The 2002 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fifth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 23, 2002, and concluded on October 20, 2002, with Ottawa Wizards becoming the first expansion franchise to win the CPSL Championship (known as the Rogers CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons) by defeating the North York Astros 2–0. For the first time the final was hosted at Esther Shiner Stadium, which granted the hosts the North York Astros a wildcard match. As the league was divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences the Wizards clinched the Eastern title, while Toronto Croatia won the Western Conference. The expansion of the league saw the return of professional soccer to Hamilton, and the addition of another Toronto franchise. On February 26, 2002, the CPSL signed a player agreement deal with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League, which provided the Lynx access in order to use CPSL talent and provide players an opportunity to play at a higher level.
Changes from 2001 season For the second straight season the CPSL expanded to 14 clubs to include the Hamilton Thunder and Metro Lions. Due to the increase of teams the CPSL management split the league into two Conferences the Eastern and Western. The Toronto Olympians moved to Erin Mills, Mississauga, which opened the Scarborough territory to the Metro Lions. Changes occurred in the York Region territory with Glen Shields changing their team name to Vaughan Sun Devils in order to fully represent the city of Vaughan. Meanwhile, their rivals the York Region Shooters were sold to Tony De Thomasis, and relocated the team to their original home at Highland Park in Aurora. While former Hamilton Bulldogs president Cary Kaplan was hired as a Management Consultant for the league.
Teams
Team City Stadium Manager Brampton Hitmen Brampton, Ontario (Bramalea) Victoria Park Stadium Steve Nijjar Durham Flames Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) Oshawa Civic Stadium Steve Hamill London City London, Ontario (Westmount) Cove Road Stadium Jurek Gebczynski Hamilton Thunder Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium Andrzej Jasinski Metro Lions Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium Anthony La Ferrara Mississauga Olympians Mississauga, Ontario (Erin Mills) Erin Mills Twin Arenas David Gee Montreal Dynamites Laval, Quebec Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne Victor Petkov North York Astros Toronto, Ontario (North York) Esther Shiner Stadium Pavel Zaslavski Dejan Gluščević Ottawa Wizards Ottawa, Ontario (Carp) OZ Optics Stadium Klaus Linnenbruegger St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) Club Roma Stadium Lucio Ianiero Toronto Croatia Mississauga, Ontario (Streetsville) Memorial Park Drago Santic Toronto Supra Toronto, Ontario (Brockton) Centennial Park Stadium Victor Cameira Vaughan Sun Devils Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) Dufferin District Field Dave Benning York Region Shooters Aurora, Ontario (Aurora Village) Highland Park Vito Colangelo Coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointmentBrampton Hitmen Ed McLaughlinreplaced July 4, 20024th, Western ConferenceSteve Nijjar July 5, 2002 Montreal Dynamites Mohamed Hilen resigned 2nd, Eastern Conference Victor Petkov Toronto CroatiaZarko Bralarelieved September 9, 20023rd, Western ConferenceDrago Santic September 18, 2002Hamilton ThunderMarko Maschkeresigned September 19, 20022nd, Western ConferenceAndrzej JasinskiSeptember 20, 2002
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs
Wildcard
Semifinals
Rogers CPSL Championship
GK 1Luciano Miranda (c) RB 21Slobodan Ilic CB 14 Kurt Ramsey CB 2Pablo Politi LB 3 Ryan Thomson RM 15 Zoltan Zsibok CM 19 Gabriel Salguero CM 16 Andrei Malychenkov LM 18 Dejan GluscevicST 17 Guillermo Compton Hall ST 7Lukasz Krakowiak Substitutes:DF 5Peter Zorbas DF 4 Tom Covello FW 6Marvin Azzopardi MF 8Jean Pierre Melotte DF 13 Gurbir Singh MF 20Maximiliano Andrada Manager: Dejan Gluscevic Pavel Zaslavski
GK 1 Sa Brahima TraoreRB 3 Kwame Telemaque CB 18 Shurland David (c) CB 22 Abraham FrancoisLB 23 James MacMillan RM 17 Urbain Some CM 7 Peter Mponda CM 2 Danny Sanna LM 21 Robin Hart CF 8 Kevin Nelson CF 9 Abraham Osman Substitutes:GK 33 Roberto Canales DF 5 Simon Bonk DF 16 Norm Gates MF 4 Russell Shaw MF 14 Nikola Brkljaca FW 10 Samir Karaga FW 19 Mario Andrijanic Manager: Klaus Linnenbruegger
Rogers CPSL Championship MVP: Guillermo Compton Hall (North York Astros) Assistant referees: Amato De Luca Denise Robinson Fourth official: Vito Curalli
All-Star Game The 2002 CPSL All-Star match was arranged by the German consulate general in Toronto to have TSV 1860 Munich of the Bundesliga to come to Canada. London City head coach Jurek Gebcznyski was selected to assemble an All-Star roster with Dave Benning, Victor Cameria and Steve Nijjar serving as his assistant coaches. Jimmy Douglas was appointed the general manager for the team.
