2007 Canadian Soccer League season

The 2007 Canadian Soccer League season was the tenth since its establishment. The first match of the season was played on May 11, 2007, and ended on October 28, 2007. The season concluded with Toronto Croatia claiming their third championship by defeating rivals Serbian White Eagles 4-1 on aggregate making Croatia one of the most successful clubs in the history of the CSL & Canadian soccer.[1] Toronto Croatia also celebrated its 50-year anniversary in Canadian soccer by winning the CSL title after losing just one game in the 5-month long campaign, including an unbeaten streak in their international triumph of the Croatian World Club Championship.[2] During the regular season the Serbian White Eagles secured their second consecutive International Division title, while St. Catharines Wolves won their first National Division title.

Canadian Soccer League
Season2007
ChampionsToronto Croatia
Regular Season titleSerbian White Eagles (International Division)
St. Catharines Wolves (National Division)
Matches played110
Goals scored376 (3.42 per match)
Top goalscorerNicolas Lesage (Trois-Rivieres Attak)
Biggest home win8–1 Canadian Lions v London City
8–1 Italia Shooters v London City
8–0 Toronto Croatia v London City
Biggest away win1–6 London City v Italia Shooters
← 2006
2008 →

The league decreased in membership to 10 teams since the 2004 season, but reached an affiliation with the Montreal Impact of the USL First Division where the Impact formed the Trois-Rivières Attak to serve as a farm team.[3] The league experienced another major increase in match attendances with some clubs averaging over 1,000 fan support per game, with the Serbian White Eagles and Trois-Rivières Attak averaging the most.[4] The season was also notable with the introduction of the inaugural Locust CSL All Star Game played on July 28, 2007 at Windsor Stadium.[5]

Changes from 2006 season

The league decreased to 10 teams after the folding of the Caribbean Selects, and the hiatus of the Brampton Stallions.[6] Oakville Blue Devils moved to Scarborough, Toronto in order to become the Canadian Lions, and were transferred to the International Conference.[7] The CSL maintained its presence in Quebec with the owners of Laval Dynamites securing a deal with the Montreal Impact of the USL First Division to form the Trois-Rivières Attak which served as a farm team for the Impact.[8]

Teams
TeamCityStadiumManager
Canadian LionsToronto, Ontario (Scarborough)Birchmount StadiumGoran Miscevic[9]
Italia ShootersVaughan, Ontario (Woodbridge)St. Joan Of Arc Turf FieldTony De Thomasis[10]
London CityLondon, Ontario (Westmount)Cove Road StadiumSean Gauss[11]
North York AstrosToronto, Ontario (North York)Esther Shiner StadiumRafael Carbajal[12]
Portuguese SupraToronto, Ontario (Etobicoke)Centennial Park StadiumPaulo Almos[13]
Serbian White EaglesToronto, Ontario (Etobicoke)Centennial Park StadiumDušan Belić[14]
St. Catharines WolvesSt. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle)Club Roma StadiumJames McGillivray[15]
Toronto CroatiaMississauga, OntarioHershey CentreMilodrag Akmadzic[16]
Trois-Rivières AttakTrois-Rivières, QuebecStade de l'UQTRMarc Dos Santos[17]
Windsor Border StarsWindsor, OntarioWindsor StadiumPat Hilton[18]

Final standings

International Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Serbian White Eagles (A, C) 22 14 3 5 55 31 +24 45 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Croatia (A, O) 22 10 11 1 42 16 +26 41
3 Italia Shooters (A) 22 11 7 4 44 17 +27 40
4 Canadian Lions (A) 22 6 9 7 40 36 +4 27
5 Portuguese Supra 22 4 5 13 31 42 −11 17
Updated to match(es) played on October 8, 2007. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports07/07cswk22.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(A) Advance to a further round; (C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

National Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 St. Catharines Wolves (A, C) 22 12 6 4 36 19 +17 42 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Trois-Rivières Attak (A) 22 10 8 4 48 29 +19 38
3 North York Astros (A) 22 5 5 12 32 55 −23 20
4 Windsor Border Stars (A) 22 5 4 13 33 49 −16 19
5 London City 22 3 2 17 15 82 −67 11
Updated to match(es) played on October 8, 2007. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports07/07cswk22.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(A) Advance to a further round; (C) Champion.

