2002 Canadian Professional Soccer League season

The 2002 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fifth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 23, 2002 and concluded on October 20, 2002 with Ottawa Wizards becoming the first expansion franchise to win the CPSL Championship (known as the Rogers CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons) by defeating the North York Astros 2-0.[1] For the first time the final was hosted at Esther Shiner Stadium, which granted the hosts the North York Astros a wildcard match.[2] As the league was divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences the Wizards clinched the Eastern title, while Toronto Croatia won the Western Conference. The expansion of the league saw the return of professional soccer to Hamilton, and the addition of another Toronto franchise.[3][4] On February 26, 2002 the CPSL signed a player agreement deal with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League, which provided the Lynx access in order to use CPSL talent and provide players an opportunity to play at a higher level.[5][6]

Canadian Professional Soccer League
Season2002
ChampionsOttawa Wizards
Regular Season title
Matches played133
Goals scored456 (3.43 per match)
Top goalscorerDarren Tilley (Mississauga Olympians)
Biggest home winOttawa Wizards 8-1 St. Catharines Wolves (July 7, 2002)
Biggest away winNorth York Astros 0-8 Mississauga Olympians (June 16, 2002)
Highest scoringMississauga Olympians 6-4 St. Catharines Wolves (July 19, 2002)
← 2001
2003 →

Changes from 2001 season

For the second straight season the CPSL expanded to 14 clubs to include the Hamilton Thunder and Metro Lions. Due to the increase of teams the CPSL management split the league into two Conferences the Eastern and Western.[7] The Toronto Olympians moved to Erin Mills, Mississauga, which opened the Scarborough territory to the Metro Lions.[8] Changes occurred in the York Region territory with Glen Shields changing their team name to Vaughan Sun Devils in order to fully represent the city of Vaughan. Meanwhile, their rivals the York Region Shooters were sold to Tony De Thomasis, and relocated the team to their original home at Highland Park in Aurora. While former Hamilton Bulldogs president Cary Kaplan was hired as a Management Consultant for the league.[9]

Teams
TeamCityStadiumManager
Brampton HitmenBrampton, Ontario (Bramalea)Victoria Park StadiumEd McLaughlin[10]
Durham FlamesOshawa, Ontario (Vanier)Oshawa Civic StadiumSteve Hamill[11]
London CityLondon, Ontario (Westmount)Cove Road StadiumJurek Gebczynski[12]
Hamilton ThunderHamilton, OntarioBrian Timmis StadiumMarko Maschke[13]
Metro LionsToronto, Ontario (Scarborough)Birchmount StadiumAnthony La Ferrara[14]
Mississauga OlympiansMississauga, Ontario (Erin Mills)Erin Mills Twin ArenasDavid Gee[15]
Montreal DynamitesLaval, QuebecCentre Sportif Bois-de-BoulogneMohamed Hilen[16]
North York AstrosToronto, Ontario (North York)Esther Shiner StadiumPavel Zaslavski[17]
Dejan Gluscevic[18]
Ottawa WizardsOttawa, Ontario (Carp)OZ Optics StadiumKlaus Linnenbruegger
St. Catharines WolvesSt. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle)Club Roma StadiumLucio Ianiero[19][20]
Toronto CroatiaMississauga, Ontario (Streetsville)Memorial ParkZarko Brala[21]
Toronto SupraToronto, Ontario (Brockton)Centennial Park StadiumVictor Cameira[22]
Vaughan Sun DevilsVaughan, Ontario (Thornhill)Dufferin District FieldDave Benning[23][24]
York Region ShootersAurora, Ontario (Aurora Village)Highland ParkVito Colangelo[25]

Final standings

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Ottawa Wizards 19 15 2 2 55 13 +42 47 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Montreal Dynamites 19 11 3 5 44 34 +10 36
3 Metro Lions 19 11 2 6 36 23 +13 35
4 York Region Shooters 19 8 4 7 29 33 −4 28
5 Durham Flames 19 7 2 10 28 44 −16 23
6 Vaughan Sun Devils 19 6 11 2 27 35 −8 29
7 Toronto Supra 19 4 4 11 23 48 −25 16
Updated to match(es) played on October 14, 2001. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports02/02cpwk21.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Croatia 19 10 4 5 36 23 +13 34 Qualification for Playoffs
2 Mississauga Olympians 19 9 5 5 49 30 +19 32
3 Hamilton Thunder 19 8 4 7 31 24 +7 28
4 St. Catharines Roma Wolves 19 6 6 7 35 41 −6 24
5 North York Astros 19 4 6 9 22 42 −20 18 Qualification for Playoffs
6 Brampton Hitmen 19 4 5 10 19 27 −8 17
7 London City 19 2 7 10 22 39 −17 13
Updated to match(es) played on October 14, 2001. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports02/02cpwk21.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs

Wildcard
October 8, 2002 Mississauga Olympians3–2Hamilton ThunderToronto, Ontario
8:00 ET
(Report)
Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 50
Referee: Manuel Orellano (Ontario
October 16, 2002 Montreal Dynamites1–3Metro LionsKingston, Ontario
9:00 ET Kyt Selaidopoulos  30' (Report)
October 18, 2002 North York Astros3–0Mississauga OlympiansToronto, Ontario
8:05 ET
(Report) Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Mike Lambert (Ontario

