The 2018 Men's League1 Ontario season was the fifth season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Vaughan Azzurri won the league championship and earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship; the top national tournament for men's soccer teams. Vaughan captured the league double for a second time by also winning the L1 Cup, a feat they first achieved in 2016. FC London finished the season with the best regular season record, earning 38 points in 16 games.
Changes from 2017 The men's division grew slightly to 17 teams for this season, with the addition of Darby FC, Unionville Milliken SC, and Alliance United FC (a joint partnership between Markham SC and Wexford SC). Durham United FA and North Toronto Nitros did not return for this season.
During the off-season, Jim Brennan stepped down as head of Aurora FC to accept a position with York 9 FC in the Canadian Premier League. FC London also announced the affiliation of its youth academy with professional side Toronto FC.
This season saw expanded playoffs and a return to single-table competition for the men's division. The top eight teams overall from the men's division entered the playoffs, which consisted of a group stage and a final championship match between the winner of each group. The women's side saw a shorter season which ended in August, followed by a four-team elimination playoff for the league title.
Teams League1 Ontario Men's Division Team City Principal stadium Founded First season Head coach Alliance United Markham Centennial College 2018 2018 Ilya Orlov Aurora FC Aurora Stewart Burnett Park 1964 2016 Derek O'Keefe Darby FC Whitby Whitby Soccer Centre 2018 2018 David Thorburn FC London London German Canadian FC Stadium 2008 2016 Michael Marcoccia Master's Futbol Toronto (Scarborough) L'Amoreaux Park 2012 2014 Rick Titus North Mississauga SC Mississauga Hershey Centre 1982 2016 Sam Medeiros Oakville Blue Devils Oakville Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium 1994 2015 Duncan Wilde Ottawa South United Force Ottawa Quinn's Pointe 2017 2017 Peter Mapendere ProStars FC Brampton Victoria Park Stadium 2015 2015 Josef Komlodi Sanjaxx Lions Toronto Monarch Park Stadium 2012 2015 Patrick Lowe Sigma FC Mississauga Hershey Centre 2005 2014 Bobby Smyrniotis Toronto FC III Toronto (North York) KIA Training Ground 2008 2014 Danny Dichio Toronto Skillz FC Toronto (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium 2008 2016 Leslie Fitzpatrick Unionville Milliken SC Unionville Bill Crothers Park 2018 2018 Emanuele Ameltonis Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan (Maple) McNaughton Park 2014 2014 Carmine Isacco Windsor TFC Stars Windsor University of Windsor Stadium 2004 2014 Zibby Piatkiewicz Woodbridge Strikers Vaughan (Woodbridge) Vaughan Grove 1976 2014 Peter Pinizzotto
Regular season Each team played 16 matches as part of the season; one match against all other teams. The top eight teams competed in the league playoffs at the end of the season, the winner of which earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship.
Playoffs The top eight teams from the regular season were divided into two groups of four for the playoffs. Each team played three matches; one match against all other teams in their group. The top team from each group advanced to the league championship, the winner of which earned entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship.
Group stage Group A
Group B
League Championship The league champion was determined by a single match between the two group winners in the first round of the playoffs. The winner qualified for the 2019 Canadian Championship.
L1 Cup The L1 Cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all 17 teams from the men's division took part. It is not a form of playoffs at the end of the season (as is typically seen in North American sports), but is more like the EFL Cup, albeit only for League1 Ontario teams. All matches are separate from the regular season, and are not reflected in the season standings.
The cup tournament for the men's division is a single-match knockout tournament with a total of four rounds culminating in a final match in the start of August, with initial matches determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes advanced directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.
