1993 Canadian National Soccer League season

Canadian National Soccer League
Season1993
Champions
League cupToronto Croatia
Matches played112
Goals scored358 (3.2 per match)
Top goalscorerDwayne Dear
Tomasz Radzinski (15)
Best goalkeeperCharlie Mohamed
1994 →

The 1993 Canadian National Soccer League season was the seventy-first season for the Canadian National Soccer League. The season concluded on October 17, 1993, with St. Catharines Roma claiming their first CNSL Championship after defeating Toronto Rockets in a two-game series.[1] Toronto Croatia secured their fifth CNSL league cup.[2]

The season was significant as the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) merged with the National Soccer League (NSL), which renamed the league the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). As the Canadian Soccer Association suspended the CSL on April 30, 1993, their remaining clubs joined the CNSL. The new additions included the Winnipeg Fury, which marked the league's first entry into Manitoba, and the reintroduction of a Quebec division making the league operative in three provinces.[3]

Overview

After the defections of the Toronto Blizzard, and Vancouver 86ers to the American Professional Soccer League the main financial sponsor of the Montreal Supra split with the front office to form another APSL franchise.[4][5] These actions along with the financial crisis the Canadian Soccer League was experiencing caused the league to merge its interests with the National Soccer League.[6] The merger resulted in a name change to the Canadian National Soccer League with the additions of the North York Rockets (changed to Toronto Rockets), Winnipeg Fury, and the introduction of a Quebec division to house the former Quebec National Soccer League (LNSQ) clubs.[7][8] As a result of the changes to the Canadian soccer landscape, the Canadian Soccer Association recognized the APSL as the top tier in the country with the intention of designating the CNSL as a secondary league.[9] After a meeting conducted with representatives from both parties, the CNSL failed to receive sanctioning from the CSA.[10]

On April 30, 1993, the CSA officially suspended the CSL for one season, with the CSL in response sanctioning the CNSL for the 1993 season.[11][12] Woodbridge Azzuri was suspended after failing to secure a proper facility according to league standards.[13] The executive committee of the league included Laurie McIvor as president, Rocco LoFranco as commissioner, Armando DiFruscio as vice president, and Harry Gauss with Tony Fontana as directors.[14][15] Winnipeg experienced a tumultuous season in terms of fiscal operations as they struggled in making payments, and even applied to the provincial government for a grant to fulfill their league commitments.[16][17]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Corfinium St-Leonard Saint-Léonard de Port Maurice, Quebec
Cosmos de LaSalle LaSalle, Quebec Riverside Stadium Angelo Poulos[18]
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium
Luso Stars Mont-Royal Mount Royal, Quebec
Montreal Croatia Montreal, Quebec Stade du Parc Hérbert Simon Demo[19]
Montreal Ramblers Montreal, Quebec Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard
Richmond Hill Kick[note 1] Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Green Sports Centre[20] Peter Pinizzotto[21]
Scarborough Astros Scarborough, Ontario Birchmount Stadium[22] Jorge Armua[23]
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium Jimmy Douglas[24]
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Carlo Delmonte[25]
Toronto Jets North York, Ontario Esther Shiner Stadium[22] Adam Pagliaroli[26]
Toronto Rockets North York, Ontario Esther Shiner Stadium[20]
Windsor Wheels Windsor, Ontario Windsor Stadium Peter Paglioti[27]
Winnipeg Fury Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg Soccer Complex Phil Wilson[28][29]
  1. ^ Richmond withdrew from league midway through the season

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing coach Manner of
departure 		Date of
vacancy 		Position in table Incoming coach Date of
appointment
St. Catharines Roma Tony Novacic[30] Resigned March, 1993 Presason Jimmy Douglas[24] March 10, 1993
Winnipeg Fury Tom McManus[31] Resigned April 10, 1993 England Phil Wilson[31] April 10, 1993
Windsor Wheels Osvaldo Rizzo[32] Dismissed May 26, 1993 2nd in May United States Peter Paglioti[27] May 27, 1993
Toronto Italia Croatia Bruno Pilaš[33] Resigned July 16, 1993 6th in July Carlo Delmonte[33] July 16, 1993