CSL Championship playoffs
  QuarterFinals
10 & 11 October 2007		 SemiFinals
20 & 21 October 2007		 CSL Final
27 & 28 October 2007 @ 5:00pm & 3:00pm
Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
                               
  1 Serbian White Eagles 2  
8 Windsor Border Stars 1  
  1 Serbian White Eagles 2  
  4 Trois-Rivières Attak 1  
5 Italia Shooters 0
  4 Trois-Rivières Attak 3  
    1 Serbian White Eagles 1 0  
  3 Toronto Croatia 4 0  
  2 St. Catharines Wolves (AET/PSO) 0 (10)  
7 Canadian Lions 0 (9)  
  2 St. Catharines Wolves 2
  3 Toronto Croatia 3  
3 Toronto Croatia (AET) 4
  6 North York Astros 2  

Quarterfinals
October 13, 2007 Trois-Rivières Attak 3–0 Italia Shooters Trois-Rivières, Quebec
4:00 ET Nicolas Lesage  22'
Elkana Mayard  55'
Darko Kolić  88'		 (Report) Stadium: Stade de l'UQTR
Attendance: 2200
October 14, 2007 St. Catharines Wolves 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(9–10 p)		 Canadian Lions St. Catharines, Ontario
4:00 ET (Report) Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
Attendance: 500
October 14, 2007 Toronto Croatia 4–2 (a.e.t.) North York Astros Mississauga, Ontario
7:00 ET Mario Pupić  64'
Hayden Fitzwilliams  90'
Hayden Fitzwilliams  95'
Mario Pupić  105'		 (Report) Gil Vainshtein  17'
Selvin Lammie  27'		 Stadium: Hershey Centre
Attendance: 200
October 14, 2007 Serbian White Eagles 2–1 Windsor Border Stars Toronto, Ontario
7:00 ET Nikola Budalić  26'
Kokot  61'		 (Report) Aaron Byrd  54' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 250
Referee: David Barrie (Ontario)

Semifinals
October 20, 2007 St. Catharines Wolves 2–3 Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario
4:00 ET Danny Gallagher  41'
Arnoldo Magnotta  59'		 (Report) Fitzwilliams  11'
Tihomir Maletic  28',  44'		 Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 175
Referee: David Barrie (Ontario)
October 21, 2007 Serbian White Eagles 2–1 Trois-Rivières Attak Toronto, Ontario
5:00 ET Kokot  6'
Dragorad Milićević  25'		 (Report) Lesage  84' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 500
Referee: Isaac Raymond (Ontario)

CSL Championship
October 27, 2007 Toronto Croatia 4–1 Serbian White Eagles Toronto, Ontario
5:00 ET Jonathon Bustamante  12'
Mario Pupic  19'
Jonathon Bustamante  47'
Hayden Fitzwilliams  70'		 (Report) Dragorad Milićević  13' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 300
Referee: Silviu Petrescu (Ontario)
October 28, 2007 Serbian White Eagles 0–0 Toronto Croatia Toronto, Ontario
3:00 ET (Report) Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium

Format change for Rogers Cup finals

Due to Toronto Croatia and the Serbian White Eagles playing for the Championship Cup, the CSL decided to change the format to a two-leg game rather than the standard knockout. The first game was played on Friday, October 27, and was played in front of only Croatia fans, with the team serving as the home side. The next day, October 28, the White Eagles was the home side, and their fans were the only ones permitted at the game.[19][20][21][22]

All-Star Game
July 28, 2007 National Division All Stars 0 - 5 International Division All Stars Windsor, Ontario
7:30 pm Report Helio Pereira  12'
Helio Pereira  17'
Sasa Viciknez  62'
Sasa Viciknez  70'
Milos Scepanovic  81'		 Stadium: Windsor Stadium

2007 scoring leaders
Full article: CSL Golden Boot[23]
Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals
1 Nicolas Lesage  Canada Trois-Rivières Attak 20
2 Gabriel Pop[24]  Romania Serbian White Eagles 18
3 Evan Milward  Canada Canadian Lions 15
- Darko Kolić  Serbia Trois-Rivières Attak 15
5 Aaron Byrd  United States Windsor Border Stars 14
6 Saša Viciknez  Serbia Serbian White Eagles 13
- Antonio Stranges[25]  Canada St. Catharines Wolves 13
8 Kadian Lecky[26]  Canada Italia Shooters 10
9 Helio Pereira  Brazil Portuguese Supra 9
- Carlo Arghittu  Canada St. Catharines Wolves 9
- Tihomir Maletić  Croatia Toronto Croatia 9

CSL Executive Committee and Staff

A list of the 2007 CSL Executive Committee.[27]

Position Name Nationality
Commissioner:Cary Kaplan Canadian
Executive Director:Stan Adamson[28] English
Director of Discipline:Clifford Dell[29] Canadian
Director of Officials:Walter Kirchner Romanian
Marketing Manager:Brian Krinberg Canadian
Office Manager:Janet Leonard Canadian
League Administration/PR:Chelsea McAllister Nadler Canadian
Referee-in-Chief:Hugh Elliott Canadian
Legal Counsel:Ira Greenspoon Canadian
Financial Auditor:John Morgan Canadian

