2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season
Football league season
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The 2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fourth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 25, 2001 and concluded on October 14, 2001 with St. Catharines Wolves defeating Toronto Supra by a score of 1-0 to win their second CPSL Championship (known as the Rogers CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons) .[1] The final was hosted in St. Catharines with Club Roma Stadium as the venue, while the match received coverage from Rogers TV.[2][3] The season saw the league expand to a total of 12 teams, and went beyond the GTA and Ontario border to include a Montreal and Ottawa franchise.[4] Throughout the regular season the Ottawa Wizards became the first club to end the Toronto Olympians league title dynasty.[5] The CPSL also launched the CPSL Soccer Show with Rogers TV providing the broadcasting, and granting Rogers naming rights to the CPSL Championship.[6][7] Other major sponsors included the Government of Canada, which served as the sole sponsor for the CPSL Rookie of the Year Award.[8] The league also announced a working partnership with the Canadian United Soccer League a task force originally started by the Canadian Soccer Association in order forge a unified professional structure with the cooperation of the Canadian franchises in the USL A-League to launch a Canadian first and second division domestic league.[9][10]
| Season | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Champions | St. Catharines Wolves |
| Regular Season title | Ottawa Wizards |
| Matches | 132 |
| Goals | 441 (3.34 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kevin Nelson (Ottawa Wizards) |
| Best goalkeeper | George Azcurra Luciano Miranda |
| Biggest home win | Montreal Dynamites 9-2 Durham Flames (September 2, 2001) |
| Biggest away win | Glen Shields Sun Devils 1-8 Toronto Supra (June 3, 2001) |
| Highest scoring | Montreal Dynamites 9-2 Durham Flames (September 2, 2001) |
← 2000 2002 → | |
Changes from 2000 season
All 8 clubs from the previous season returned, and the league expanded to include 4 new entries the Brampton Hitmen, Montreal Dynamites, Ottawa Wizards, and Toronto Supra all began play this year.[11][12] Oshawa Flames changed their name to the Durham Flames in order to represent the entire Durham Region, and received sponsorship from Danone.[13][14] Toronto Croatia transferred their home venue from Centennial Park Stadium to Memorial Park in Streetsville, Mississauga.[15] Changes to the CPSL executive management committee saw former Director of Media Relations for the Toronto Lynx Stan Adamson appointed to the position of CPSL Director of Media and Public Relations.[16]
Teams
| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brampton Hitmen | Brampton, Ontario (Bramalea) | Victoria Park Stadium | Paul Kitson[17] |
| Durham Flames | Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) | Oshawa Civic Stadium | Danny Stewart[18] |
| Glen Shields Sun Devils | Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) | Dufferin District Field | Dave Benning[19] |
| London City | London, Ontario (Westmount) | Cove Road Stadium | Jurek Gebczynski[20] |
| Montreal Dynamites | Laval, Quebec | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | Zoran Jankovic[21] |
| North York Astros | Toronto, Ontario (North York) | Esther Shiner Stadium | Tony LaFerrara[22] |
| Ottawa Wizards | Ottawa, Ontario (Carp) | OZ Optics Stadium | Rasim Kara[23] |
| St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) | Club Roma Stadium | Lucio Ianiero[24] |
| Toronto Croatia | Mississauga, Ontario (Streetsville) | Memorial Park | Bruno Pilas |
| Toronto Olympians | Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) | Birchmount Stadium | David Gee[25] |
| Toronto Supra | Toronto, Ontario (Brockton) | Brockton Stadium | Cesar Garcia[26] |
| York Region Shooters | Richmond Hill, Ontario (Crosby) | Crosby Field | Adam Pagliaroli |
  Brampton Vaughan London Mississauga Durham Ottawa St. Catharines Richmond Hill  TORONTO Location of CPSL teams outside of Toronto for the 2001 CPSL season.  |
 Toronto Olympians Toronto Supra North York Astros York Region Shooters Glen Shields Sun Devils Location of CPSL teams in Toronto for the 2001 CPSL season.