GK 31 Pieter Meuleman RB 2 Jason FariaCB 3 Danny SannaCB 4 Peyvand Mossavat LB 11 Bayete Smith RM 15 Gentian Dervishi CM 9 Miles O'ConnerCM 12 Abraham Osman LM 8 Phil Ionadi ST 14 Carlo Arghittu ST 16 Jimmy Kuzmanovski Substitutes:GK 1 Luciano Miranda DF 5 Orlando Rizzo DF 6 Tyler Hemming MF 7 Lucio Ianiero MF 10 David Mancini FW 17 Dejan Gluscevic FW 18 Denny Dragonic Manager: Jurek Gebczynski
GK 29 Simon Jentzsch RB 4 Marco Kurz CB 7 Rodrigo Barbosa Rodrigues CostaLB 22 Didier Dheedene RM 14 Michael Wiesinger CM 2 Martin Stranzl CM 17 Daniel Borimirov LM 6 Roman Tyce FW 21 Markus Schroth FW 9 Martin Max FW 18 Paul Agostino Substitutes:GK 1 Michael Hofmann GK 31 Jurgen Wittmann DF 24 Uwe Ehlers DF 44 Torben Hoffmann DF 41 Christian Holzer MF 36 Andreas Gorlitz MF 42 Stefan Kogler MF 26 Marcus Pürk FW 25 Achim Pfuderer Manager: Peter Pacult
Assistant referees: Steve Cahoon Frank Marcello Fourth official: Steve DePierro
2002 scoring leaders Full article: CSL Golden Boot Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals 1 Darren Tilley Mississauga Olympians 20 2 Kevin Nelson Ottawa Wizards 18 3 Mladen Dikic Toronto Croatia 14 4 Carlo Arghittu St. Catharines Wolves 13 5 Gus Kouzmanis Vaughan Sun Devils 13 6 Khalid Mensah Montreal Dynamites 13 7 Abraham Osman Ottawa Wizards 12 8 Kevin De Serpa Mississauga Olympians 8 9 Tom Kouzmanis Vaughan Sun Devils 8 10 Kurt Mella Brampton Hitmen 8
CPSL Executive Committee A list of the 2002 CPSL Executive Committee. PositionNameNationalityPresident & Chairman: Vincent Ursini CanadianLeague Administrator/Director of Media: Stan Adamson EnglishDirector at Large: Walter Kirchner RomanianDirector of Discipline: Clifford Dell CanadianDirector of Officials: Tony Camacho PortugueseAdministrative Co-ordinator: Josie Storto CanadianTreasurer: Peter Li Preti CanadianLegal Counsel: Ira Greenspoon Canadian
Individual awards
The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 20, 2002, at the Hollywood Princess Convention in Concord, Ontario. Where the Mississauga Olympians received the most accolades with three wins. Darren Tilley a former English football and USL A-League veteran was given both the CSL Golden Boot and Rookie of the Year. After accumulating the fewest card bookings they received the Fair Play award, their third in the club's history. Toronto Croatia went home with two awards with George Azcurra adding his third Goalkeeper of the Year award to his resume. While Domagoj Sain was named the Defender of the Year.
Abraham Osman of the Ottawa Wizards became the first player to receive the MVP in two straight seasons. After a mediocre start to the season the Metro Lions utilized the services of Aldwyn McGill as manager, who transformed the expansion franchise into a title contender. While Michael Lambert's work as a match official was recognized by the league with the Referee of the Year award. Award Player (Club) CPSL Most Valuable Player Abraham Osman (Ottawa Wizards) CPSL Golden Boot Darren Tilley (Mississauga Olympians) CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia) CPSL Defender of the Year Award Domagoj Sain (Toronto Croatia) CPSL Rookie of the Year Award Darren Tilley (Mississauga Olympians) CPSL Coach of the Year Award Aldwyn McGill (Metro Lions) CPSL Referee of the Year Award Michael Lambert CPSL Fair Play Award Mississauga Olympians
References
External links Rocket Robin's Home Page of the 2002 CPSL Season