Well I guess I have posted enough replies to now be able to start a topic! Wow. March 9, 2018 League 1 Ontario All Stars 1 Ottawa Fury FC (USL) 6 preseason game my game report at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o010.htm
March 15, 2018 League 1 Ontario Releases 2018 Schedule League 1 Ontario released their 2018 Schedule yesterday and there are big changes from the year before. The league has done away with the two conferences and thrown all the teams into one big table. There are seventeen teams this year (one more than last year) and it will make a clean sixteen game partial season without an uneven conference. Each team will play eight home games. The season kicks off on April 28th and ends September 23rd. That would be their all time shortest season. (Last year was 22 games per team—home and away against your own conference and one game against the other conference—two conference winners played off for the championship). This season for the first time the top eight teams then move on to a group stage (I'd assume two groups of four) for another round and the two winners then play for the championship and the right to be the league's entrant to the 2019 Canadian Championship. This second season sounds intriguing. Past seasons have had some teams just play out their schedule. Windsor TFC Stars would come to the GTA with ten or eleven players when their main squad returned to university. Sigma FC would often start off their season with nine wins in a row but then have to reorganize when their older players return to the NCAA. They would finish the season with high schoolers. It would also eliminate the quirk of the late season game (rescheduled from months earlier because of lightning) that had the best in the west vs best in the east Oakville and Woodbridge play to a 0-0 tie as the only way they could both ensure they finished first. Neither team crossed over their own end line the last half hour of the game. Even soccer parents were shouting for their sons to pass the ball back to ensure the result. The two teams played a match of the year final the next week with the game going to a shootout. I expect older players like I saw at the team they rustled together to give Ottawa Fury FC (USL) a game last week with only three practices will stay with their teams for one last year before they catch on for the new Canadian Premier League. That will then free up the teams to play their younger players and give more a chance to a team like ProStars FC who are a majority of teenagers showcasing for foreign placements and scholarships. I have no rosters this early in the year so I'm not going to speculate who may be the final eight. There are three new teams this year (they're up only one because two teams are out). Darby FC who will play in Whitby. They have had a team in the women's league for a few years now although that team has struggled for results. Darby is a partnership of Darlington Soccer Club and Whitby Soccer Club. Unionville Milliken SC (who also had a L1O women's team last year) will play in Unionville (Markham) at Bill Crothers Turf Centre. This is a high school for athletes. I flew over it by Google Maps looking for a track as Bill Crothers was a famous Canadian track athlete who won a silver medal at Tokyo Olympics in 1964 in the 800M at a time when four medals earned by the entire nation made him a hero. While one field has a track along the field, there are two other fields that could be used. Rather than starting from scratch I read a tweet announcing five signings already, with two players from Vaughan Azzurri (Joe Di Chiara and Tre Crosby), Michael Fayehun from Woodbridge Strikers, Basel Rashrash from Aurora FC, and Jalen Brome who played with TFCA then York Region Shooters in 2010-2011 in the CPSL days. These aren't neccessarily trades as last year the MVP goalie moved from the Woodbridge team to the Oakville one because it was closer to his home and shortened his drive for games and practices. Alliance United FC is the third new team. They have an appropriate name as it's a partnership between Markham SC, Wexford SC and Centennial College. The team will play at Centennial College in Scarborough. Ilya Orlov has been announced as coach. I remember him years ago as a defender for Toronto Croatia. Not returning for 2019 are Durham United FA who the press release lists as taking one year off and North Toronto Nitros who 'did not renew their licence' which sounds like a more permanent arrangement. Nitors were the most 'downtown' Toronto team starting their seasons at the U of T then getting bumped up away North York when varsity teams (football, soccer, track) pushed them out. Durham United sitting out now explains why a month ago their head coach Sanford Caraban jumped over to Darby FC as an assistant coach. Besides the new teams a few of the established teams have changed facilities. OSU Force from Ottawa are now playing at Quinns Point. Aurora FC is moving again...this time to Stewart Burnett Park as part of a new state of the art facility. TFC Academy will play at the BMO Training Ground. I expect that is just going to be new signage as they must have pushed KIA cars off the marquis. I wondered if BMO not giving us fridge magnets at the TFC opening game meant they needed to save their money for the renaming rights? Not clear yet is whether there will be a cup competition for teams in the league (well they have a trophy for it). There are a few holes in the schedule but games were poorly attended because sometimes there was less than a week's notice by the league office and they were played at whatever facility could be booked on short notice. I'm looking forward to the season. This is a league that has more than 95% Canadians on the field at the same time and offers fine entertainment.
