February 29, 2024...L1 Cup draw reveals first matches of 2024 season (from League1 Ontario website)
L1 Cup draw reveals first matches of 2024 season
By League1 Ontario staff, 02/29/24, 10:15AM EST
RUSH CANADA'S LEAGUE2 MEN FACE PREMIER DIVISION BURLINGTON IN A WEEKEND OF POTENTIAL UPSETS
ACROSS LEAGUE1 ONTARIO COMPETITION.
The L1 Cup will kick off the League1 Ontario season in 2024, and the draw has revealed the competition’s
bracket and First Round matches.
First Round fixtures in both the men’s and women’s L1 Cup will take place in April, before the divisional
campaigns with promotion and relegation begin.
Please read on to learn about who will meet who in the early stages of the L1 Cup.
Women’s L1 Cup
The women’s L1 Cup will see Pickering play their first game after returning from a year’s hiatus, and the draw
booked them a match against Hamilton United, with cup holders Woodbridge Strikers waiting for the winner
in the following round.
Master’s FA and Rush Canada will go head-to-head in the First Round, which will be the first game for both clubs
in senior League1 Ontario women’s competition. Master’s FA will play in the League2 Division this year, with Rush
in the Championship, and the winners will have the opportunity to face 2016 L1 Cup champions Vaughan Azzurri
in this year’s Round of 16.
Scrosoppi’s inaugural League1 Ontario women’s game will be up against Burlington, and if they make it through,
they will play Premier Division side Blue Devils.
A new-look Tecumseh Soccer Club – now Tecumseh United – will visit League2 Division team St Catharines Roma Wolves,
and Premier Division outfit Simcoe County Rovers will face the victor.
Unionville Milliken came from behind to beat Darby 3-1 in both sides’ second game of the 2023 Women’s Premier season.
They will meet again as the first fixture of their 2024 calendars, with a match against inaugural cup winners
North Mississauga on the line.
FC London have also won this competition and could be a team to watch this year having reached the semifinals of the 2023
Premier Division postseason. They await the winner of an all-Championship battle between BVB IA Waterloo and ProStars
in the First Round.
The draw also confirmed some Round of 16 fixtures between Premier teams. NDC Ontario will make their L1 Cup debut
at Guelph United, and North Toronto Nitros will go head-to-head with reigning Premier champions Alliance United.
Every prior meeting between North Toronto and Alliance has ended in a tie, so this knockout game will decide who finally
gets the bragging rights.
Men’s L1 Cup
League2 Division expansion team Rush Canada have been drawn away to Premier side Burlington, who made the playoffs in 2023.
If Rush manage to cause a shock in this fixture, they will take on last year’s regular-season champions, Scrosoppi,
in the Round of 16.
It’s a big weekend for Sudbury Cyclones and The Borough FC, who are both set to play their inaugural games. The Cyclones
will aim to kick up a storm against FC London for the prize of facing two-time Premier champions Blue Devils. The Borough
are Pickering’s first senior L1ON opponents since 2022 and the winner of this one will play Guelph United.
Reigning cup champions Vaughan Azzurri will face either St Catharines Roma Wolves or North Mississauga, and two-time
winners Woodbridge Strikers begin their fight to reclaim the crown against Unionville Milliken.
Premier division title holders Simcoe County Rovers will face the winner of Hamilton United versus Darby – a First Round
battle that could be a close encounter despite these two being in the Premier and Championship respectively, as they
finished just two places apart in the Road to 2024 standings.
Elsewhere, ProStars host Master’s FA in an all-Championship affair that will decide Alliance United’s Round of 16 opponents,
and Windsor City will take on BVB IA Waterloo for the privilege of playing Sigma.
L1ON heavyweights North Toronto Nitros have also been drawn in the First Round; their opponents are to be confirmed.
Who will go all the way to lift the L1 Cup? It’s almost time to find out.
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