Final standings

Eastern Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Montreal Croatia (C) 16 9 4 3 47 20 +27 22 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Cosmos de LaSalle 16 7 3 6 48 25 +23 17
3 Montreal Ramblers 16 6 5 5 27 31 −4 17
4 Corfinium St-Leonard 16 6 3 7 28 41 −13 15
5 Luso Stars Mont-Royal 16 1 5 10 13 51 −38 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 25, 1993. Source: [34]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Western Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Rockets (C) 16 9 6 1 40 13 +27 24 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Toronto Croatia 16 7 7 2 19 10 +9 21
3 Toronto Italia 16 6 6 4 21 14 +7 18
4 St. Catharines Roma (O) 16 7 2 7 17 16 +1 16
5 Toronto Jets 16 4 6 6 15 20 −5 14
6 London City 16 5 4 7 19 26 −7 14
7 Scarborough Astros 16 6 2 8 16 26 −10 14
8 Windsor Wheels 16 7 0 9 16 31 −15 14
9 Winnipeg Fury 16 4 1 11 22 28 −6 9
Updated to match(es) played on September 25, 1993. Source: [35]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

September 26, 1993 Toronto Rockets 3–0 London City North York, Ontario
[[36] Report] Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
September 29, 1993 London City 0–2 Toronto Rockets London, Ontario
[[37] Report] Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

Toronto won the series 5–0 on aggregate.

September 27, 1993 Montreal Croatia 5–1 Cosmos de LaSalle Montreal, Quebec
[[38] Report] Stadium: Stade du Parc Hérbert
September 30, 1993 Cosmos de LaSalle 1–3 Montreal Croatia LaSalle, Quebec
[[39] Report] Stadium: Riverside Stadium

Montreal won the series 8–2 on aggregate.

September 27, 1993 Toronto Jets 2–2 Toronto Croatia North York, Ontario
[[40] Report] Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
September 29, 1993 Toronto Croatia 1–2 Toronto Jets Etobicoke, Ontario
[[41] Report] Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

Toronto Jets won the series 4–3 on aggregate.

September 29, 1993 St. Catharines Roma 2–2 Toronto Italia St. Catharines, Ontario
Zoran Zubic 22'
52'		 [[42] Report] Luis Luffi 21'
Titus 47'		 Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
Referee: Joe Licandro
October 4, 1993 Toronto Italia 1–2 St. Catharines Roma Etobicoke, Ontario
[[43] Report] Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

St. Catharines won the series 4–3 on aggregate.

Semifinals

October 3, 1993 Montreal Croatia 1–2 Toronto Rockets Montreal, Quebec
[[44] Report] Stadium: Stade du Parc Hérbert
October 10, 1993 Toronto Rockets 4–0 Montreal Croatia North York, Ontario
[[45] Report] Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium

Toronto won the series 6–1 on aggregate.

October 7, 1993 Toronto Jets 0–1 St. Catharines Roma North York, Ontario
[[46] Report] Zoran Zubic 18' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
October 13, 1993 St. Catharines Roma 1–0 Toronto Jets St. Catharines, Ontario
Mark Konert 94' [[47] Report] Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
Attendance: 600

St. Catharines won the series 2–0 on aggregate.

Final

October 15, 1993 St. Catharines Roma 0–0 Toronto Rockets St. Catharines, Ontario
[[48] Report] Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
Attendance: 250
October 17, 1993 Toronto Rockets 0–1 St. Catharines Roma Etobicoke, Ontario
[[49] Report] Tom Bernardi 19' Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

St. Catharines won the series 1–0 on aggregate.

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all fourteen teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season, and the teams were grouped into two separate divisions.

