2018 League1 Ontario season

League1 Ontario
Men's Division
Season 2018
Matches played 136
Goals scored 488 (3.59 per match)
Top goalscorer Anthony Novak (18 goals)
Best goalkeeper Lucas Birnstingl (0.25 GAA)
Highest scoring TFC III 10–0 Windsor (Jun 17)
Oakville 10–0 Sanjaxx (Aug 26)
← 2017
2019 →
All statistics correct as of September 23, 2018.

The 2018 Men's League1 Ontario season is 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.

This is the second year where the league champion will earn entry into the Canadian Championship; the top national tournament for men's soccer teams and the country's only path into the CONCACAF Champions League.

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 are not returning for this season.

During the off-season, Jim Brennan stepped down as head of Aurora FC to accept a position with a York Region based team 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 will enter the playoffs, which will consist of a group stage and a final championship match between the winner of each group. The women's side sees a shorter season which ends in August this year, followed by a four-team elimination playoff for the league title.[4]

Teams

  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 plays 16 matches as part of the season; one match against all other teams. The top eight teams compete in the league playoffs at the end of the season, the winner of which will earn 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 League Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2]
5 Vaughan Azzurri 16 10 1 5 45 23 +22 31 League Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
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 Stars 16 1 5 10 13 55 −42 8
Updated to match(es) played on September 23, 2018. 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
Notes:
  1. 1 2 The winner of the league playoffs will also advance to the 2019 Canadian Championship.
  2. ↑ Toronto FC III will not participate in league playoffs, regardless of standings.[9]

Playoffs

The top eight teams from the regular season are divided into two groups of four for the playoffs. Each team will play three matches; one match against all other teams in their group. The top team from each group will advance to the league championship, the winner of which will earn entry into the 2019 Canadian Championship.

Group stage

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VGN ALU DBY LON
1 Vaughan Azzurri (Q) 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9 League Championship[lower-alpha 1] — 1–0 4–0 3–2
2 Alliance United FC (E) 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 – — Oct 13 1–0
3 Darby FC (E) 2 0 1 1 1 5 −4 1 – – — –
4 FC London (E) 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1 – – 1–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on October 12, 2018  . 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
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ The winner of the league championship will also advance to the 2019 Canadian Championship.
Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification WDB OAK SIG UNV
1 Woodbridge Strikers 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 4 League Championship[lower-alpha 1] — – – Oct 14
2 Oakville Blue Devils 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4 2–2 — – 2–0
3 Sigma FC 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1 3 1–3 Oct 14 — 2–1
4 Unionville Milliken SC (E) 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0 – – – —
Updated to match(es) played on October 8, 2018. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(E) Eliminated.
Notes:
  1. ↑ The winner of the league championship will also advance to the 2019 Canadian Championship.

League Championship

The league champion is determined by a single-match series between the two group winners in the first round of the playoffs. The winner qualifies for the 2019 Canadian Championship.

Cup

The cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all 17 teams from the men's division take 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 Canadian Championship or the FA 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 four total rounds culminating in a final match in the start of August, with initial matchups determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes will advance directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.[10]

Preliminary Round
  
Alliance United2 (4)
Darby FC2 (5)
 
First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
FC London2
 
 
 
Darby FC0
 
FC London0
 
 
 
Sigma FC8
 
Sigma FC4
 
 
 
Sanjaxx Lions0
 
Sigma FC1 (5)
 
 
 
Toronto FC III1 (6)
 
ProStars FC2 (4)
 
 
 
Aurora FC2 (3)
 
ProStars FC0
 
 
 
Toronto FC III3
 
Windsor TFC Stars1
 
 
 
Toronto FC III4
 
Toronto FC III1
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
Master's Futbol4
 
 
 
Unionville Milliken SC0
 
Master's Futbol2
 
 
 
Oakville Blue Devils3
 
Oakville Blue Devils3
 
 
 
Toronto Skillz1
 
Oakville Blue Devils0
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
North Mississauga SC0
 
 
 
Vaughan Azzurri6
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
 
 
Woodbridge Strikers0
 
Woodbridge Strikers4
 
 
Ottawa South United1
 

Preliminary Round

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Statistics

All-Star Game

The league has announced that an All-Star Game between League1 Ontario and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) will once again take place this season. The game will be hosted by the PLSQ but other details have not yet been announced.

References

  1. ↑ "League1 expansion focus zooms in on Unionville, Markham entries". yorkregion.com. YorkRegion.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. ↑ "Former TFC captain Jimmy Brennan steps down as Aurora FC executive director". yorkregion.com. YorkRegion.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "FC London's academy changes look, adds programs with Toronto FC link". lfpress.com. London Free Press. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". league1ontario.com. League1 Ontario. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "May 5, 2018 League 1 Ontario--North Mississauga Panthers vs Pro Stars FC game report (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  6. ↑ "July 7, 2018 League 1 Ontario--Unionville Milliken FC vs Sigma FC game review (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  7. ↑ "Windsor TFC finds new head coach". iheartradio.com. AM 800. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  8. ↑ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". league1ontario.com. League1 Ontario. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  9. ↑ Glover, Robin. "L1O Game of the Week: Woodbridge falls to Vaughan in League Cup quarter-final". Waking The Red. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Mens L1 Cup". league1ontario.com. League1 Ontario. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
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