Preliminary round
First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Statistics
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerClubGoals 1 Anthony Novak Oakville Blue Devils 18 2 Connor Wilson FC London 14 3 Zakaria Abdi Toronto FC III 10 Jose De Sousa Master's Futbol 10 Dylan Sacramento Vaughan Azzurri 10 6 Emmanuel Isaac Woodbridge Strikers 9 7 Steven Furlano Alliance United 8 8 Marcel Zajac Sigma FC 7 9 (Ten players tied) 6 Updated to matches played on August 18, 2018. Source:
Top goalkeepers
RankPlayerClubMinutesGAA 1 Lucas Birnstingl Oakville / Unionville 1080 0.42 2 Triston Henry Sigma FC 1440 0.56 3 Matt George Oakville / Vaughan 720 0.75 4 Roberto Stillo Woodbridge Strikers 900 0.90 5 Michael Argyrides Vaughan Azzurri 270 1.00 6 Anthony Sokalski FC London 1440 1.19 7 Sebastien Sgarbossa Toronto FC III 450 1.20 8 Tayjon Campbell Sanjaxx Lions 807 1.23 9 Karman Saini Oakville Blue Devils 360 1.25 10 Mark Rogal Alliance United 1170 1.31 Updated to matches played on August 18, 2018. Minimum 270 minutes played. Source:
Awards The following players received honours in the 2018 season: AwardPlayer (Club) Most Valuable Player Dylan Sacramento (Vaughan Azzurri) Golden Boot Anthony Novak (Oakville Blue Devils) Coach of the Year Mike Marcoccia (FC London) Young Players of the Year Marko Maletic (FC London)Kunle Dada-Luke (Toronto FC III) Defender of the Year Dominic Samuel (Sigma FC) Goalkeeper of the Year Robert Stillo (Woodbridge Strikers) Fair Play Award Matthew Arnone (Vaughan Azzurri) Goal of the Year Jack Sears (Darby FC)
First Team All-Stars GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Robert Stillo (Woodbridge Strikers) Jarred Phillips (Vaughan Azzurri)Marko Maletic (FC London)Dominic Samuel (Sigma FC)Afram Gorgees (Toronto FC III) Mohammed Reza Nafa (FC London)Giuliano Frano (Sigma FC)Dylan Sacramento (Vaughan Azzurri) Kadell Thomas (Sigma FC)Anthony Novak (Oakville Blue Devils)Austin Ricci (Vaughan Azzurri)
Second Team All-Stars GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Triston Henry (Sigma FC) Justin Springer (Vaughan Azzurri)Konnor McNamara (Oakville Blue Devils)Parker Seymour (FC London)Morey Doner (Aurora FC) Matthew Arnone (Vaughan Azzurri)Mehdi Essoussi (Toronto FC III)Stefan Nikolic (Sanjaxx Lions) Connor Wilson (FC London)Kunle Dada-Luke (Toronto FC III)Emmanuel Issac (Woodbridge Strikers)
Third Team All-Stars GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards Lukas Birsingl (Oakville/Unionville) Tim Mahabir (Toronto Skillz)Reggie Laryea (Sigma FC)Bruce Cullen (Woodbridge Strikers)Aaron Schneebli (FC London)Michael Borowski (ProStars FC)Brendan Woodfull (Windsor TFC) Raphael Reynolds (Darby FC)Lee Victor Massunda (North Mississauga)Barou Junior Mbuyamba (Ottawa South United)Mansoor Alfazy (Sigma FC)Joshua Paredes-Proctor (Woodbridge Strikers)Josh Moreira (Toronto FC III) Steven Furlano (Alliance United/Darby)Jose De Sousa (Woodbridge/Masters FA)Tre Crosby (Unionville Milliken)Filipe Vilela (Oakville Blue Devils)Marcel Zajac (Sigma FC)
All-Star Game The league announced that an All-Star Game between League1 Ontario and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) would once again take place this season. The game was hosted by the PLSQ and was played on June 30.
+ League1 Ontario All-Stars Pos. Name Team Starters GK Triston Henry Sigma FC D Bruce Cullen Woodbridge Strikers D Dominic Samuel Sigma FC D Marko Maletic FC London D Morey Doner Aurora FC MF Joshua Parades-Procter Woodbridge Strikers MF Matthew Arnone Vaughan Azzurri MF Joey Melo Masters FA MF Kadell Thomas Sigma FC F Jarek Whiteman Vaughan Azzurri F Anthony Novak Oakville Blue Devils Substitutes GK Robert Stillo Woodbridge Strikers D Lukas MacNaughton Alliance United D Devon Bowyer Alliance United D Ignazio Muccilli Woodbridge Strikers MF Nikola Stakic Alliance United MF Raphael Reynolds Darby FC MF Stefan Nikolic Sanjaxx Lions F Tre Crosby Unionville Milliken F Andrew Gordon Sanjaxx Lions F Jose De Sousa Sanjaxx Lions
References
External links