Finals

September 17, 1993 London City 1–1 Toronto Croatia London, Ontario
[[50] Report] Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
September 22, 1993 Toronto Croatia 4–0 London City Etobicoke, Ontario
[[51] Report] Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

Toronto won the series 5–1 on aggregate.

Individual awards

Canadian international Tomasz Radzinski played two seasons in the CNSL

The 1993 annual CNSL awards were held at Auberge Universel in Sherbrooke, Quebec with the nominations announced on October 22, 1993.[52] The awards were presented on November 3, 1993, with Montreal Croatia receiving the most accolades.[19] The Golden Boot was shared between Dwayne Dear and Tomasz Radzinski with both finishing with 15 goals in their respective divisions.[53] Radzinski would ultimately play in noted leagues such as the Belgian First Division, and Premier League.[53] Montreal Croatia's Zoran Petkovic was named the MVP and Krunoslav Piperkovic was given the Most Sportsmanlike Award.

After securing the Eastern division title for Croatia the Coach of the Year went to Simon Demo along with the Team of the Year award. The Montreal Ramblers finished second with three awards with Charlie Mohamed being named the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Paul Daccobert was recognized as the Rookie of the Year and would later play in the USISL Pro League. The Ramblers also received the Most Technical award, while Corfinium St-Leonard received the Most Improved award. The remainder of the awards went to Cosmos de LaSalle as Best Administration and Manuel Sosa was given the Best Referee award.

Award Player (Club)
CNSL MVP Zoran Petkovic (Montreal Croatia)
CNSL Golden Boot Dwayne Dear (Cosmos de LaSalle)
Tomasz Radzinski (Toronto Rockets)
CNSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Charlie Mohamed (Montreal Ramblers)
CNSL Rookie of the Year Award Paul Daccobert (Montreal Ramblers)
CNSL Coach of the Year Award Simon Demo (Montreal Croatia)
CNSL Most Sportsmanlike Award Krunoslav Piperkovic (Montreal Croatia)
CNSL Most Technical Award Montreal Ramblers
CNSL Most Improved Award Corfinium St-Leonard
CNSL Team of the Year Award Montreal Croatia
CNSL Best Administration Award Cosmos de LaSalle
CNSL Referee Award Manuel Sousa

