2016 League1 Ontario season

This article is about the men's season. For the women's season, see 2016 Women's League1 Ontario season.

The 2016 Men's League1 Ontario season was the third season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

League1 Ontario
Men's Division

Season	2016
Champions	Vaughan Azzurri
Cup champions	Vaughan Azzurri
Matches played	175
Goals scored	733 (4.19 per match)
Top goalscorer	Elvir Gigolaj (24 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Joseph Kuta (0.67 GAA)
Biggest home win	TFC Academy 9–0 Master's (July 10, 2016)
Biggest away win	Master's 2–8 Windsor (July 16, 2016) Master's 2–8 N. Miss. (August 6, 2016) ProStars 2–8 TFC Academy (August 26, 2016) Kingston 0–6 Vaughan (September 25, 2016)
← 2015 2017 →

This season saw the return of all but one of the teams which completed the previous season, as well as the addition of five new teams for the men's division.^[1]

Changes from 2015

Five new teams joined the men's division for this season. Aurora United FC, North Mississauga SC, North Toronto Nitros, Toronto Skillz FC added new entries, while FC London moved over from the Premier Development League. One team (ANB Futbol) from 2015 did not renew their license, resulting in a 16-team competition and a change from a single-table format to a two-conference format.^[2]

The league's cup tournament for the men's division will be a single-elimination competition; eliminating the group stage seen in previous editions.

On June 16, 2016, Toronto FC entered into a partnership with the Windsor Stars wherein the latter would become a "regional satellite club" of the former, who would in turn provide technical and coaching development. As part of the agreement, Windsor would become known as "Windsor TFC" in the future. The agreement does not affect the participation in L1O of either the Windsor Stars or the TFC Academy team.^[3]

Teams

Team	City	Stadium	Founded	First season	Head coach
Western Conference
FC London	London, Ontario	German Canadian FC Stadium	2008	2016	Mario Despotović[4]
North Mississauga SC	Mississauga, Ontario	Hershey Centre, Field 2	1982	2016	Rick Titus[5]
Oakville Blue Devils	Oakville, Ontario	Sheridan Stadium	1994	2015	Duncan Wilde[6]
ProStars FC	Brampton, Ontario	Victoria Park Stadium	2015	2015	Josef Komlodi[7]
Sanjaxx Lions	Toronto, Ontario	Monarch Park Stadium	2012	2015	Peter Mellon[8]
Sigma FC	Mississauga, Ontario	Hershey Centre, Field 1	2005	2014	Bobby Smyrniotis[9]
Toronto FC Academy	Toronto, Ontario	KIA Training Ground	2008	2014	Stuart Neely[10]
Windsor Stars	Windsor, Ontario	McHugh Stadium	2004	2014	Shane Topalovic[11]
Eastern Conference
Aurora United FC	Aurora, Ontario	Sheppard's Bush	1964	2016	Jim Brennan[12]
Durham United FA	Pickering, Ontario	Kinsmen Park	2014	2014	Sanford Carabin[13]
Kingston Clippers	Kingston, Ontario	Tindall Field, Queen's University	1971	2014	Christian Hoefler[14]
Master's Futbol	Toronto, Ontario	L'Amoreaux Park	2012	2014	Andre Savelev[15]
North Toronto Nitros	Toronto, Ontario	Varsity Stadium	1980	2016	Hermann Kingué[16]
Toronto Skillz FC	Toronto, Ontario	Birchmount Stadium	2008	2016	Leslie Fitzpatrick[17]
Vaughan Azzurri	Vaughan, Ontario	McNaughton Park	2014	2014	Carmine Isacco[18]
Woodbridge Strikers	Woodbridge, Ontario	Vaughan Grove	1976	2014	Peter Pinizzotto[19]

Aurora Durham Kingston London Oakville ProStars Windsor TORONTO Location of teams outside of Toronto for the 2016 League1 Ontario season. Western Conference Eastern Conference

Master's North Toronto Sanjaxx North Miss. Sigma FC TFC Academy Toronto Skillz Vaughan Woodbridge Location of teams in or near Toronto for the 2016 League1 Ontario season. Western Conference Eastern Conference

Standings

Each team played 22 matches as part of the season; two against every team in their own conference, and one against every team in the opposing conference. The top team from each conference met at the end of the season to determine the league champion and face the PLSQ league champion in the Inter-Provincial Cup.

