The 2004 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the seventh season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 24, 2004 and concluded on October 11, 2004 with Toronto Croatia defeating Vaughan Shooters 4–0 to capture their second CPSL Championship (known as the Rogers CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons). The championship was hosted for the first time at Victoria Park Stadium in Brampton, Ontario, which granted the Brampton Hitmen a wildcard berth. In the regular season the Toronto Supra clinched their first Eastern Conference title, while Hamilton Thunder secured their second Western Conference title. Though the league decreased in membership they managed to expand to the Windsor - Detroit territory with the addition of the Windsor Border Stars.
Changes from 2003 season The 2004 season saw the league decrease from 13 to 11 teams. The Ottawa Wizards, and the Durham Flames had their franchises revoked. The Laval Dynamites went on hiatus as they awaited the completion of their home venue the Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne. Though the CPSL lost 3 franchises they managed to expand to the Essex County with the addition of the Windsor Border Stars. Founding member the Mississauga Olympians were sold to John O'Neill and replaced the Durham Flames under the name Durham Storm. Vaughan Sun Devils changed their name to the Vaughan Shooters, while the North York Astros joined them in their move to the Ontario Soccer Centre. Director of Officials Tony Camacho resigned and was replaced by former Director at Large Walter Kirchner.
Teams Team City Stadium Manager Brampton Hitmen Brampton, Ontario (Bramalea) Victoria Park Stadium Steve Nijjar Durham Storm Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) Oshawa Civic Stadium Derek Bean London City London, Ontario (Westmount) Cove Road Stadium Harry Gauss Hamilton Thunder Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium Jorge Armua Metro Lions Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium Goran Miscevic North York Astros Toronto, Ontario (North York) Ontario Soccer Centre Vittorio Villacis St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) Club Roma Stadium Lucio Ianiero Toronto Croatia Mississauga, Ontario (Streetsville) Memorial Park Aldo Krajcar Toronto Supra Toronto, Ontario (Brockton) Centennial Park Stadium José Testas Vaughan Shooters Vaughan, Ontario (Woodbridge) Ontario Soccer Centre Sam Mederios Windsor Border Stars Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Pat Hilton
Coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointment Hamilton Thunder John Di Pasquale replaced Jorge Armua
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs
Quarterfinals
Wildcard
Semifinals
Rogers CPSL Championship
GK 1 Brian Bowes RB 17Raj Takhar CB 2 Angelo Pollastrone (c) LB 4Jorge Molina RM 7 Cameron Medwin CM 11 Branko Majstorovic CM 10 Joey Todaro CM 8Chris Turner LM 21 Marco Casilinuovo ST 13 Matthew Palleschi ST 9 Jason De Thomasis Substitutes:GK 0Roberto Scala DF 12 Fitzroy Powell DF 15 Fitzroy Christey DF 6Tony Marshall MF 23Ricardo Forno FW 19 Jose Anikewe FW 20Steve Said Manager: Tony De Thomasis
GK 1 George Azcurra RB 6 Mario Kulis CB 5 Antonijo Zupan LB 3 Halburto HarrisRM 22 Danny Draganic CM 9 Zvjezdan Kresic CM 8 Hugo Alstitud CM 11 Velimir Crljen LM 21Marko Milicevic FW 16Edin Kalic FW 10 Leo Laurito Substitutes:GK 12Vinko Kozina DF 2 Ante Pavlovic DF 4Rudy Spajic MF 7Andrew Saulez FW 20Leo Marasovic FW 23John Sola Manager: Theo Krajacic
Assistant referees: Silviu Petrescu Yakov Keimakh Fourth official: Alex William
All-Star game In the 2004 All-Star game Boavista F.C. of the Primeira Liga conducted a North American tour where one of their opponents were a CPSL Select team assembled by Harry Gauss, and Steve Nijjar. The match was played at Cove Road Stadium in London, Ontario.
+ CPSL Selects Pos. Name Team Squad GK George Azcurra Toronto Croatia D Peter Zorba North York Astros D Mason Greene Durham Storm D Bayete Smith Brampton Hitmen D Marko Peeters London City MF Sasha Kosanovic Metro Lions MF Kosta Stojkovic Metro Lions MF Justin Medeiros London City MF Caswain Mason Metro Lions F Darryl Gomez Metro Lions F Paul Munster London City Squad GK Haidar Al-Shaïbani London City MF Gentjan Dervishi London City MF Kareem Reynolds Metro Lions MF Phil Ionadi Brampton Hitmen MF Billy Ninopoulos Metro Lions F Marko Janjicek Metro Lions Head coach Harry Gauss Steve Nijjar London City Brampton Hitmen
Top goal scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Paul Munster London City252 Danny Amaral Toronto Supra153 Alex BraleticNorth York Astros10 Michael DilucaHamilton Thunder Tati Errecalde Windsor Border Stars4 Maxim Elie DornevalMetro Lions 9 Hayden FitzwilliamsMetro Lions Kevin NelsonHamilton Thunder Matthew PalleschiVaughan Shooters5 Aaron ByrdWindsor Border Stars8 Paul Daccobert Brampton Hitmen Daniel JarochNorth York AstrosLeo LauritoToronto Croatia Sasa MilaimovicHamilton ThunderCraig PattonMetro LionsJoey TodaroVaughan Shooters Updated: September 11, 2017 Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports04/04cpsl2x.htm
CPSL Executive Committee A list of the 2004 CPSL Executive Committee. PositionNameNationalityPresident & Chairman: Vincent Ursini CanadianLeague Administrator/Director of Media: Stan Adamson EnglishDirector of Discipline: Clifford Dell CanadianDirector of Officials: Walter Kirchner RomanianAdministrative Co-ordinator: Janet Leonard CanadianCommunity Services: Peter Li Preti CanadianLegal Counsel: Ira Greenspoon CanadianMarketing Consultant: Cary Kaplan CanadianMarketing Manager: Jess Krajacic Canadian
Individual awards
The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 9, 2004 at the La Contessa Banquet Hall in North York, Toronto. London City and Windsor Border Stars were both tied with the most wins with 2 awards. London City's Paul Munster had a tremendous season where he captured both the Golden Boot and Rookie of the Year, which later spring boarded his career back to Europe to sign with Slavia Prague in the Czech First League. After leading expansion franchise Windsor Border Stars to an Open Canada Cup, former English football player Pat Hilton was given the Coach of the Year. While Windsor's Justin Marshall was voted the Defender of the Year.
The league chose Danny Amaral as its MVP after making his return to Canadian soccer with Toronto Supra after several seasons in Portugal. George Azcurra of Toronto Croatia won his fourth Goalkeeper of the Year. The Referee of the Year went to Amato De Luca, which marked his second CPSL accolade. The most disciplined team throughout the season were Durham Storm. The league also introduced the President of the Year award in order to recognize the top executive or organizer, and the inaugural recipient was North York Astros Bruno Ierullo. Award Player (Club) CPSL Most Valuable Player Danny Amaral (Toronto Supra) CPSL Golden Boot Paul Munster (London City) CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia) CPSL Defender of the Year Award Justin Marshall (Windsor Border Stars) CPSL Rookie of the Year Award Paul Munster (London City) CPSL Coach of the Year Award Pat Hilton (Windsor Border Stars) CPSL President of the Year Award Bruno Ierullo (North York Astros) CPSL Referee of the Year Award Amato De Luca CPSL Fair Play Award Durham Storm
References
External links Rocket Robin's Home Page of the 2004 CPSL Season