2018 League1 Ontario season

This article is about the men's season. For the women's season, see 2018 Women's League1 Ontario season.

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.

League1 Ontario
Men's Division

Season	2018
Champions	Vaughan Azzurri
L1 Cup champions	Vaughan Azzurri
Matches played	136
Goals scored	488 (3.59 per match)
Top goalscorer	Anthony Novak (18 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Lucas Birnstingl (0.42 GAA)
Highest scoring	TFC III 10–0 Windsor (Jun 17) Oakville 10–0 Sanjaxx (Aug 26)
← 2017 2019 →

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).^[1] 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.^[2] FC London also announced the affiliation of its youth academy with professional side Toronto FC.^[3]

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.^[4]

Teams

League1 Ontario Men's Division
Team	City	Principal stadium	Founded	First season	Head coach[note 1]
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[5]
Oakville Blue Devils	Oakville	Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium[note 2]	1994	2015	Duncan Wilde
Ottawa South United Force	Ottawa	Quinn's Pointe[note 3]	2017	2017	Peter Mapendere
ProStars FC	Brampton	Victoria Park Stadium[note 4]	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[6]
Vaughan Azzurri	Vaughan (Maple)	McNaughton Park	2014	2014	Carmine Isacco
Windsor TFC Stars	Windsor	University of Windsor Stadium	2004	2014	Zibby Piatkiewicz[7]
Woodbridge Strikers	Vaughan (Woodbridge)	Vaughan Grove	1976	2014	Peter Pinizzotto

Aurora Darby London Oakville Ottawa South ProStars Windsor Location of Men's Division teams for the 2018 League1 Ontario season. Current team See Toronto inset

Alliance Master's Sanjaxx North Miss. Sigma TFC III Skillz Unionville Vaughan Woodbridge Location of Men's Division teams in or near Toronto for the 2018 League1 Ontario season. Current team

1. Unless otherwise noted, this information was obtained from team directories on the league website
2. Some matches were played at Bronte Athletic Park
3. Ottawa South United Force played one home match against Windsor TFC Stars at the Ontario Soccer Centre
4. Some matches were played at Terry Fox Park

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.^[8]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC London	16	12	2	2	49	19	+30	38	Playoffs
2	Sigma FC	16	11	4	1	33	9	+24	37
3	Oakville Blue Devils	16	10	5	1	41	9	+32	35
4	Toronto FC III	16	10	3	3	48	25	+23	33	No playoffs[a]
5	Vaughan Azzurri (C, X)	16	10	1	5	45	23	+22	31	Playoffs
6	Woodbridge Strikers	16	8	4	4	43	18	+25	28
7	Alliance United FC	16	7	3	6	34	24	+10	24
8	Unionville Milliken SC	16	6	5	5	25	21	+4	23
9	Darby FC	16	6	3	7	22	27	−5	21
10	Master's Futbol	16	4	7	5	28	28	0	19
11	Sanjaxx Lions	16	5	3	8	14	26	−12	18
12	Toronto Skillz FC	16	4	2	10	25	50	−25	14
13	North Mississauga SC	16	3	4	9	15	30	−15	13
14	Ottawa South United	16	3	4	9	19	50	−31	13
15	Aurora FC	16	3	3	10	20	40	−20	12
16	ProStars FC	16	2	4	10	14	34	−20	10
17	Windsor TFC	16	1	5	10	13	55	−42	8

Source: http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2309115-standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal differential; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(C) Champion and qualification to 2019 Canadian Championship; (X) L1 Cup winner
Notes:

1. Toronto FC III voluntarily withdrew from league playoffs.^[9]

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		VGN	DBY	ALU	LON
1	Vaughan Azzurri (O)	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	League Championship		—	4–0	1–0	3–2
2	Darby FC	3	1	1	1	3	6	−3	4				—	2–1	1–1
3	Alliance United FC	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3					—	1–0
4	FC London	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2	1						—

Source: https://www.league1ontario.com/standings/show/3999907?subseason=553364
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(O) Play-off winners

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		WDB	SIG	OAK	UNV
1	Woodbridge Strikers	3	2	1	0	8	3	+5	7	League Championship		—	3–1	2–2	3–0
2	Sigma FC	3	2	0	1	6	6	0	6				—	3–2	2–1
3	Oakville Blue Devils	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4					—	2–0
4	Unionville Milliken SC	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0						—

Source: https://www.league1ontario.com/standings/show/3999907?subseason=553364
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match

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.

Vaughan Azzurri v Woodbridge Strikers

October 20, 2018	Vaughan Azzurri	2–0	Woodbridge Strikers	Vaughan, Ontario
3:00 pm ET	Sacramento 35' Ricci 89'			Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

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.^[10]

	Preliminary round
	Alliance United	2 (4)
	Darby FC	2 (5)

	First round				Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	FC London	2
	Darby FC	0
					FC London	0
					Sigma FC	8
	Sigma FC	4
	Sanjaxx Lions	0
									Sigma FC	1 (5)
									Toronto FC III	1 (6)
	ProStars FC	2 (4)
	Aurora FC	2 (3)
					ProStars FC	0
					Toronto FC III	3
	Windsor TFC Stars	1
	Toronto FC III	4
													Toronto FC III	1
													Vaughan Azzurri	2
	Master's Futbol	4
	Unionville Milliken SC	0
					Master's Futbol	2
					Oakville Blue Devils	3
	Oakville Blue Devils	3
	Toronto Skillz	1
									Oakville Blue Devils	0
									Vaughan Azzurri	2
	North Mississauga SC	0
	Vaughan Azzurri	6
					Vaughan Azzurri	2
					Woodbridge Strikers	0
	Woodbridge Strikers	4
	Ottawa South United	1