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Vaughan Azzurri (C, X)	22	17	4	1	70	24	+46	55	League Championship
2	Woodbridge Strikers	22	15	2	5	52	17	+35	47
3	North Toronto Nitros	22	14	3	5	52	29	+23	45
4	Durham United FA	22	11	3	8	54	42	+12	36
5	Kingston Clippers	22	7	5	10	34	53	−19	26
6	Aurora United FC	22	4	3	15	27	66	−39	15
7	Toronto Skillz FC	22	3	4	15	32	63	−31	13
8	Master's Futbol	22	3	2	17	38	92	−54	11

Source: http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2309115-standings
(C) Champions; (X) L1 Cup winner

Western Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC London	22	15	2	5	64	32	+32	47	League Championship
2	Sigma FC	22	14	2	6	48	28	+20	44
3	Toronto FC Academy	22	12	2	8	70	37	+33	38
4	North Mississauga SC	22	11	5	6	63	42	+21	38
5	Windsor Stars	21	9	1	11	44	42	+2	28
6	Oakville Blue Devils	22	8	4	10	38	43	−5	28
7	Sanjaxx Lions	21	5	1	15	23	56	−33	16
8	ProStars FC	22	4	3	15	24	67	−43	15

Source: http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2309115-standings

League Championship

The league champion is determined by a single-match series between the top-ranked teams from the western and eastern conferences.

FC London v Vaughan Azzurri

October 15	FC London	2–4	Vaughan Azzurri	Vaughan, Ontario
4:00 pm	Nafar 71' Gigolaj 80'	Report	Butters 9' Gogarty 12' Kovacevic 52' Whiteman 68'	Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre Attendance: 700

L1 Cup

The cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all sixteen teams from the men's division take 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 Canadian Championship or the FA 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 four total rounds culminating in a final match at the end of July, with initial matchups determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes will advance directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.^[20]

	Round of 16				Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	Sigma FC	1 (2)
	Master's Futbol (p)	1 (3)
					Master's Futbol	3
					Toronto Skillz FC	1
	Windsor Stars	1
	Toronto Skillz FC	2
									Master's Futbol	0
									Vaughan Azzurri	3
	Oakville Blue Devils	1 (4)
	Vaughan Azzurri (p)	1 (5)
					Vaughan Azzurri	3
					Aurora United FC	2
	Sanjaxx Lions	1 (1)
	Aurora United FC (p)	1 (4)
													Vaughan Azzurri	1
													Woodbridge Strikers	0
	FC London	0
	Durham United FA	3
					Durham United FA	1
					North Toronto Nitros	3
	North Mississauga SC	1
	North Toronto Nitros	2
									North Toronto Nitros	0
									Woodbridge Strikers	1
	ProStars FC	3
	Woodbridge Strikers	4
					Woodbridge Strikers	2
					Kingston Clippers	0
	Toronto FC Academy	1
	Kingston Clippers	3

Round of 16

Sigma FC v Master's Futbol

June 1	Sigma FC	1–1 (2–3 p)	Master's Futbol	Mississauga, Ontario
9:00 pm	Zajac 63' (pen.)	Report	Page 34'	Stadium: Hershey Centre, Field 1

Windsor Stars v Toronto Skillz FC

June 1	Windsor Stars	1–2	Toronto Skillz FC	Vaughan, Ontario
8:00 pm	Milidrag 43'	Report	Su 48' Fathazda 61'	Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Oakville Blue Devils v Vaughan Azzurri

May 18	Oakville Blue Devils	1–1 (4–5 p)	Vaughan Azzurri	Oakville, Ontario
8:00 pm	James 28'	Report Report	Whiteman 23'	Stadium: Bronte Athletic Park

Aurora United FC v Sanjaxx Lions

May 17	Aurora United FC	1–1 (4–1 p)	Sanjaxx Lions	Aurora, Ontario
9:00 pm	Jacovou 90'	Report Report	Daniel 72'	Stadium: Sheppard's Bush
	Penalties
	Adjei Mahrady Powell Parolini		Daniel Zullimullah Serrao

FC London v Durham United FA

May 26	FC London	0–3	Durham United FA	London, Ontario
8:00 pm		Report	Cullen 19' De Jonge 58' Paredes 71'	Stadium: German Canadian FC Stadium

North Mississauga SC v North Toronto Nitros

May 31	North Mississauga SC	1–2	North Toronto Nitros	Mississauga, Ontario
8:00 pm	Bryan 85'	Report	Sousa 44', 67'	Stadium: Hershey Centre, Field 2

Woodbridge Strikers v ProStars FC

May 18	Woodbridge Strikers	4–3	ProStars FC	Woodbridge, Ontario
9:00 pm	Zwane 35' Carreiro 51' Portillo 63', 90'	Report Report	Smith 40' Hathaway 56' Anderson 89'	Stadium: Vaughan Grove

