1988 Canadian Soccer League season
Football league season
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The 1988 Canadian Soccer League season was the second season of play for the Canadian Soccer League, a Division 1 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid.
Season1988
ChampionsVancouver 86ers
Division LeadersHamilton Steelers (East)
Vancouver 86ers (West)
Vancouver 86ers (West)
Matches126
| Season | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Vancouver 86ers |
| Division Leaders | Hamilton Steelers (East) Vancouver 86ers (West) |
| Matches | 126 |
| Goals | 405 (3.21 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  John Catliff (22) |
← 1987 1989 → | |
Format and changes from previous season
Montreal Supra joined the league as an expansion franchise, entering the East Division.[1]
The National Capitals Pioneers went bankrupt in their inaugural season, but the club was re-structured and renamed as the Ottawa Intrepid.[2] They also moved their home stadium to Ottawa, after playing the previous year in Aylmer, Quebec[3]
Similar to the previous season, the teams played an unbalanced schedule with two-thirds of a team's matches coming against teams in their own division. Following the season, the top three teams in each division would advance to the playoffs, with the division leaders earning a first round bye, to designate a national champion club.[4]
Regular season
East Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Steelers | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 28 | +36 | 42 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Toronto Blizzard | 28 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 29 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | North York Rockets | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 28 | |
| 4 | Ottawa Intrepid | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 25 | |
| 5 | Montreal Supra | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 24 |
West Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers (O) | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 84 | 30 | +54 | 48 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Winnipeg Fury | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 25 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | Calgary Kickers | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 39 | 70 | −31 | 18 | |
| 4 | Edmonton Brick Men | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 33 | 74 | −41 | 13 |
Playoffs
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| 2W | Winnipeg Fury | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2W | Winnipeg Fury (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3W | Calgary Kickers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||
| 3E | Toronto Blizzard | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2E | Toronto Blizzard | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3E | North York Rockets | 1 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinal
| September 14, 1988 | Toronto Blizzard | 2–1 | North York Rockets | Toronto, Ontario |
Gilbert  78' Šegota 86' |
[[5] Report] | John Coyle |
Stadium: Varsity Stadium Attendance: 3,179 |
| September 15, 1988 | Winnipeg Fury | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Calgary Kickers | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 19:30 | Cambridge 17' Wade Gibson 119' |
[[6] Report] | Phillips 44' |
Stadium: Winnipeg Stadium Attendance: 3,606 |
Semifinal
| September 17, 1988 | Hamilton Steelers | 1–0 | Toronto Blizzard | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 13:00 | Bunbury 13' |
[[7] Report] | Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium Attendance: 2,102 |
| September 18, 1988 | Vancouver 86ers | 3–1 | Winnipeg Fury | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 16:00 | Mobilio 10', 59' Mitchell 86' |
[[8] Report] | Doug Leeis 29' |
Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 4,226 |
Final
| September 25, 1988 | Vancouver 86ers | 4–1 | Hamilton Steelers | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 13:00 | Valentine 9' Ion 18' Catliff 21' Mitchell 76' |
[[9][10] Report] | Gasparini 52' |
Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 6,443 Referee: Gord Arrowsmith |
Statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Catliff |
Vancouver 86ers | 22 |
| 2 | Domenic Mobilio |
Vancouver 86ers | 20 |
| 3 |  Amadeo Gasparini |
North York Rockets / Hamilton Steelers | 18 |
| 4 |  Željko Adžić |
Hamilton Steelers | 14 |
| 5 | Eddy Berdusco |
North York Rockets | 12 |
| 6 | Nick Gilbert |
Toronto Blizzard / Calgary Kickers | 11 |
| Geoff Aunger |
Winnipeg Fury | ||
| 8 | Arthur Calixte |
Montreal Supra | 10 |
 John Rich |
Calgary Kickers | ||
| Dallas Moen |
Ottawa Intrepid | ||
| Dale Mitchell |
Vancouver 86ers | ||
| 12 | Alex Bunbury |
Hamilton Steelers | 9 |
 Ivor Evans |
Vancouver 86ers | ||
| Lucio Ianiero |
Hamilton Steelers | ||
| Reference:[11] | |||
Honours
The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 1988 season.[11]
Most Valuable Player
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| John Catliff | Vancouver 86ers |
League All-Stars
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Paul Dolan (Vancouver 86ers) | Goalkeeper |
| Diego Castello (Toronto Blizzard) | Defender |
| Burke Kaiser (Calgary Strikers) | Defender |
| Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver 86ers) | Defender |
| Paul James (Hamilton Steelers) | Defender |
| Gerry Gray (Ottawa Intrepid) | Midfielder |
| Lyndon Hooper (Montreal Supra) | Midfielder |
| Mike Sweeney (Toronto Blizzard) | Midfielder |
| John Catliff (Vancouver 86ers) | Forward |
| Amadeo Gasparini (Hamilton Steelers) | Forward |
| Domenic Mobilio (Vancouver 86ers) | Forward |
Reserves
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Pat Harrington (Toronto Blizzard) | Goalkeeper |
| Peter Sarantopoulos (North York Rockets) | Defender |
 Željko Adžić (Winnipeg Fury) | Midfielder |
| Alex Bunbury (Hamilton Steelers) | Forward |
Front office
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver 86ers) | Head Coach |
| Alan Errington (Vancouver 86ers) | Assistant Coach |
| John McGrane (Hamilton Steelers) | General Manager |
Average home attendances
| Pos. | Team | GP | Average Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers | 28 | 4,919 |
| 2 | Winnipeg Fury | 28 | 3,207 |
| 3 | Montreal Supra | 28 | 2,993 |
| 4 | Toronto Blizzard | 28 | 2,757 |
| 5 | Hamilton Steelers | 28 | 2,750 |
| 6 | Edmonton Brick Men | 28 | 2,638 |
| 7 | Calgary Kickers | 28 | 2,387 |
| 8 | North York Rockets | 28 | 1,655 |
| 9 | Ottawa Intrepid | 28 | 1,546 |
| Total Attendance | 252 | 2,761 | |
| Reference:[10] | |||