1994 Canadian National Soccer League season

Season1994

Champions

Toronto Italia (regular season)
Toronto Italia (playoffs, 13th title)

Matches42

Canadian National Soccer League
Season	1994
Champions	Toronto Italia (regular season) Toronto Italia (playoffs, 13th title)
League cup	St. Catharines Roma
Matches	42
Goals	115 (2.74 per match)
Top goalscorer	Ryan Gamble
Best goalkeeper	Paulo Silva
← 1993 1995 →

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]^[2] Toronto would also secure the double, which included the regular-season title.^[3] St. Catharines Roma won the league cup.

The league lost its presence in Manitoba and was 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.

Teams

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.^[4]^[5] While the Eastern Division of Quebec was disbanded with only Montreal Croatia, and Montreal Ramblers operating in the province.^[6] Richmond Hill Kick was suspended midway through the 1993 season after several missed scheduled matches and failure in payment fees.^[7] Toronto Rockets were awarded a franchise in the American Professional Soccer League to replace the Toronto Blizzard.^[8]^[9]

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.^[5]^[10] 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).^[11]^[12] 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 attendance numbers.^[13]

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^[14]
St. Catharines Roma	St. Catharines, Ontario	Club Roma Stadium	Mark Konert^[15]
Toronto Croatia	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium
Toronto Italia	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium	Peter Pinizzotto^[16]
Toronto Jets	North York, Ontario	Esther Shiner Stadium	Adam Pagliaroli^[17]

London

St. Catharines

TORONTO

Location of CNSL teams outside of Toronto for the 1994 CNSL season.

Montreal Ramblers

Montreal Croatia

Locations of teams in Quebec for the 1994 CNSL season.

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) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

September 11, 1994	Montreal Croatia	3–5	Toronto Jets	Montreal, Quebec
		(Report)		Stadium: Stade du Parc Hérbert

September 11, 1994	London City	1–1	Scarborough Astros	London, Ontario
		(Report)		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

September 17, 1994	Toronto Jets	5–6	Montreal Croatia	North York, Ontario
		(Report)		Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium

September 16, 1994	Scarborough Astros	0–1	London City	Scarborough, Ontario
		(Report)		Stadium: Birchmount Stadium

Semifinals

September 1994	Toronto Jets	0–1	Toronto Italia	North York, Ontario
		(Report)		Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium

September 30, 1994	London City	0–1	St. Catharines Roma	London, Ontario
		[^[18] (Report)]	Mark Konert 20'	Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

October 9, 1994	Toronto Italia	0–0	Toronto Jets	Etobicoke, Ontario
		(Report)		Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

October 2, 1994	St. Catharines Roma	3–1	London City	St. Catharines, Ontario
19:30	Tom Bernardi 1', 45' Campbell 16'	[^[19] (Report)]	Louie Fotia 50'	Stadium: Club Roma Stadium Attendance: 150

Final

October 12, 1994	St. Catharines Roma	0–1	Toronto Italia	St. Catharines, Ontario
		[^[20] (Report)]	Gamble 28'	Stadium: Club Roma Stadium Attendance: 300

October 15, 1994	Toronto Italia	3–1	St. Catharines Roma	Etobicoke, Ontario
	Mella 1' Vito Serafini 16' Spadafina 21'	[^[21] (Report)]	Gastis 10'	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 (C)	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: Cup Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Toronto Italia	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: Cup Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Final

14 September 1994

Toronto Italia	1–0	St. Catharines Roma
	Report

Centennial Park Stadium, Etobicoke, Ontario

21 September 1994

St. Catharines Roma	3–0	Toronto Italia
	Report

Centennial Park Stadium, Etobicoke, Ontario

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)

v t e Canadian National Soccer League
Clubs	Bradford Marshlanders Brampton Kicks Brantford City Brantford Cockshutts Buffalo Blazers Canadian National Railway Chile Lindo Corinthians Detroit Besa Fergus General Motors Guelph Taylor-Forbes Hamilton Austins Hamilton British Imperials Hamilton Cougars Hamilton Croatia Hamilton Homer Hamilton Hungaria Hamilton Italo-Canadians Hamilton Primos Hamilton Steelers Hamilton Stelcos Hamilton Thistles Hamilton Westinghouse FC Hamilton White Eagles Kenwoods Kitchener Concordia Kitchener Kickers Kitchener Maple Leafs Kosova Albanians Liptons London City London CNR London German Canadians London Marconi McKinnons Montreal Alouettes Montreal Cantalia Montréal Carsteel Montreal Castors Montreal CNR Montreal Concordia Montreal Hungaria Montreal Maroons Montreal Sparta Montreal Stars Montreal Ukrainians Nacional Latino North York Rockets North York Talons Oakville CW Oshawa Italia Ottawa Sons of Italy Ottawa Tigers Quebec Selects Queen City Richmond Hill Kick Scarborough Astros Serbian White Eagles FC Soccer Portugais du Quebec St. Andrews/Earlscourt St. Catharines Heidelberg St. Catharines (Roma) Wolves Sudbury Sudbury Cyclones Sudbury Italia Toronto Abruzzi Toronto Azurri Toronto Blizzard Toronto British Consols Toronto Canadian Scots Toronto Canadians Toronto City Toronto CNR Toronto Congasco Toronto Croatia Toronto East End Canadians Toronto England United Toronto Estonia Toronto Falcons Toronto First Portuguese Toronto Greenbacks Toronto Hakoah Toronto Hellas Toronto Hungaria Toronto Inter-Roma Toronto Italia Toronto Italian Virtus Toronto Jets Toronto Macedonia Toronto Macedonians Toronto Malta United Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maroons Toronto Melita Toronto Mississauga Hungaria Toronto Oakwoods Toronto Olympia Toronto Panhellenic Toronto Polish White Eagles Toronto Polonia Toronto Scottish Toronto Serbians Toronto Sparta Toronto Supra Toronto St. Andrews Toronto Transit Commission Toronto Tridents Toronto Ukrainians Toronto Ulster United Toronto White Eagles Le Tricolore de Montréal Welland Welland Lions Croatia Willy Overland Windsor Rovers Windsor Stars Windsor Teutonia Windsor Wheels Winnipeg Fury Woodbridge
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Miscellaneous	Rogers Cup Open Canada Cup CSA CSL Reserve Division

1994 Canadian National Soccer League season

Teams

Final standings

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Cup

Group A

Group B

Final

Individual awards

References

External links

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