Kingston Clippers v Toronto FC Academy

May 26	Kingston Clippers	3–1	Toronto FC Academy	Kingston, Ontario
7:30 pm	Koskins 12' Pineo 24' Vanbelleghem 34'	Report	Beckford 76'	Stadium: Tindall Field, Queen's University

Quarterfinals

Master's Futbol v Toronto Skillz FC

June 21	Master's Futbol	3–1	Toronto Skillz FC	Toronto, Ontario
6:30 pm	Grant (pen.) Rayne	Report	Wong	Stadium: L'Amoreaux Park

Aurora United FC v Vaughan Azzurri

June 22	Aurora United FC	2–3	Vaughan Azzurri	Aurora, Ontario
9:00 pm	Jacovou 28' Adjei 39'	Report	Kovacevic 8', 12' Di Chiara 68'	Stadium: Sheppard's Bush

North Toronto Nitros v Durham United FA

June 30	North Toronto Nitros	3–1	Durham United FA	Toronto, Ontario
9:00 pm	Elkinson Laborde El-Chanti	Report Report	Parades (pen.)	Stadium: Downsview Turf 2

Kingston Clippers v Woodbridge Strikers

June 23	Kingston Clippers	0–2	Woodbridge Strikers	Kingston, Ontario
8:00 pm		Report	Muccilli 23' Isaac 48' (pen.)	Stadium: Tindall Field, Queen's University

Semifinals

Master's Futbol v Vaughan Azzurri

July 13	Master's Futbol	0–3	Vaughan Azzurri	Vaughan, Ontario
8:00 pm		Report	Whiteman 23' Di Chiara 25' Lao 62'	Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Woodbridge Strikers v North Toronto Nitros

July 12	Woodbridge Strikers	1–0	North Toronto Nitros	Woodbridge, Ontario
9:00 pm	Isaac 90' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Vaughan Grove

Final

Vaughan Azzurri v Woodbridge Strikers

July 30	Vaughan Azzurri	1–0	Woodbridge Strikers	Vaughan, Ontario
7:00 pm	Miller 30'	Report		Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Inter-Provincial Cup Championship

The Inter-Provincial Cup Championship was a two-legged home-and-away series between the league champions of League1 Ontario and the Première ligue de soccer du Québec – the only Division 3 men's semi-professional soccer leagues based fully within Canada.^[21]

CS Mont-Royal Outremont v Vaughan Azzurri

November 5, 2016	CS Mont-Royal Outremont	1–1	Vaughan Azzurri	Terrebonne
8:00pm	Rosa 24'	Report	Kovacevic 57'	Stadium: Complexe Sportifs Terrebonne

Vaughan Azzurri v CS Mont-Royal Outremont

November 12, 2016	Vaughan Azzurri	1–2	CS Mont-Royal Outremont	Pickering, Ontario
8:00pm	Lowe 14'	Report	Ritch-Andy 41' Oliveri 67'	Stadium: Pickering Soccer Complex

CS Mont-Royal Outremont won 3–2 on aggregate

Statistics

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Elvir Gigolaj FC London 24 2 Simon Adjei Aurora United FC 19 3 Leaford Allen Sigma FC 17 4 Kilian Elkinson North Toronto Nitros 15 5 Tyrell Rayne Master's Futbol 14 Jarek Whiteman Vaughan Azzurri 14 Michael Marcoccia FC London 14 8 Filipe Vilela Oakville Blue Devils 13 9 Jumbo Iyowuna Windsor Stars 12 10 Joey Melo North Mississauga SC 11 Ethan Beckford Toronto FC Academy 11 Mario Kovacevic Vaughan Azzurri 11 Source: League1 Ontario

Top goalkeepers Rank Player Club Minutes GAA 1 Joseph Kuta Sigma FC 540 0.67 2 Matt George Woodbridge Strikers 1775 0.86 3 Brogan Engbers Toronto FC Academy 1104 0.90 4 Andrew D'Souza Vaughan Azzurri 810 1.22 5 Connor Bullen North Toronto Nitros 720 1.25 6 Mark Rogal North Toronto Nitros 1170 1.46 7 Ben Cowman Durham United FA 1080 1.50 8 Triston Henry Sigma FC 1071 1.60 9 Anthony Sokalski FC London 1710 1.63 10 Kyle Vizarakis Windsor Stars 1620 1.83 Minimum 540 minutes played. Source: League1 Ontario

All-Star Game

On July 25, the league announced the rosters for the first-ever all-star game, to be played between the eastern and western conferences. Eighteen players for each team were selected by coaches and league officials, and each roster contains at least one player from each team in their respective conference.^[22]

West All-Stars v East All-Stars

August 3, 2016	West All-Stars	4–2	East All-Stars	Vaughan, Ontario
7:30 pm	Allen 4', 44' Brown 8' Ribeiro 74'	Report	Cullen 40' Martin 70'	Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Due to the unavailability of some players, the league released updated rosters for both western^[23] and eastern^[24] teams on August 2.