Semifinals
October 19, 2002 Ottawa Wizards1–0Metro LionsToronto, Ontario
2:05 ET Samir Karaga  83' (Report) Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 125
Referee: Manuel Orellano (Ontario
October 19, 2002 Toronto Croatia0–1North York AstrosToronto, Ontario
4:05 ET (Report) Guillermo Compton Hall  89' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 150
Referee: Domenic Rosetto (Ontario

Rogers CPSL Championship
North York Astros0–2Ottawa Wizards
Report
  • Hart  46'
  • Slobodan Ilic  89' (og)
Attendance: 450
Referee: Steve DePierro (Ontario)

Rogers CPSL Championship MVP:

Guillermo Compton Hall (North York Astros)

Assistant referees:
Amato De Luca
Denise Robinson
Fourth official:
Vito Curalli

All-Star Game

The 2002 CPSL All-Star match was arranged by the German consulate general in Toronto to have TSV 1860 Munich of the Bundesliga to come to Canada.[27] London City head coach Jurek Gebcznyski was selected to assemble an All-Star roster with Dave Benning, Victor Cameria and Steve Nijjar serving as his assistant coaches. Jimmy Douglas was appointed the general manager for the team.[28]

CPSL All-Stars0 - 6TSV 1860 Munich
Report
Budd Stadium, Kitchener, Ontario
Referee: Michael Lambert (Ontario)

Assistant referees:
Steve Cahoon
Frank Marcello
Fourth official:
Steve DePierro

2002 scoring leaders
Full article: CSL Golden Boot[29]
Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals
1 Darren Tilley  England Mississauga Olympians 20
2 Kevin Nelson  Trinidad and Tobago Ottawa Wizards 18
3 Mladen Dikic  Croatia Toronto Croatia 14
4 Carlo Arghittu  Canada St. Catharines Wolves 13
5 Gus Kouzmanis  Canada Vaughan Sun Devils 13
6 Khalid Mensah  Canada Montreal Dynamites 13
7 Abraham Osman  Uganda Ottawa Wizards 12
8 Kevin De Serpa  Canada Mississauga Olympians 8
9 Tom Kouzmanis  Canada Vaughan Sun Devils 8
10 Kurt Mella  Canada Brampton Hitmen 8

CPSL Executive Committee

A list of the 2002 CPSL Executive Committee.[30]

Position Name Nationality
President & Chairman:Vincent Ursini Canadian
League Administrator/Director of Media:Stan Adamson[31] English
Director at Large:Walter Kirchner Romanian
Director of Discipline:Clifford Dell[32] Canadian
Director of Officials:Tony Camacho Portuguese
Administrative Co-ordinator:Josie Storto Canadian
Treasurer:Peter Li Preti Canadian
Legal Counsel:Ira Greenspoon Canadian

Individual awards
Domagoj Sain was named the Defender of the Year

The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 20, 2002 at the Hollywood Princess Convention in Concord, Ontario.[33] Where the Mississauga Olympians received the most accolades with three wins. Darren Tilley a former English football and USL A-League veteran was given both the CSL Golden Boot and Rookie of the Year. After accumulating the fewest card bookings they received the Fair Play award, their third in the club's history. Toronto Croatia went home with two awards with George Azcurra adding his third Goalkeeper of the Year award to his resume. While Domagoj Sain was named the Defender of the Year.

Abraham Osman of the Ottawa Wizards became the first player to receive the MVP in two straight seasons. After a mediocre start to the season the Metro Lions utilized the services of Aldwyn McGill as manager, who transformed the expansion franchise into a title contender.[34] While Michael Lambert's work as a match official was recognized by the league with the Referee of the Year award.

Award Player (Club)
CPSL Most Valuable Player Abraham Osman[35] (Ottawa Wizards)
CPSL Golden Boot Darren Tilley (Mississauga Olympians)
CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia)
CPSL Defender of the Year Award Domagoj Sain (Toronto Croatia)
CPSL Rookie of the Year Award Darren Tilley (Mississauga Olympians)
CPSL Coach of the Year Award Aldwyn McGill (Metro Lions)
CPSL Referee of the Year Award Michael Lambert
CPSL Fair Play Award Mississauga Olympians

References
  1. Baines, Time. "Triple the fun for Wizards". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  2. "North York and The Astros look to October: Esther Shiner Stadium will be the site of the CPSL playoffs". CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League. 2003-08-22. Archived from the original on 2003-08-22. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  3. Peters, Ken. "CPSL preseason story on Hamilton Thunder from The Spectator". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  4. Laskaris, Sam. "Scarborough Mirror-Guardian May 5th, 2002 Preseason story on Metro Lions". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Scarborough Mirror-Guardian. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
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  6. Da Costa, Norman. "Hartrells defy odds to keep Lynx alive". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
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  14. "Metro Lions Football Club 2002". www.caribbeanstars.com. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
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  17. "All time coaches". North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software. Archived from the original on 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
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  20. "St Catherines Roman Wolves". CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League. Archived from the original on 2002-12-25. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
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