  St Joan of Arc 6 pm York Region Shooters vs Burlington SC

Sunday October 11 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Toronto Croatia vs Milton SC

Sunday October 11 Warrior Field 4 pm SC Waterloo vs Toronto Atomic FC

SECOND DIVISION QUARTERFINALS

Sunday October 11 St Jean Vanier Field 3 pm Milton SC B vs Toronto Atomic FC B

Sunday October 11  St Joan of Arc 8 pm York Region Shooters B vs Niagara United B

 

 

Eight teams enter the playoffs for the Second Division Championship during the Thanksgiving Weekend, to play the opening quarterfinals on October 9 – 11, followed by the semifinals October 16 – 18 and the CSL Championship Final at Warrior Field, Waterloo, on October 25.

The opening weekend schedule for reserve teams in the CSL Second Division playoffs is:

  Friday October 9  Nelson Stadium 8 pm Burlington SC B vs Brantford Galaxy B

 Saturday October 10 Warrior Field 4 pm SC Waterloo B vs Serbian White Eagles B

 Sunday October 11 St Jean Vanier Field 3 pm Milton SC B vs Toronto Atomic FC B

Sunday October 11  St Joan of Arc 8 pm York Region Shooters B vs Niagara United B

The opening playoff games for the CSL Championship were announced Tuesday, and they are:

 Saturday October 10  Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs London City

Sunday October 11  St Joan of Arc 6 pm York Region Shooters vs Burlington SC

Sunday October 11 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Toronto Croatia vs Milton SC

Sunday October 11 Warrior Field 4 pm SC Waterloo vs Toronto Atomic FC

All games in the playoffs, including the final, will play 2 x 15 minutes of extra time if the score at the end of regulation time is tied. If still tied at the end of extra time, penalty kicks will be taken as per FIFA rules.

Kingston FC B won the CSL Second Division Championship in 2014, defeating SC Waterloo B by a score of 2-0 at Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto on October 26, 2014.

York Region Shooters are the current CSL champions having won the title with a 5-4 score in penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation time and an extra 30 minutes of overtime in the second game and main event at Esther Shiner Stadium on October 26, 2014.

Eight teams enter the playoffs for the CSL Championship during the Thanksgiving Weekend, to play the opening quarterfinals on October 10, 11, followed by the semifinals October 16 – 18 and the CSL Championship Final at Warrior Field, Waterloo, on October 25.

The eight teams are: Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Croatia, SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters, Toronto Atomic FC, Burlington SC, Milton SC and London City.

The opening weekend schedule is:

Saturday October 10 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Serbian White Eagles vs London City

Sunday October 11 St Joan of Arc 6 pm York Region Shooters vs Burlington SC

Sunday October 11 Centennial Stadium 7 pm Toronto Croatia vs Milton SC

Sunday October 11 Warrior Field 4 pm SC Waterloo vs Toronto Atomic FC

All games in the playoffs, including the final, will play 2 x 15 minutes of extra time if the score at the end of regulation time is tied. If still tied at the end of extra time, penalty kicks will be taken as per FIFA rules.

York Region Shooters are the current CSL champions having won the title with a 5-4 score in penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation time and an extra 30 minutes of overtime at Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto on October 26, 2014

The playoff schedule for the Second Division of CSL reserve teams will be announced Wednesday.

Milton SC is the final team to clinch a playoff berth following a 4-3 victory over Brantford Galaxy, Toronto Croatia nipped London City 1-0 and the SC Waterloo vs Niagara United game was abandoned after 65 minutes with the score 2-2, three games in the CSL First Division Sunday.

Midfielder Adrian Smajic led Milton with three goals in the game with Brantford Galaxy, scoring at 10, 53 and the winning goal at 77 minutes for the hat-trick and increasing his season tally to nine goals.

Forward Lucky Maghori scored for Milton at 21 minutes, Zdenko Jurcevic struck for Brantford Galaxy one minute later and again at 27 minutes for 21 goals on the season, Armin Mahovic for the Galaxy at 68 minutes.

Milton end the season in seventh position in the standings with a 8-11-3 WLT record for 27 points, while Brantford Galaxy have 7-12-3 record for 24 points in eleventh position.

Ivan Cutura scored the lone goal at 88 minutes to complete the regular season with a win for Toronto Croatia over London City. Toronto Croatia finished with an impressive 15-4-3 record for 48 points, while London City ended in eighth position in the table with a 8-12-2 record for 26 points.