Western Conference All-Stars Pos. Name Team Starters GK Matt Zaikos Sanjaxx Lions D Stephen Al-Sayed FC London D *Al James Oakville Blue Devils D Eric Crawford Oakville Blue Devils D Jerome Smith Sigma FC MF *Chris Nanco Sigma FC MF/F Joey Melo North Mississauga SC MF *Kota Sakurai Toronto FC Academy F *Elvir Gigolaj FC London F Leaford Allen Sigma FC F Felipe Vilela Oakville Blue Devils Substitutes GK Anthony Sokalski FC London D *Rocco Romeo Toronto FC Academy D *Jamar Kelly Windsor Stars MF Lee Victor Massunda North Mississauga SC MF *Kwame Awuah Sigma FC MF *Erick Olazabal ProStars FC F/MF *Michael Pio Windsor Stars Replacements D Jerome Smith Sigma FC D Shawn Brown North Mississauga SC MF Christian Samaniego Sigma FC MF Gil Hong ProStars FC MF Noah Pio Windsor Stars MF Randy Ribeiro FC London F Jumbo Iyowuna Windsor Stars F Hilliard Serrao Sanjaxx Lions

Eastern Conference All-Stars Pos. Name Team Starters GK Matt George Woodbridge Strikers D Bruce Cullen Durham United FA D Niba MacDonald North Toronto Nitros D Nyal Higgins Vaughan Azzurri D Stephen Almeida Woodbridge Strikers MF *Jonathan Lao Vaughan Azzurri MF Dylan Carreiro Woodbridge Strikers MF Jarek Whiteman Vaughan Azzurri MF Stefan Lamanna Durham United FA F Kilian Elkinson North Toronto Nitros F Simon Adjei Aurora United FC Substitutes GK Mark Rogal North Toronto Nitros D Cameron Brooks Woodbridge Strikers D Eric Koskins Kingston Clippers MF Tyrell Rayne Master's Futbol MF Ryan Reid Toronto Skillz FC F Kashiff De Jonge Durham United FA F Andrew Martin Kingston Clippers Replacements MF Eddie Lay Durham United FA

Awards

Award[25]	Player (club)
Goal of the Year	Hilliard Serrao (Sanjaxx Lions)
Most Valuable Player	Elvir Gigolaj (FC London)
Golden Boot	Elvir Gigolaj (FC London)
Coach of the Year	Carmine Isacco (Vaughan Azzurri)
Young Player of the Year	Kota Sakurai (Toronto FC Academy)
Defender of the Year	Niba MacDonald (North Toronto Nitros)
Goalkeeper of the Year	Matt George (Woodbridge Strikers)

First Team All-Stars^[26]

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Matt George (Woodbridge Strikers)	Cameron Brooks (Woodbridge Strikers) Niba MacDonald (North Toronto Nitros) Bruce Cullen (Durham United FA)	Randy Ribeiro (FC London) Kashiff De Jonge (Durham United FA) Joey Melo (North Mississauga SC) Joseph Di Chiara (Vaughan Azzurri)	Leaford Allen (Sigma FC) Elvir Gigolaj (FC London) Jarek Whiteman (Vaughan Azzurri)

Second Team All-Stars^[26]

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Anthony Sokalski (FC London) Matt Zaikos (Sanjaxx Lions)	Tyrell Rayne (Master's Futbol) Jarred Phillips (Vaughan Azzurri) Thanujan Jeyathilaka (Toronto Skills FC) Jerome Smith (Sigma FC) Rocco Romeo (Toronto FC Academy) Kevin Dhillon (North Mississauga SC)	Stephen Almeida (Woodbridge Strikers) Brandon Mills (Vaughan Azzurri) Khody Ellis (Oakville Blue Devils) Mackenzie Roach (Kingston Clippers) Justin Stoddart (Sigma FC) Dylan Carreiro (Woodbridge Strikers) Kota Sakurai (Toronto FC Academy) Celso Carapau (Windsor Stars)	Simon Adjei (Aurora United FC) Kilian Elkinson (North Toronto Nitros) Manny Slewa (ProStars FC) Mario Kovacevic (Vaughan Azzurri)