Individual awards
Claudio Perri was named the Goalkeeper of the Year

The annual CSL awards ceremony was held on November 4, 2007 at the La Contessa Banquet Hall in North York, Toronto.[30] For the second straight season the International Division teams accumulated the majority of the awards.[31] Trois-Rivières Attak went home with the most awards with 3 wins. Former Montreal Impact player Nicolas Lesage received both the Golden Boot and MVP, and the club was given the Fair Play award. The league champions Toronto Croatia produced both the Defender and Rookie of the Years. Domagoj Sain became the first player in CSL history to win the Defender of the Year three times. Former 2.HNL veteran Tihomir Maletic was chosen as the Rookie of the Year.

Claudio Perri, former Atlanta University alumni was named the Goalkeeper of the Year after helping St. Catharines Wolves post the best defensive record throughout the season. James McGilivary was recognized with the honor of Coach of the Year after leading St. Catharines to their first trophy the National Division title in five years. The President of the Year award was renamed the Harry Paul Gauss award in honor of Harry Gauss, and its inaugural recipient was Bruno Ierullo. Joe Fletcher, who later went on to officiate matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was recognized with the Referee of the Year award.[32]

Award Player (Club)
CSL Most Valuable Player Nicolas Lesage (Trois-Rivières Attak)
CSL Golden Boot Nicolas Lesage (Trois-Rivières Attak)
CSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Claudio Perri (St. Catharines Wolves)
CSL Defender of the Year Award Domagoj Šain (Toronto Croatia)
CSL Rookie of the Year Award Tihomir Maletić (Toronto Croatia)
CSL Coach of the Year Award James McGilivary (St. Catharines Wolves)
Harry Paul Gauss Award Bruno Ierullo (North York Astros)
CSL Referee of the Year Award Joe Fletcher
CSL Fair Play Award Trois-Rivières Attak

References
  1. "October 28, 2007 CSL Toronto Croatia vs Serbian White Eagles summary of both Championship Cup Final games". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  2. "November 5, 2007 CSL Award Ceremony 2007 (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  3. Adamson, Stan. "January 17, 2007 CSL announces Quebec based team (from CSL news release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  4. "July 16, 2007 CSL news---League Attendance Increases (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  5. "July 24, 2007 CSL All Star game lineups (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  6. Glover, Robin. "May 15, 2007 CSL Press Conference". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  7. "Canadian Soccer League Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2008-05-16. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2017-01-15.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. Adamson, Stan. "November 15, 2006 CSL announces replacement of Montreal team (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  9. "Lions Claim Brampton as New Soccer Kingdom". www.thebramptonnews.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  10. "Canadian Soccer League - Clubs". 2007-06-24. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  11. . 2007-10-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20071031053752/http://www.londoncity.ca/. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2017-11-24. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  13. "Canadian Soccer League - Clubs". 2007-06-24. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  14. "Serbian White Eagles Soccer Club". serbianwhiteeagles.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  15. "Club Roma Soccer - St. Catharines". 2007-12-21. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  16. "Canadian Soccer League - Clubs". 2007-09-28. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  17. "Attak FC". 2009-02-07. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  18. "Canadian Soccer League - Clubs". 2007-06-24. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  19. "October 23, 2007 CSL Announcement--Two Game Final--Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Croatia (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  20. "October 24, 2007 CSL Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Croatia Finals pre-game story". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  21. CATHAL, Kelly. "October 25, 2007 CSL Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Croatia Finals pregame story (from Toronto Star)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  22. "October 26, 2007 CSL Toronto Croatia vs Serbian White Eagles Championship Final pre-series comments (from Citynews.ca)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Citynews.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  23. "Canadian Soccer League - Articles". 2007-12-15. Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2017-01-15.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. "Coaches". ProStars FC. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  25. "Anthony Stranges". Niagara College. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  26. "Toronto Catholic District School Board". www.tcdsb.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  27. "Canadian Soccer League - Contact Information". 2007-12-06. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2017-01-15.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  28. "2001 - May 8 - Stan Adamson". May 8, 2001. Archived from the original on November 24, 2001. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  29. "2001 - April 17 - Message from DOO; Volunteers; Dell". April 17, 2001. Archived from the original on November 8, 2001. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  30. Glover, Robin. "November 4, 2007 CSL Awards Banquet (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  31. "November 5, 2007 CSL Award Ceremony 2007 (from CSL media release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  32. "Profiles | PRO - Professional Referee Organization". www.proreferees.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
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