References

  1. ^ "Soccer results". Newspapers.com. Times Colonist. October 18, 1993. p. 2. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 117.
  3. ^ Hall, Dave (April 22, 1993). "Wheels racing against time toward home opener". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Stars. p. 18. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "Three from here get U.S. invitations". baltimoresun.com. Baltimore Sun. December 16, 1992. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  5. ^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 135.
  6. ^ "Pro soccer changing its face". Newspapers.com. Edmonton Journal. January 7, 1993. p. 35. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  7. ^ "Soccer leagues join forces". Newspapers.com. The Gazette. January 7, 1993. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  8. ^ Hall, Dave (March 9, 1993). "Wheels hope to score with new soccer league". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. ^ Stinson, Dan (January 13, 1993). "Canadians go back to work". Newspapers.com. The Vancouver Sun. p. 50. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  10. ^ "League exists despite lack of CSA sanction". Newspapers.com. Vancouver Sun. January 20, 1993. p. 49. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "CSL ordered to shut down". Newspapers.com. Calgary Herald. April 30, 1993. p. 36. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  12. ^ "Soccer's 86ers soak in red ink". Newspapers.com. The Gazette. June 22, 1993. p. 11. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  13. ^ Christie, James (July 13, 1993). "Uninhibited soccer team finds itself without a league". The Globe and Mail. p. C7.
  14. ^ "Roundup Overtime". Newspapers.com. The Leader-Post. January 7, 1993. p. 11. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  15. ^ Da Costa, Norman (April 8, 1993). "Soccer league gets 16 teams, names a boss". Toronto Star. p. D11.
  16. ^ "Fury running out of cash". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. August 7, 1993. p. 16. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  17. ^ Lyons, Steve (August 18, 1993). "There's light at the end of the tunnel". NewspaperArchive.com. Winnipeg Free Press. p. 39. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  18. ^ McDonald, Marvin (June 21, 1993). "Fury on fire in romp". NewspaperArchive.com. Winnipeg Free Press. p. 37. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Canadian National Soccer League awards". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. November 3, 1993. p. 48. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Laskaris, Sam (April 15, 1993). "Soccer Rockets change name and league". Toronto Star. p. NY8.
  21. ^ Laskaris, Sam (July 29, 1993). "Off-field battles continue to plague Kick soccer team". Toronto Star. p. NY4.
  22. ^ a b Laskaris, Sam (April 15, 1993). "Astros call Birchmount home for the season". Toronto Star. p. SD5.
  23. ^ "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Wallace, Jim (March 10, 1993). "Douglas has returned". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C3.
  25. ^ Hall, David (July 16, 1993). "Rolling wheels to become a traveling act in CNSL". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 14. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  26. ^ "Prima". www.lospecchio.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Waddell, Dave (May 27, 1993). "Wheels' owners feel move best for team". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 33. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  28. ^ Taylor, Scott (August 25, 1993). "Soccer side needs miracle". NewspaperArchive.com. Winnipeg Free Press. p. 27. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  29. ^ McDonald, Marvin (September 1, 1993). "Players' love, members' pockets keep Fury afloat". NewspaperArchive.com. Winnipeg Free Press. p. 24. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  30. ^ Wallace, Jim (December 28, 1993). "Life moves on: Perri leaves Wolves with strong legacy as coach and player". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C3.
  31. ^ a b McDonald, Marvin (April 10, 1993). "Wilson handed reins". NewspaperArchive.com. Winnipeg Free Press. p. 44. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  32. ^ Hall, Dave (May 26, 1993). "Wheels fire coach". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 7. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Hall, David (July 16, 1993). "Rolling Wheels to become a traveling act in CNSL". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. p. 14. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  34. ^ "25 Sep 1993, 75 - The Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  35. ^ "25 Sep 1993, 75 - The Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  36. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Star-Phoenix. September 27, 1993. pp. D8.
  37. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Windsor Star. September 30, 1993. pp. B9.
  38. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Windsor Star. September 28, 1993. pp. C11.
  39. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Windsor Star. October 1, 1993. pp. B7.
  40. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Windsor Star. September 28, 1993. pp. C11.
  41. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Windsor Star. September 30, 1993. pp. B9.
  42. ^ Wallace, Jim (September 30, 1993). "Roma battles Italia to tie". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C3.
  43. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Calgary Herald. October 5, 1993. pp. C2.
  44. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". Red Deer Advocate. October 4, 1993. pp. A8.
  45. ^ "Soccer Results - CNSL". The Province. September 12, 1993. pp. A48.
  46. ^ "Roma's Zubic on hot pace". St. Catharines Standard. October 8, 1993. pp. C1.
  47. ^ Wallace, Jim (October 14, 1993). "Roma in finals". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C1.
  48. ^ Jeanneret, Mark (October 16, 1993). "Roma's game plan works to perfection". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C1.
  49. ^ Wallace, Jim (October 18, 1993). "Roma captures league soccer crown". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C1.
  50. ^ "Sports - CNSL Challenge Cup Results". Windsor Star. September 18, 1993. pp. B6.
  51. ^ "Sports - CNSL Challenge Cup Results". Windsor Star. September 23, 1993. pp. B10.
  52. ^ "Sports - Miscellany". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. October 22, 1993. p. 15. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  53. ^ a b "Canadian midfielder relieved to be back on the soccer pitch". NewspaperArchive.com. Lethbridge Herald. October 9, 1996. p. 12. Retrieved April 8, 2020.