Now TFC switches their home game against DC United to Wednesday June 13th (from Sat April 7th so they can recover between Club American games). Hmm. Now means TFC fans can't go to the 2nd leg Canadian Championship game between Oakville Blue Devils and AS Blainville which from last I heard was being played at Ontario Soccer Centre. OBD's home of Sheridan College doesn't have stadium lights. Chances were small, but TFC would face either of those teams as the winner plays Ottawa for a spot in the semis.
RocketRobin, do you ever get access to any attendance data? That's something I haven't been able to find for L1O.
I don't have their attendance figures. On my site I post my own count of how many people are there. That makes it about sixty games combined for the GTA area teams. Most games an average of less than 200 unless it's a special occasion.
Week 1 reports: April 29, 2018 Toronto FC III 1 FC London 1 my report at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o031.htm all going well I'll add Alliance United (first ever game) against North Mississauga late tomorrow.
April 29, 2018 result of Alliance United 0 North Mississauga Panthers SC 1 my reports at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o032.htm
Week 2 results (from the three games I attended on the weekend combined for a story for Waking The Red) http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o041.htm
May 19, 2018 Masters FA 4 Windsor TFC 0 my take on that game at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o061.htm
Sunday May 20, 2018 Aurora FC 0 Oakville Blue Devils 1 my take on the game at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o062.htm
Two games I saw last weekend were both L1O Cup Second Round games...From my Waking The Red article. https://www.wakingthered.com/2018/5...-down-aurora-fc-on-penalties-league-1-ontario More details of lineups and pictures are on my own website.
An early result from this weekend was Sigma FC beating FC London 3-0. my game report (pictures and lineups and play by play summary by midweek) is here: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o080.htm
Summary of three L1O games this weekend on Waking The Red https://www.wakingthered.com/2018/6...akes-down-aurora-league-1-ontario-tfc-academy more pictures, lineups and details at my own site in a day or two.
Weekend L1O games I attended now on my own site: Sigma FC 3 FC London 0 now with pictures and lineups http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o080.htm Toronto FC III 3 Aurora FC 1 with the MLS team practicing in the background. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o081.htm Alliance United 1 Unionville-Milliken 1 I go into how the teams stocked their rosters. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o082.htm male models?
Two L1O games I caught Saturday. (Sunday I was in Hamilton for the CWNT game). Sigma FC.…..0......Sanjaxx Lions.....0...…. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o097.htm Masters FA......0...….Toronto FC III......1..... http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o098.htm So not a lot of goals to describe this week.
Four L1O games from the weekend.... ie June 16th and 17th, 2018 Sanjaxx Lions.....0......Darby FC.....1...…. http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o112.htm Unionville Milliken SC.....3......Woodbridge Strikers.....1...... http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o113.htm Toronto FC III...….10...….Windsor TFC...….0.... http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o114.htm Alliance United...….2...….Masters FA...….2..... http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o115.htm
June 22, 2018 League 1 Ontario Quarterfinal match Sigma FC 8 FC London 0 my game report at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o116.htm pictures and lineups added in a few days.
June 23, 2018 League 1 Ontario Quarterfinal match Pro Stars FC 0 Toronto FC III 3 my game report at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o117.htm
June 24, 2018 League 1 Ontario Quarterfinal match Woodbridge Strikers 0 Vaughan Azzurri 2 my game reports at: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o118.htm
The three games I saw this weekend are compressed into an article on Waking The Red. https://www.wakingthered.com/2018/7/10/17550596/l1o-game-of-the-week-unionville-falls-to-sigma-fc-league-1-ontario I'll have them on my own site expanded and with lineups and pictures in a few days.
July 7, 2018 Unionville-Milliken 1 Sigma FC 2 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o135.htm July 8, 2018 Sanjaxx Lions 1 Ottawa South United Force 0 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o136.htm July 8, 2018 Toronto Skillz 4 Darby FC 1 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o137.htm That means I've seen all 17 L1O men's teams at least twice this year.
July 13, 2018 Darby FC 1 Aurora FC 1 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o146.htm July 14, 2018 Sigma FC 2 Master's FA Saints 0 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o147.htm July 14, 2018 North Mississauga Panthers 2 Toronto Skillz 0 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o148.htm
July 20, 2018 Darby FC 2 Unionville Milliken SC 0 http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o150.htm lineups and pictures I'll add later in the week.
July 21, 2018 Toronto FC III 1 Sigma FC 1 (semi-final of L1O Cup) After a 90 minute game, TFC win 6-5 on seven rounds of Penalty kicks. My game report at http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/reports18/18l1o151.htm