2020 Canadian Soccer League season

The 2020 Canadian Soccer League season was the 23rd season under the Canadian Soccer League name. The season commenced on August 15, 2020 and concluded with the CSL Championship final on October 17, 2020.[1] FC Vorkuta defeated the reigning champions Scarborough SC at Racco Park in Vaughan, Ontario and secured their second championship. While Scarborough made their fourth consecutive appearance to the championship final and claimed their first divisional title.[2]

Canadian Soccer League
Season2020
ChampionsScarborough SC (First Division regular season)
FC Vorkuta (First Division playoffs, 2nd title)
Matches played20
Goals scored82 (4.1 per match)
Top goalscorerMoussa Limane (7)
Biggest home winScarborough SC 7–2 Hamilton City SC
(August 22, 2020)
Biggest away winBrantford Galaxy 2–5 FC Vorkuta
(September 5, 2020)
Longest winning run4 matches
Scarborough SC
Longest unbeaten run5 matches
FC Vorkuta
Longest winless run7 matches
Brantford Galaxy
Longest losing run7 matches
Brantford Galaxy
← 2019
2021 →

As the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of the season the league ultimately released a modified shorten schedule which began in early August with the matches taking place within Toronto at Esther Shiner Stadium, and Centennial Park Stadium with the except of the championship final being moved to Racco Park at Concord/Thornhill Regional Park in Vaughan, Ontario.

Summary

The events throughout the regular season resembled the previous season with the main theme being Scarborough SC and FC Vorkuta competing for the divisional and championship titles. As both teams were tied in points the title was decided on the final match of the season with Scarborough receiving their first division title by accumulating the most wins in the league's tie-breaker rules.[3] In a bid to successfully defend their championship title the eastern Toronto side made adjustments to the roster with the acquirement of additional imports.[4] The additions proved successful as Scarborough remain competitive and primarily battled with Vorkuta for the top spot and held the position for the final four weeks of the campaign.[5] Their rivalry would conclude in the CSL Championship final with Vorkuta securing their second championship title.[6]

Vorkuta managed to retain their core veteran imports with former general manager Denys Yanchuk serving as the head coach.[7] As a result Vorkuta was a consistent challenger with the strongest defensive record and shifted between the first and second position throughout the regular season.[5] The Vaughan based team earned their dividends in the championship final where they defeated reigning champions Scarborough.[7] Included in that race for the divisional title were Hamilton City SC, where the Steeltown club held the third position for the majority of the season with only a single point difference in claiming the title.[8] Though Hamilton secured a postseason berth the organization was prevented by the league from participating after finishing in a Not-in-Good Standing state.[9]

The final playoff berth was secured by the Serbian White Eagles, which marked their fifteenth consecutive season of clinching a playoff berth since their return to the professional scene in 2006. The western Toronto side produced the best offensive record in the regular season, but were eliminated in the first round of the championship playoffs to Vorkuta.[10] For the second consecutive season Brantford Galaxy concluded the season at the bottom of the standings, and managed to dodge a winless season by winning their final match of the season.[11]

Changes from 2019

On March 29, 2020, the CSL released a tentative match schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Following recommendations from health officials the schedule was prolonged for another month with intentions of fulfilling the entire season by scheduling matches on the weekdays.[12] On July 8, 2020, the league announced their schedule with the commencement of the league beginning in early August with seven teams returning from the previous season.[13][4] All the matches were scheduled to take place at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario with Kingsman SC, FC Ukraine United, and SC Waterloo Region not participating for the season.[13][14] The schedule was postponed for another week with the season starting on August 15, 2020.[15]

On June 27, 2020, the league officially released their 2020 schedule and confirmed the kickoff date for August 15, 2020, with all matches being played at Esther Shiner Stadium in August, and the remainder months at Centennial Park Stadium.[16] Originally CSC Mississauga and SC Real Mississauga were announced as participating teams, but were not included in the revised schedule.

Teams
TeamCityStadiumManager
Brantford GalaxyBrantford, OntarioEsther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium		 Saša Vidović[11]
FC VorkutaVaughan, Ontario (Woodbridge)Esther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium		 Denys Yanchuk[17]
Hamilton City SCHamilton, Ontario (Stoney Creek)Esther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium		 Sasa Vukovic[18]
Scarborough SCToronto, Ontario (Scarborough)Esther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium		 Zoran Rajović[19]
Serbian White EaglesToronto, Ontario (Etobicoke)Esther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium		 Uroš Stamatović[20]

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure		 Date of
vacancy		 Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
Brantford Galaxy Milan Prpa [21] Replaced October 3, 2020 5th in October Saša Vidović[11] October 3, 2020

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Scarborough SC (C) 8 5 0 3 18 16 +2 15 Playoffs
2 FC Vorkuta (O) 8 4 3 1 16 8 +8 15
3 Hamilton City SC 8 4 2 2 19 19 0 14 Ineligible for Playoffs[note 1]
4 Serbian White Eagles 8 3 1 4 20 16 +4 10 Playoffs
5 Brantford Galaxy 8 1 0 7 9 23 −14 3
Source: Canadian Soccer League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) goal differential; 5) most goals
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.
  1. Hamilton finished the season in a Not-in-Good Standing and were removed from the playoffs

