December 20, 2012--CSL The Ups and Downs of 2012 in the CSL...a league retrospective (from CSL web site)
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF 2012 IN THE CSL.........A league retrospective LONDON CITY SOLD New interests, headed by Hamilton entrepreneur Andrew Crowe, took over ownership of London City Soccer Club from the Gauss family early 2012. London City was launched on St. Valentine’s Day 1973 to become a fixture in Canadian professional soccer. The club has a reputation for developing young players, a number of which were signed over the years by clubs in Europe. Markus (Max) Gauss – now a member of the London Sports Hall of Fame - started the club which was managed for many years by son, the late Harry Gauss, and subsequently by Harry’s son, Ryan. BUSINESS OF SOCCER A LEAGUE PRIORITY URGES CSL TEAM OWNER Tony De Thomasis, owner of York Region Shooters, warned his fellow owners in January that the future success of Canada’s only professional soccer league rests on the ability of all owners to run teams like a business. De Thomasis, himself a successful businessman in the financial sector, said the CSL must turn its attention to the business of soccer with financial strength being a major consideration for the league’s future development. GERARDO LEZCANO The Canadian Soccer League and the soccer community lost popular North York Astros coach Gerardo Lezcano to cancer at the age of 65. Gerardo Jose Lezcano was born in Argentina’s Corrientes Province and soccer soon became his favourite sport as he developed into a defender, a position he played on arrival in Canada in 1972. YOUTH TALENT IN ABUNDANCE AT CSL SHOWCASE The CSL held a player showcase at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga on March 2 and the event was well-attended by coaches from Canada and the United States who saw some of the brightest young prospects in Ontario. CSL ANNOUNCES RECORD 16 TEAMS IN 2012 FIRST DIVISION The CSL announced in April a record 16 teams in its First Division for the 2012 season with the opener set for the Invista Sports Centre in the picturesque community of Kingston, just east of Toronto. TFC Academy, the senior academy team of Toronto FC, visited Kingston FC on Saturday, May 5 and the visitors triumphed, 4-2. IT'S FIRST DIVISION PRO SOCCER FOR NIAGARA UNITED Niagara United announced at a press conference the formation of professional soccer for the first time in the world-renowned community. THE CSL THIS WEEK KICKED OFF IN MAY The CSL This Week, the popular weekly soccer show of game highlights, interviews and special features in the CSL, kicked off on Friday, May 18 for a season-long series, JAREK WHITEMAN EARLY SEASON HAT-TRICK SINKS MISSISSAUGA EAGLES Prolific SC Toronto forward Jarek Whiteman scored an early season hat-trick to lead his team to a 4-1 defeat of Mississauga Eagles FC at the Hershey Centre on May 18. MONTREAL IMPACT ACADEMY TROUNCE ST. CATHARINES WOLVES 8-1 An impressive Montreal Impact Academy with several players under consideration for youth international duty, trounced St. Catharines Wolves 8-1 on May 20, while new-club SC Waterloo also raised eyebrows with a 5-0 resounding victory over London City. TORONTO CROATIA'S VUCEMILOVIC-GRGIC HITS HAT-TRICK IN 6-0 WIN Midfielder Marin Vucemilovic Grgic led Toronro Croatia with a hat-trick in a 6-0 romp over North York Astros on June 10, while Brampton City Utd slammed Brantford Galaxy, 8-2 on the same day. CAMARGO HAT-TRICK LANDS TFC VICTORY TFC Academy midfielder Sergio Camargo scored all three to give his team a decisive 3-0 victory over Mississauga Eagles FC on June 22. SCEPANOVIC AND PRZEDNOWEK HAT-TRICKS SPELL DEFEAT FOR NORTH YORK ASTROS Three goals by forward Milos Scepanovic propelled Brampton City Utd. to a 6-0 victory over North York Astros on June 24 and on July 6 the Astros were also caught on the receiving end of an in-form Brantford forward Jacek Przednowek who struck a hat-trick for a 5-2 Brantford victory. NEW-LOOK KINGSTON FC UPBEAT WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS The mood was upbeat when Kingston FC held a press conference at the Invista Sports Centre on July 6 to make a number of key announcements, including a shuffle in ownership, a new coach, several new players and a new sponsor. Kingston chairman Lorne Abugov introduced Irish-born Colm Muldoon as the new head coach and promised further strengthening of the fledgling franchise as the club’s inaugural season progresses. TFC TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN FIRST DIVISION TFC Academy scored a late goal to salvage a 2-2 tie in their home game against Windsor Stars on July 27 and the point was enough to put the team on top of the First Division RICHARD WEST HITS HAT-TRICK FOR SERBIAN EAGLES Striker Richard West