Preliminary round

Alliance United v Darby FC

May 8, 2018	Alliance United	2–2 (4–5 p)	Darby FC	Toronto, Ontario
8:00 pm	Beader 74', 90+2'	Report Article	Young 80' Sears 82'	Stadium: L'Amoreaux Park

First round

FC London v Darby FC

May 26, 2018	FC London	2–0	Darby FC	London, Ontario
	Seymour 50' Pucci 90'	Report Article		Stadium: German Canadian FC Stadium

Sanjaxx Lions v Sigma FC

May 27, 2018	Sanjaxx Lions	0–4	Sigma FC	Toronto, Ontario
		Report Article	Zajac 23', 86' Buchanan 34' Thomas 74'	Stadium: Monarch Park Stadium

Aurora FC v ProStars FC

May 27, 2018	Aurora FC	2–2 (3–4 p)	ProStars FC	Aurora, Ontario
	Rennie 10' Juta 80'	Report Article	George 40' Chrysanthou 90'	Stadium: Stewart Burnett Park
	Penalties
	Doner Juta Buitrago Perez Padilla Medeiros		George Zwierzynski Arora Klinovskyy

Windsor TFC Stars v Toronto FC III

May 27, 2018	Windsor TFC Stars	1–4	Toronto FC III	Windsor, Ontario
	Pio 55'	Report Article	Dada-Luke 17' Hamilton 38' Corbeanu 53' Bilousov 71'	Stadium: University of Windsor Stadium

Master's Futbol v Unionville Milliken SC

May 26, 2018	Master's Futbol	4–0	Unionville Milliken SC	Toronto, Ontario
	Reid 4' Rollocks 36' De Sousa 65' Brown 69'	Report Article		Stadium: L'Amoreaux Park

Toronto Skillz v Oakville Blue Devils

May 26, 2018	Toronto Skillz	1–3	Oakville Blue Devils	Toronto, Ontario
	Jashan 54'	Report Article	Hernandez 12' Khalon 46' Santos 65'	Stadium: Birchmount Stadium

Vaughan Azzurri v North Mississauga SC

May 26, 2018	Vaughan Azzurri	6–0	North Mississauga SC	Vaughan, Ontario
	Raposo 22' Lay 48', 76' Kloutsouniotis 85', 92' Kotsopoulos 90'	Report Article		Stadium: McNaughton Park

Woodbridge Strikers v Ottawa South United

May 27, 2018	Woodbridge Strikers	4–1	Ottawa South United	Vaughan, Ontario
	Isaac 3' El Zeir 5' Rayne 50', 67'	Report Article	Cornwall 81'	Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park

Quarterfinals

Sigma FC v FC London

June 22, 2018	Sigma FC	8–0	FC London	Mississauga, Ontario
9:00 pm	Walton 3' Thomas 6', 55', 77' Smith 11', 22' Stoddart 29' Jodah 84'	Report		Stadium: Hershey Centre

ProStars FC v Toronto FC III

June 23, 2018	ProStars FC	0–3	Toronto FC III	Brampton, Ontario
8:30 pm		Report	Gorgees 33' Dada-Luke 43' Hamilton 64'	Stadium: Victoria Park Stadium

Oakville Blue Devils v Master's Futbol

June 24, 2018	Oakville Blue Devils	2–2 (4–2 p)	Master's Futbol	Oakville, Ontario
6:00 pm	Khalon 37' Gallo 61'	Report	Reid 33' *Brown 80'	Stadium: Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium
	Penalties
	Vilela McNamara Ademolu DiFeo Kahlon		Reid Woods Fenton De Sousa

Woodbridge Strikers v Vaughan Azzurri

June 24, 2018	Woodbridge Strikers	0–2	Vaughan Azzurri	Vaughan, Ontario
7:00 pm		Report	Skublak 57' Jason Mills 90'	Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park

Semifinals

Toronto FC III v Sigma FC

July 21, 2018	Toronto FC III	1–1 (6–5 p)	Sigma FC	Toronto, Ontario
4:00 pm	Dada-Luke 23'	Report	Afzaly 33'	Stadium: BMO Training Ground
	Penalties
	Mandekic Abdi Gorgees Dada-Luke Singh Priso Mazzaferro		Walton Frano Goldhar Zajac Velastegui Stergiotis Anagho-Ntamark

Oakville Blue Devils v Vaughan Azzurri

July 22, 2018	Oakville Blue Devils	0–2	Vaughan Azzurri	Oakville, Ontario
4:00 pm		Report	Whiteman 48' Kovacevic 63'	Stadium: Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium

Final

Vaughan Azzurri v Toronto FC III

August 4, 2018	Vaughan Azzurri	2–1	Toronto FC III	Vaughan, Ontario
7:30PM	Kotsopoulos 4', 61'	Report	Gorgees 78'	Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

Statistics

Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals 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 Rank Player Club Minutes GAA 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:^[11]

Award	Player (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

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
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

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
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

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
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.

PLSQ All-Stars v L1O All-Stars

June 30	PLSQ All-Stars	2–2 (1–4 p)	L1O All-Stars	Montreal, Quebec
8:00 pm	Cossette 71' Spenard-Lapierre 77'	Report	Novak 29' Whiteman 40'	Stadium: Stade Desjardins

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