|
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Wizards | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 16 | +35 | 51 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Toronto Olympians | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 50 | 21 | +29 | 46 | |
| 3 | Toronto Supra | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 41 | |
| 4 | Montreal Dynamites | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 39 | |
| 5 | St. Catharines Roma Wolves | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 38 | |
| 6 | Toronto Croatia | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 35 | |
| 7 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 27 | |
| 8 | Brampton Hitmen | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 26 | |
| 9 | North York Astros | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 24 | |
| 10 | Durham Flames | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 24 | |
| 11 | York Region Shooters | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 15 | |
| 12 | London City | 22 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 19 | 66 | −47 | 9 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs
Wildcard
| October 12, 2001 | St. Catharines Wolves | 2–1 | Montreal Dynamites | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 8:15 ET |
|
(Report) | Selaidopoulos  18' |
Stadium: Club Roma Stadium |
Semifinals
| October 13, 2001 | Toronto Olympians | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Toronto Supra | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 1:00 ET |
|
(Report) |
|
Stadium: Club Roma Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Mike Lambert (Ontario) |
| October 13, 2001 | Ottawa Wizards | 0–1 | St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 3:00 ET | (Report) | Gary McGutchan 43' |
Stadium: Club Roma Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Amato De Luca (Ontario) |
Consolation final
| October 14, 2001 | Ottawa Wizards | 2–5 | Toronto Olympians | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 12:00 ET |
|
(Report) |
|
Stadium: Club Roma Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Gord Arrowsmith (Ontario) |
Rogers CPSL Championship
| St. Catharines Roma Wolves | 1–0 | Toronto Supra |
|---|---|---|
| John Sozio 116' |
Report |
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Rogers CPSL Championship MVP:
- Garrett Caldwell (Toronto Supra)
- Danny Gallagher (St. Catharines Roma Wolves)
|
Assistant referees:
|
All-Star game
For the 2001 season the CPSL administration arranged two all-star matches for the league. In order to prepare for the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie the Morocco national under-23 football team expressed a desire to play a solid Canadian team. Subsequently, the Canadian Soccer Association requested the CPSL to arrange a select team for the match.[32] The second match consisted of a CPSL All-Star team against C.S. Marítimo of the Primeira Liga.[33]
| July 6, 2001 | CPSL Selects | 1 - 1 | Morocco U-23 | Carp, Ontario |
| 7:30 pm | Willy Giummarra 61' |
Report | Omar Share 53' |
Stadium: OZ Optics Stadium |
| July 25, 2001 | CPSL All-Stars | 0 - 4 | C.S. Marítimo | London, Ontario |
| 7:30 pm | Report |
|
Stadium: Cove Road Stadium |
2001 scoring leaders
- Full article: CSL Golden Boot[34]
| Position | Player's name | Nationality | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Nelson |  Trinidad and Tobago |
Ottawa Wizards | 23 |
| 2 | Abraham Osman |  Uganda |
Ottawa Wizards | 17 |
| 3 | Samuel Afriyie |  Canada |
Toronto Supra | 15 |
| 4 | Frank Zumpano | Canada |
St. Catharines Wolves | 14 |
| 5 | Eddy Berdusco | Canada |
Toronto Olympians | 12 |
| 6 | Bruno Nue | Canada |
Montreal Dynamites | 12 |
| 7 | Ryan Gamble | Canada |
Toronto Supra | 11 |
| 8 | Gary Hughes | Canada |
St. Catharines Wolves | 10 |
| 9 | Peter Curic | Canada |
Toronto Croatia | 9 |
| 10 | Dejan Gluscevic |  FR Yugoslavia |
North York Astros | 9 |
CPSL Executive Committee
The 2001 CPSL Executive Committee.[35]
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman: | Vincent Ursini | Canadian |
| Director of Operations: | Chris Bellamy[36] | Canadian |
| Director of Discipline: | Clifford Dell[37] | Canadian |
| Director of Officials: | Tony Camacho |  Portuguese |
| Treasurer: | Peter Li Preti | Canadian |
| Legal Counsel: | Ira Greenspoon | Canadian |
Individual awards
The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 14, 2001 at Club Roma in St. Catharines, Ontario.[38] Expansion franchise Ottawa Wizards received the most awards with 3 wins.[39] Trinidadian journeyman Kevin Nelson went home with both the Golden Boot, and the Rookie of the Year.[40][41][42] While his teammate Abraham Osman was given the MVP.[43] George Azcurra shared his second Goalkeeper of the Year award with Luciano Miranda.
Kurt Ramsey of the North York Astros won the Defender of the Year, and former Montreal Impact manager Zoran Jankovic went home with the Coach of the Year. Amato De Luca who later refereed matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was named the Referee of the Year.[44] Durham Flames received the Fair Play award.
| Award | Player (Club) |
|---|---|
| CPSL Most Valuable Player | Abraham Osman (Ottawa Wizards) |
| CPSL Golden Boot | Kevin Nelson (Ottawa Wizards) |
| CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia) Luciano Miranda (North York Astros) |
| CPSL Defender of the Year Award | Kurt Ramsey (North York Astros) |
| CPSL Rookie of the Year Award | Kevin Nelson (Ottawa Wizards) |
| CPSL Coach of the Year Award | Zoran Jankovic (Montreal Dynamites) |
| CPSL Referee of the Year Award | Amato De Luca |
| CPSL Fair Play Award | Durham Flames |