1994 Canadian National Soccer League season

The 1994 Canadian National Soccer League season was the seventy second season for the Canadian National Soccer League.The season began on May 28, 1994 with Montreal Ramblers facing Toronto Croatia at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard.The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, St. Catharines Roma, along with Montreal Croatia, and Toronto Italia. The title was eventually won by Toronto Italia after defeating St. Catharines in the CNSL Championship final.[1] Toronto would also secure the treble, which included the regular season title, and the league cup.[2]

Canadian National Soccer League
Season1994
Champions
  • Toronto Italia (regular season)
  • Toronto Italia (playoffs, 7th title)
League cupToronto Italia
Matches played42
Goals scored115 (2.74 per match)
Top goalscorerRyan Gamble
← 1993
1995 →

Since the merger of the Canadian Soccer League, and the National Soccer League in 1993 the league had a presence in Manitoba, but became solely restricted in Ontario and Quebec. The league continued to operate as the only exclusively Canadian professional league within the country while the Canadian clubs in the American Professional Soccer League served as the highest tier league in the country's soccer structure.

Overview

The season saw a reduction in league membership as the boundaries of the league were restricted to Ontario and Quebec.The CNSL lost its presence in Manitoba as the Winnipeg Fury ceased operations due to heavy financial losses.[3][4] While the Eastern Division of Quebec was disbanded with only Montreal Croatia, and Montreal Ramblers operating in the province. Richmond Hill Kick were suspended midway through the 1993 season after several missed scheduled matches, and failure in payment fees.[5] Toronto Rockets were awarded a franchise in the American Professional Soccer League in order to replace the Toronto Blizzard.[6][7]

After a dispute over philosophical differences.with league commissioner Rocco Lofranco the Windsor Wheels joined the United States Interregional Soccer League, and relocated to Detroit, Michigan.[4][8] Another notable departure occurred near the conclusion of the season as Toronto Croatia withdrew after a dispute with the front office and the following season joined the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League).[9][10] While at the live gate the league struggled in drawing consistent crowds, which according to Lofranco the 1994 FIFA World Cup played a factor in lowering the attendance numbers.[11]

Teams
Team City Stadium Manager
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium Harry Gauss
Montreal Croatia Montreal, Quebec Stade du Parc Hérbert Simon Demo
Montreal Ramblers Montreal, Quebec Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard
Scarborough Astros Scarborough, Ontario Birchmount Stadium Jorge Armua[12]
St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium
Toronto Croatia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium Peter Pinizzotto[13]
Toronto Jets North York, Ontario Esther Shiner Stadium

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Italia (C, O) 12 7 4 1 20 9 +11 18 Qualification for Playoffs
2 St. Catharines Roma 12 6 2 4 17 10 +7 14
3 Montreal Croatia 12 6 2 4 26 21 +5 14
4 London City 12 4 3 5 17 18 −1 11
5 Scarborough Astros 12 2 6 4 11 15 −4 10
6 Toronto Jets 12 3 4 5 10 20 −10 10
7 Montreal Ramblers 12 3 1 8 14 21 −7 7
Updated to match(es) played on September 10, 1994. Source: League Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals
September 11, 1994 Montreal Croatia3–5Toronto JetsMontreal, Quebec
(Report) Stadium: Stade du Parc Hérbert
September 11, 1994 London City1–1Scarborough AstrosLondon, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
September 17, 1994 Toronto Jets5–6Montreal CroatiaNorth York, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
September 16, 1994 Scarborough Astros0–1London CityScarborough, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Birchmount Stadium

Semifinals
September, 1994 Toronto Jets0–1Toronto ItaliaNorth York, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
September 28, 1994 St. Catharines Roma1–0London CitySt. Catharines, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
October 9, 1994 Toronto Italia0–0Toronto JetsEtobicoke, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
October 2, 1994 St. Catharines Roma3–1London CitySt. Catharines, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

Final
October 12, 1994 St. Catharines Roma0–1Toronto ItaliaSt. Catharines, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
October 15, 1994 Toronto Italia3–1St. Catharines RomaEtobicoke, Ontario
(Report) Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all eight teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season, and the teams were grouped into two separate divisions. The two winners in the group stage would advance to a singles match for the Cup. Originally Toronto Croatia participated in the cup competition, but near the conclusion of the season withdrew from both the regular season and cup tournament.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 St. Catharines Roma 4 3 0 1 5 3 +2 6 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Montreal Ramblers 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 5
3 Toronto Jets 4 0 1 3 4 9 −5 1
Updated to match(es) played on September 10, 1994. Source: https://thecnsl.com/1994-2/
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Italia (C) 5 5 0 0 14 0 +14 10 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Montreal Croatia 5 3 1 1 6 5 +1 7
3 London City 6 1 2 3 4 8 −4 4
4 Scarborough Astros 6 0 1 5 1 12 −11 1
Updated to match(es) played on September 10, 1994. Source: https://thecnsl.com/1994-2/
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Final
Toronto Italia1–0St. Catharines Roma
Report
Centennial Park Stadium, Etobicoke, Ontario

Individual awards

The 1994 CNSL annual awards only presented four awards with Toronto Italia receiving the majority of the accolades. The Golden Boot, and Rookie of the Year was given to Italia forward Ryan Gamble, who would later go onto higher endeavors in the USISL D-3 Pro League, and USISL A-League. Peter Pinizzotto was named the Coach of the Year after achieving a treble with Italia. He would ultimately spend time with the Toronto Lynx, and Montreal Impact.[13] The final receipt was Scarborough Astros Brazilian import Paulo Silva with his third Goalkeeper of the Year award. Silva would later serve as the goalkeeping coach for the Toronto Lynx under Pinizzotto.[14]

Award Player (Club)
CNSL Golden Boot Ryan Gamble (Toronto Italia)
CNSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Paulo Silva (Scarborough Astros)
CNSL Rookie of the Year Award Ryan Gamble (Toronto Italia)
CNSL Coach of the Year Award Peter Pinizzotto (Toronto Italia)

References
  1. "Soccer". Newspapers.com. The Gazette. October 17, 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  2. "Canadian National Soccer League 1993 to 1997" (PDF). Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  3. "Soccer - Winnipeg Fury". Newspapers.com. The Province. August 10, 1993. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  4. Hull, David (September 3, 1993). "Wheels' management pleased overall with first season". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. "Kick Gets Boot". Newspapers.com. Calgary Herald. July 13, 1993. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  6. Glover, Robin (July 8, 1994). "APSL Toronto vs Seattle". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  7. Phillips, Randy (March 11, 1994). "Impact kicks off season on July 1". Newspapers.com. The Gazette. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  8. Hull, Dave (November 10, 1993). "Wheels add Detroit team". Newspapers.com. Windsor Stars. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  9. "Pro Soccer in London, Ontario". web.archive.org. 2001-05-02. Archived from the original on May 2, 2001. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  10. Fanfair, Ron. Stars Soccer Review. - Aldwynable. Caribbean Stars Inc. p. 88.
  11. Hull, Dave (August 5, 1994). "CNSL wants a team in Windsor". Newspapers.com. Windsor Star. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  12. "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". web.archive.org. 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  13. "Hall of Fame | YRSA". www.yrsa.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  14. "The Team". www.lynxsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2001. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
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