Positions by round
Team ╲ Round12345678
Brantford Galaxy54555555
FC Vorkuta21212232
Hamilton City SC13333323
Scarborough SC32121111
Serbian White Eagles45444444
Source:

Playoffs

Three teams advanced to the playoffs. Third seed Hamilton City ended the season in "Not-in-Good Standing", which resulted in their disqualification from the playoffs.[9] The CSL Championship final was originally scheduled to take place at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, but due to further provincial government restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic the venue was moved to Racco Park at Concord/Thornhill Regional Park in Vaughan, Ontario.[22]

  Semifinal     Final
                 
    1 Scarborough SC 1
  2 FC Vorkuta 2     2 FC Vorkuta 2
  4 Serbian White Eagles 1  

Semifinal
October 10, 2020 FC Vorkuta 2–1 (a.e.t.) Serbian White Eagles Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
14:00 Temniuk  70'
Melnyk  107'		 Report Vukomanovic  37'

Finals
October 17, 2020 Scarborough SC 1–2 FC Vorkuta Racco Park, Vaughan, Ontario
15:00 Angel Angelov  40' Report Borovskyi  56'
Chornomaz  70'		 Referee: Braden K.

Season statistics

Goals
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Moussa Limane Scarborough SC 7
2 Luke Rankin Hamilton City SC 6
3 Dusan Kovacevic Serbian White Eagles 5
Mykola Temniuk FC Vorkuta
4 Misel Klisara Serbian White Eagles 4
5 Arsen Platis Hamilton City SC 3

Updated: October 5, 2020
Source:http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/2020-first-division-stats/

Hat-tricks
Player Club Against Result Date
Moussa Limane Scarborough SC Hamilton City SC 7–2 (H) 22 August 2020
Luke Rankin[23] Hamilton City SC Serbian White Eagles 4–3 (A) 5 September 2020
Dusan Kovacevic[24] Serbian White Eagles Scarborough SC 3–0 (H) 19 September 2020

References
  1. Adamson, Stan (March 29, 2020). "CSL KICKOFF SET FOR END OF MAY – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. Adamson, Stan (October 18, 2020). "VORKUTA RALLY FOR CSL CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. Stanchev, Stancho (October 14, 2020). "К. Димитров-Брежанеца отново спечели редовния сезон на канадската лига" [K. Dimitrov-Brezhanetsa again won the regular season of the Canadian league]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  4. Stanchev, Stancho (August 13, 2020). "Двойна радост споходи в Канада брежанеца К. Димитров в навечерието на новия футболен сезон" [Double joy came to Canada's K. Dimitrov from Brezhnev on the eve of the new football season]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  5. Stanchev, Stancho (September 3, 2020). "Мениджър от Брежани изведе „Скарбъро" до стратегически успех в канадския втори ешелон" [Brezani manager leads Scarborough to strategic success in Canadian second tier]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  6. Stanchev, Stancho (October 30, 2020). "Брежанецът К. Димитров и подопечните му сдадоха титлата в Канада, привикаха на пожар ексорлето Кр. Бибишков, но не го пуснаха на терена" [Brezhanets K. Dimitrov and his wards handed over the title in Canada, summoned the exorcist Kr. Bibishkov, but they did not let him on the field]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  7. Rosip, Dmitry (November 8, 2020). "Клуб в Канаде назвали в память о жертвах сталинских лагерей. Его создал юрист из России" [The club in Canada was named in memory of the victims of the Stalinist camps. It was created by a lawyer from Russia]. www.championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  8. Stanchev, Stancho (September 24, 2020). "Брежанският мениджър К. Димитров понесе първа загуба в Канада за сезона" [Brezani manager K. Dimitrov suffered his first loss in Canada this season]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  9. Adamson, Stan (October 9, 2020). "Three Teams Bid for CSL Championship…….Semifinal Saturday". Canadian Soccer League.
  10. Adamson, Stan (October 10, 2020). "OVERTIME VICTORY PUTS VORKUTA IN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  11. Adamson, Stan (October 4, 2020). "SCARBOROUGH WINS LEAGUE TITLE……….Brantford 's last game victory – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  12. Adamson, Stan (April 18, 2020). "CSL SEASON KICKOFF DELAY EXTENDED TO JUNE 29 – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  13. Adamson, Stan (July 8, 2020). "CSL AIMS TO COMPLETE BRIEF 2020 SEASON THROUGH TO CHAMPIONSHIP – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  14. "FC UKRAINE UNITED TEAMS WILL NOT PLAY IN 2020 OUTDOOR SEASON". fcukraineunited. August 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  15. Adamson, Stan (August 6, 2020). "VORKUTA'S FADI SALBACK TRIALS IN UKRAINE……CSL kickoff delayed until August 15 – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  16. Adamson, Stan (August 11, 2020). "CSL NEW SEASON KICKOFF SET FOR SATURDAY – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  17. "FC Vorkuta – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  18. "Hamilton City 1 SC – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  19. "Scarborough SC – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  20. "Serbian White Eagles – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  21. "Brantford Galaxy SC – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  22. Adamson, Stan (October 15, 2020). "IMPRESSIVE VORKUTA AND SCARBOROUGH WELL MATCHED FOR CSL FINAL – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  23. "Luke Rankin - 2019-20 - University of Guelph". gryphons.ca. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  24. "Dusan Kovacevic - Men's Soccer". McMaster University Athletics. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
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