Aleksandar Stojiljkovic and Mladen Zeljkovic were the goalscorers for SC Waterloo, while Jacob Therrien and Noah Dino found the net for Niagara United in the game abandoned after 65 minutes.

Niagara United were reduced to eight men after three players were shown the red card and one SC Waterloo player was also ejected.

The game will be reviewed by the league to establish a result.

There was one game in the CSL Second Division with Milton SC B and Toronto Atomic playing to a 4-4 draw.

THE CSL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS – UPDATE

Eight First Division teams have secured playoff spots. They are Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Croatia, SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters, Toronto Atomic FC, London City, Burlington SC and Milton SC.

Eight teams have also secured berths to playoff for the Second Division Championship. They are SC Waterloo B, York Region Shooters B, Milton SC B, Burlington SC B, Brantford Galaxy B, Toronto Atomic FC B, Niagara United B and Serbian White Eagles B.

The opening quarterfinal games will be announced early this coming week to kickoff Thanksgiving Weekend, October 9 -12 and will be arranged in order of a team’s position in the final standings: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5.

The top four teams in the standings have home advantage in the quarterfinals and the top four teams to advance will also have home field advantage in the semifinals.

Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Croatia, SC Waterloo and York Region Shooters will have home advantage in the CSL Championship, while SC Waterloo B, York Region Shooters B, Milton SC B and Burlington SC B will have home advantage in the Second Division

All games in the playoffs, including the final, will play 2 x 15 minutes of extra time if the score at the end of regulation time is tied. If still tied at the end of extra time, penalty kicks will be taken as per FIFA rules.

 

 

Burlington SC clinched one of eight playoff spots with a 4-3 win over Scarborough SC and in one other game in the CSL First Division Saturday, Serbian White Eagles completed their regular season on a winning note with a 5-1 victory over Toronto Atomic FC.

Forward Armando Oakley opened the scoring for Burlington against Scarborough SC at Nelson Stadium, a goal at 15 minutes and Erwin Uzunovic made it 2-0 two minutes later.

Oakley beat Scarborough goalkeeper Mladen Kukrica for a 3-0 score at 34 minutes, the score at half-time.

Jose Goncalves De Sousa found the net for Scarborough at 47 minutes for a 3-1 score, and Oakley made it 4-1 to complete his hat-trick at 72 minutes.

De Sousa scored his second goal at 78 minutes, 4-2 in favour of Burlington, and midfielder Marc Jankovic beat Burlington goalkeeper Andrew Stringer for a 4-3 score at 90 minutes, the result at the final whistle.

The two goals by Goncalves De Sousa were his 14th and 15th of the season.

Burlington clinched a playoff spot with the win, finishing the regular season with an 8-11-3 WLT record for 27 points, while Scarborough SC complete their regular season with a 6-8-8 record for 26 points. Scarborough must wait for the outcome of the Brantford Galaxy vs Milton SC game Sunday – a draw eliminate these two teams and would put Scarborough into the playoffs.

Ihor Melnyk gave Toronto Atomic an opening 1-0 lead at 29 minutes in the game with Serbian White Eagles at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke, scoring his tenth goal of the season, but the scoring for the home side ended there as Serbian White Eagles scored five unanswered goals, beginning when Sahjah Reid finding the net at the 43 minute mark. It was 1-1 at the break.

Branislav Vukomanovic made it 2-1 for the visitors at 53 minutes, midfielder Milos Ljubenovic made it 3-1 at 63 minutes – his sixth of the season – and Reid struck his second goal for a 4-1 lead – goal number 18 in the current campaign – at 65 minutes.

Radenko Kamberovic increased the Serbian White Eagles’ lead to 5-1 at 86 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

Seven First Division teams having secured playoff spots. They are Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Croatia, SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters, Toronto Atomic FC, London City and Burlington SC.

The one remaining playoff berth will be taken by Scarborough SC, Milton SC or Brantford Galaxy.

There was one game in the CSL Second Division Saturday, with Niagara Utd B defeating Toronto Croatia B 4-1.

The eight teams to playoff for the Second Division Championship are SC Waterloo B, York Region Shooters B, Milton SC B, Burlington SC B, Brantford Galaxy B, Toronto Atomic FC B, Niagara United B and Serbian White Eagles B.