led Serbian White Eagles with a first half hat-trick to a 6-1 defeat of Niagara United on August 3. DAVID GUZMAN HAT-TRICK LIFTS BRAMPTON Midfielder David Guzman showed the way with a hat-trick in Brampton City Utd’s crushing 7-1 defeat of Brantford Galaxy at Victoria Park in Brampton on August 5. SC TORONTO GOES ON TOP WITH OSORIO HAT-TRICK SC Toronto scored an impressive 5-0 away victory over London City to take over the top spot in the CSL First Division on August 27 due in part to an impressive hat-trick by Jonathan Osorio. WINDSOR STARS DOMINATE ST. CATHARINES 7-0 WITH KEITH LOUGH HAT-TRICK Windsor Stars, led by newcomer Keith Lough with a hat-trick, extended their unbeaten streak to five games with a 7-0 rout of Brantford Galaxy at Windsor Stadium on August 25. TORONTO CROATIA LED THE WAY TO GAIN FIRST PLAYOFF BERTH Toronto Croatia became the first team to secure a playoff berth with their 4-1 defeat of TFC Academy on September 7. TWO HAT-TRICKS IN 7-3 GOALFEST AT KINGSTON Richard West and Zoran Rajovic each scored three goals in a 7-3 Serbian White Eagles victory over Kingston FC on September 8 DRAZEN VUKOVIC SCORES THREE IN SC WATERLOO ROMP Drazen Vukovic scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 romp over North York Astros on September 9 THE CSL’s STATES ITS POSITION ON PLAYING GAMES WHICH CLASH WITH CANADIAN NATIONAL TEAMS The CSL responded to criticism in September that the league should avoid playing games on a night the Canadian National Team is playing. The league explained that the CSL cares about and is a strong supporter of the Canadian man’s national team and its progress in the World Cup and also about Canada’s women - with pride in the recent Olympic achievement. The shortage of suitable enclosed stadia in certain cities makes it difficult to avoid certain nights completely, particularly at weekends where there are not enough dates to accommodate the busy almost 6-month long CSL season. Occasionally, therefore, while the league will avoid dates when an important national team is playing, a clash is sometimes unavoidable. CSL RELEASES A STATEMENT FOLLOWING CBC REPORT OF MATCH FIXING The Canadian Soccer League issued a statement in September 13 that it was aware of accusations that a regular season league game of September 12, 2009 between the home side Trois-Rivieres Attak and Toronto Croatia played at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and won 4-1 by Trois-Rivieres Attak, was tampered with in favour of certain betting interests in Europe. The CSL statement explains that match fixing in soccer is prevalent in many parts of the world and is a threat to the game The CSL stated it will continue its pledge to take the necessary steps to prevent any activity considered to be tampering with the outcome of any CSL match. RICHARD WEST STRIKES ANOTHER HAT-TRICK Serbian White Eagles striker Richard West scored his second hat-trick of the campaign in a 4-1 victory by Serbian White Eagles over Brantford Galaxy on September 16. West scored three on August 3. TORONTO CROATIA ROMPS 7-0 TO GO SEVEN POINTS CLEAR Toronto Croatia romped by a score of 7-0 over St. Catharines Wolves on September 19 to go seven points clear in the First Division standings. TORONTO CROATIA CLINCHES FIRST DIVISION TITLE WITH 2-1 VICTORY Toronto Croatia won the CSL First Division on September 30 with a 2-1 victory over Windsor Stars. MONTREAL IMPACT ACADEMY HITS REMARKABLE NINE-GAME WINNING STREAK A remarkable nine-game winning streak by Montreal Impact Academy ended their regular season with a 4-2 victory over TFC Academy on October 10. TORONTO CROATIA WINS CSL CHAMPIONSHIP WHILE SC TORONTO RESERVES WIN SECOND DIVISION Toronto Croatia defeated Montreal Impact Academy 1-0 to take the CSL Championship for the second year in succession and SC Toronto Reserves scored a 3-1 victory over Brampton City Utd Reserves to win the Second Division championship – both games played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on October 27. MARIN VUCEMILOVIC-GRGIC VOTED MVP IN THE CSL Toronto Croatia’s outstanding midfielder Marin Vucemilovic-Grgic was voted the CSL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2012 and was honoured with other recipients at the CSL Annual Awards night on November 25. ARMANDO COSTA DIES Armando Costa, the Technical Director and Head Coach of the CSL’s Brampton City Utd and one of Canada’s high profile and highly regarded coaches, lost his battle with cancer on December 7. Armando’s life-long passion for soccer never really left him since growing up in Bombarral in central Portugal where he was born 63 years ago and where he was eventually signed by the local professional club SCE Bombarralense. He came to Canada in 1963.
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