Woodbridge Strikers

Woodbridge Strikers
Full nameWoodbridge Strikers Soccer Club
Founded1976 / 2014
StadiumVaughan Grove Park
Head CoachPeter Pinizzotto (men)
David Porco (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2024L1O-P, 3rd (men)
L1O-P, 4th (women)
Websitehttps://woodbridgesoccer.ca/
Current season

Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014.[1] The team plays home games at Vaughan Grove Park.[2]

The club was one of the ten original founding men's teams in League1 Ontario, which was established in 2014, as well as one of eight original founding teams in the League1 Ontario women's division, which was established in 2015.

History

The club's history dates back to 1972, when the East Woodbridge Soccer Club and West Woodbridge Soccer Club were created to serve the Woodbridge Community. In 1976, these two clubs merged to form Woodbridge Soccer Club.[3]

In 2014, the semi-professional club was established to play in the newly formed League1 Ontario as one of the founding members.[4][5]

Woodbridge played their first match on June 1, 2014 against ANB Futbol, which they won 2–1.[6] They finished in second place in the league in each of their first two seasons.[7]

In 2015, Woodbridge won the League1 Ontario League Cup, defeating Sigma FC 2–1 in the finals.[8] They repeated as champions in the 2017 League1 Ontario League Cup with a 3–1 victory over Vaughan Azzurri in the finals.[9] They lost in the 2017 League1 Championship final to the Oakville Blue Devils in a penalty shoot-out,[10] narrowly missing out on the opportunity to represent the league in the 2018 Canadian Championship as a result.[11] They again lost in the 2018 Playoff Final, this time against Vaughan Azzurri, missing out on the Canadian Championship for the second consecutive year.[12]

They added a women's club to participate in the inaugural season of the League1 Ontario women's division in 2015.[13] In their debut season, they finished second in the league.[7] In 2018, the women won their first trophy, capturing the League Cup.[14] In 2021, the women captured their first League1 Championship, defeating Blue Devils FC 1-0 in the finals.[15]

Coaching staff

[16]

Seasons

Men

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2014 League1 Ontario 9 10–3–3 2nd – Group stage [17]
2015 12 15–2–5 2nd – Champions [17]
2016 16 15–2–5 2nd, Eastern (2nd overall) did not qualify Runner-up [17]
2017 16 15–5–2 1st, Eastern (3rd overall) Runner-up Champions [17]
2018 17 8–4–4 6th Runner-up Quarter-finals [17]
2019 16 8–1–6 8th Quarter-finals – [17]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[18]
2021 15 6–1–5 3rd, East (7th overall) did not qualify – [17]
2022 22 8–5–8 11th did not qualify –
2023 21 6–8–6 12th did not qualify –
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 12 10–7–5 3rd – Round of 16

Women

Woodbridge Strikers win 2018 L1O League Cup
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2015 League1 Ontario 7 13–2–3 2nd – Semi-finals [19]
2016 9 11–3–2 2nd – Finalists [19]
2017 11 9–2–9 7th – Finalists [19]
2018 13 9–3–0 2nd Finalists Champions [19]
2019 14 7–1–5 4th Semi-finals – [19]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[18]
2021 7 6–3–3 2nd Champions – [19]
2022 20 12–6–1 3rd Quarter-finals –
2023 19 10–4–4 5th Quarter-finals –
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 10 9–3–6 4th – Quarter-finals

Notable former players

The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:

Men

Women

Honours

References

  1. ^ Hayakawa, Michael (April 10, 2014). "Vaughan to field 2 teams in inaugural soccer league". Vaughan Citizen. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Kelly, Tim (April 14, 2014). "Soccer season in Vaughan a sure sign of spring". Vaughan Citizen. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "History of WSC". Woodbridge SC. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "Ontario launches provincial semi-professional men's league". Canadian Soccer Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "OSA announces League1 Ontario teams". Ontario Soccer Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014.
  6. ^ Kelly, Tim (May 29, 2014). "New soccer club in King Township fills gap for rising stars". King Connection. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "A Bluffer's Guide to Woodbridge Strikers". League1 Ontario. July 7, 2022. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Woodbridge Strikers Hold On to win League1 Ontario Men's L1O Cup". Ontario Soccer Association. August 9, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "L1 Cup 2017 Champions crowned". Vaughan Citizen. August 8, 2017. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Cudmore, John (October 22, 2017). "League1 Soccer: Oakville Blue Devils top Woodbridge Strikers in kicks". Vaughan Citizen. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Davidson, Neil (June 5, 2018). "Oakville Blue Devils look to impress in first Canadian soccer championship appearance". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  12. ^ Baldwin, Dan (October 23, 2019). "L1O Final: Azzurri give Woodbridge the Blues". Northern Starting XI. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Rowaan, Dave (January 29, 2015). "League 1 Ontario announces expansion teams for 2015 season". Waking The Red. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "Top 2018 Performers Recognized At Year-End Awards Gala". League1 Ontario. November 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Cheng, Jonathan (November 7, 2021). "Woodbridge wins 2021 L1O Women's title in 1-0 result over Blue Devils". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  16. ^ "WSC Technical Staff". Woodbridge SC. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.