Serbian White Eagles B clinched the final playoff berth in the Second Division with a 3-1 victory over Toronto Croatia B at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke Thursday.

The Mississauga-based side join reserve teams SC Waterloo B, York Region Shooters B, Milton SC B, Burlington SC B, Brantford Galaxy B, Toronto Atomic FC B, and Niagara United B.

SC Waterloo B has already won the Second Division.

Thursday’s night’s game was an even contest in the first half with midfielder Hrvoje Jerkovic opening the scoring for Toronto Croatia reserves with a goal at 27 minutes. Milos Ljubenovic equalized for Serbian White Eagles reserves with a goal from the penalty spot at 43 minutes and Ljubenovic found the net a second time to make it 2-1 for the home side at the 60^th minute mark.

Serbian White Eagles took control as the second half progressed and Miroslav Jovanovic increased the lead to 3-1 at 71 minutes, the score at the final whistle.

The playoffs will get underway with the four quarterfinal games in both the First Division and the Second Division during the Thanksgiving Day weekend, October 9 – 12 and the quarterfinals will be followed by the semifinals the weekend October 16 -18. The finals will be played at Warrior Field, Waterloo – hosted by SC Waterloo – on Sunday, October 25.

Five First Division teams having secured playoff spots and they are Serbian White Eagles, Toronto Croatia, SC Waterloo, York Region Shooters and Toronto Atomic FC. The three remaining spots will be taken by three of the following teams: London City, Scarborough SC, Burlington SC, Milton SC and Brantford Galaxy.

The four top teams in each division have home advantage in the quarter finals and the home advantage carries through to the semifinals. By following the position in the regular season final standing, the quarterfinal games are arranged 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5.

For playoff matches that are tied at the end of regular time, there will be two periods of 15 minutes extra time and if still tied, the game will be decided by penalty kicks in keeping with FIFA rules.

York Region Shooters’ striker Richard West continued his scoring spree of Friday night to find the net five times in a 7-2 victory over London City on Sunday, resulting in a stunning 10-goal haul in just three days.

In one other game in the CSL First Division Sunday, Burlington SC defeated SC Waterloo 2-1.

West opened the scoring for York Region with a goal just four minutes into the match against London City at the Hellenic Centre in London and scored a second for a 2-0 lead at 24 minutes.

Aldin Kukic scored from the penalty spot for London City for a 2-1 score at 28 minutes, West completed his hat-trick four minutes later, a 3-1 lead for the visitors, and midfielder Shezan Singh increased the lead to 4-1 for York Region at 38 minutes.

West scored his fourth goal at 39 minutes for a 5-1 lead, then scored his fifth goal just before the interval for a 6-1 score.

The five-goal first half outburst repeated the five goals scored by West in the 9-1 domination of Niagara United on Friday night. The 30 year-old prolific striker jumps into the lead in the CSL First Division goalscoring race with 23 to his credit, while Zdenko Jurcevic of Brantford Galaxy drops to second position with 19.

Aleksander Stojanovski increased the York Region lead to 7-1 at 56 minutes and London’s Edin Kozika scored at 65 minutes to make it 7-2.

Referee Gus Espinal ejected a player from each side following an altercation at 68 minutes, the red card shown to forward Brandon Barbosa of London City and to goalscorer Richard West of York Region Shooters. The game ended 7-2 in favour of York Region.

York Region Shooters move up to third position in the First Division with a 12-8-1 WLT record for 37 points, while London City are at 8-11-2 for 26 points in sixth position.

Following a scoreless first half, SC Waterloo took the lead on a goal by Adis Hasecic who beat Burlington goalkeeper Andrew Stringer for a 1-0 score at 57 minutes. It was Hasecic’s 16 goal of the season.

Aaron Willichuck tied the game 1-1 for Burlington at 62 minutes and Silent Nyamushanya collected a cross from the left wing to strike the winner for Burlington at the 85 minute mark, a 2-1 score that held until the final whistle.

Burlington improve to 7-11-3 for 24 points and tied for ninth position in the table with Milton and Brantford Galaxy, while SC Waterloo now have an 11-7-3 record for 36 points, dropping to fourth spot in the standings.

The Brampton City Utd vs Niagara United First Division game scheduled for Sunday was cancelled.

There was one game played in the Second Division, with Burlington SC B defeating SC Waterloo B, 1-0 and the Brampton City Utd B vs. Niagara United B was also cancelled.