March 23-29, 2015 - League1 Ontario Week In Review (from League 1 Ontario website)

March 23-29, 2015 - League1 Ontario Week In Review
. Mon Mar 30 
Written By: Staff, League1  

Another very busy is in the books, which was highlighted by the exciting news that 
a seventh team has been added to the League1 Ontario Women's Division.

Woodbridge Strikers Added To League1 Women's Division for 2015

League1 Ontario and The Ontario Soccer Association announced this past week that 
Woodbridge Strikers will join the L1 Women’s Division in its inaugural 2015 season. 

Woodbridge enjoyed a very strong debut season in 2014 with their Men’s side, finishing 
second overall in the league.  They hope to repeat that success in 2015 with their 
new Women’s team, and hopefully do one better. 

"We are very excited to be in League1 Ontario's inaugural 2015 women's division, 
as we were very happy with League1 competition last year for our men," said 
Adam Candido, vice-president at Woodbridge Soccer Club. "We now we have a well-balanced 
program on our female side, as well as the men...Woodbridge Soccer Club now covers 
every aspect of play, and allows our elite female athletes to compete at every 
level of the game."

League1 Ontario Chairman, Dino Rossi, sees the addition of Woodbridge Strikers 
to the Women’s Division as a sign of what is to come in the future.

"We are confident that Woodbridge will field a high quality side and will further 
ensure that, in this very important year for women's football, the top female 
talents in this province will be competing, by and large, in League1 Ontario," 
said Rossi. "It is especially exciting for the new entry to come from one of our 
existing license holders. We look forward to the day when most, if not all, 
of our license holders field teams in both the women's and men's divisions."

Woodbridge will join ANB Futbol, Durham United FC, North Mississauga SC, Pro Stars FC, 
Sanjaxx Lions and Vaughan Azzurri in the League1 Ontario Women’s Division, which 
will kick off play in May 2015.
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Ontario's Elite Match Officials Gather For Training Camp

More than sixty of Ontario’s top Match Officials gathered in Vaughan over the weekend 
of March 28-29 for the 1st Annual Elite Match Officials Training Camp.

Officials came in from across the province, from Windsor to Ottawa and everywhere 
in between, to attend this mandatory pre-season camp.  

The training camp was made possible thanks to a new and exciting partnership between 
League1 Ontario, Ontario University Athletics (OUA), the Ontario Colleges Athletic 
Association (OCAA) and The OSA.  

The two days of practical and in-class training sessions were led by Tony Camacho, 
League1 Ontario’s Director of Officials, as well as FIFA/National Instructors 
Amato DeLuca, Joe Audi and Isaac Raymond. Among the topics covered were:  Interference 
and Offside; Dissent; Denying Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity (DOGSO); Mass 
Confrontation and Assisting the Referee.  

Representatives from OUA, OCAA and League1 Ontario had opportunities over the weekend 
to speak with the Match Officials, to exchange ideas to improve their respective leagues 
and to answer any questions the officials might have.  

All in all, an excellent initiative that should continue to take place annually.  
Kudos to the organizers!

. 
Canadian Men's National Team Defeats Guatemala in Friendly

The Canadian Men’s National Team, led by Head Coach Benito Floro, earned a well 
deserved 1-0 victory over Guatemala in an International Friendly in Florida 
on March 27, 2015.

Canada’s goal was scored by Marcus Haber in the first half.

Former League1 Ontario stars Cyle Larin and Chris Manella made appearances 
in this match. 

USL Roundup For The Week Ending March 29, 2015

A total of ten players who played prominent roles in League1 Ontario’s debut 
2014 season took to the pitch in USL action this past weekend.

TFC II led the way with nine former L1 stars in their 18 man roster and three 
of those young men featured prominently as TFC II defeated FC Montreal by a 2-0 
scoreline at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

Toronto was led by L1 MVP Molham Babouli, who was a force in all facets of the game 
and set up the team’s first goal, scored by Marco Nunes. Nunes finished third in the 
League1 Ontario scoring race in 2014 , behind only Babouli and Emery Welshman.  
The 22 year old Nunes just signed with TFC II on the Friday before the match 
so it was certainly a great start to his USL career.

The Red’s second goal was created by former ANB Futbol attacker Raheem Edwards, who 
was named to the 2014 League1 Young Stars list.  Edwards used his deft first touch 
and outstanding pace to get behind the Montreal defence for a clear chance on goal 
midway through the second half.  The Montreal keeper made an excellent save 
on Edwards’ initial shot but the rebound struck a Montreal defender trailing the play 
and the ball was directed into goal to make it 2-0.  

Also, TFC II signed Mark Sargeant to a USL contract in the lead up to this match.  
Sargeant is a product of the Oakville Blue Devils program (when they played under 
the Toronto Lynx banner).  Another Blue Devils graduate, Rahime Thorpe, was also 
on the TFC2 roster for Saturday’s match.

Out on the West Coast, Giuliano Frano (formerly of Sigma FC) played 80 strong minutes 
for Sounders FC 2 as they soundly defeated Vancouver Whitecaps 2 by a score of 4-0. 

back to 2015 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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