Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)

Infobox football league
name = Canadian Soccer League

pixels = 150
country = Canada
confed = CONCACAF
founded = 1987
folded = 1992
divisions = 2 Reagional (East & West)
teams = High of 11, Low of 6
feeds =
promotion =
relegation =
levels = 1
domest_cup =
confed_cup = North American Club Championship (1990)
champions =
season =
most successful club = Vancouver 86ers (4 Championships)
tv = The Sports Network
website =
current =

The original Canadian Soccer League was a semi-professional football (soccer) that was operated in Canada during the summer from 1987 and 1992. It was a nationwide league as it included franchises from all parts of the country.

The CSL was formed in the aftermath of Canada's participation in the 1986 World Cup finals tournament held in Mexico. Canada was an oddity as a country whose association was able to qualify a team despite not having a domestic professional league, or even a domestically based professional team with the demise in 1984 of the North American Soccer League. Founding league commissioner Dale Barnes voiced sentiment aptly when he said the league is to "bring our players home."

The league gained a leap in creditibility when an agreement was reached with The Sports Network to broadcast a "CSL Game of the Week", allowing a nationwide audience view a game on domestic cable TV each Sunday evening. Broadcasts featured play-by-play commentator Vic Rauter and analyst Graham Leggat. The league received sponsorship from Air Canada, Foster's Lager, Hyundai, and Gatorade.

1987 season

The league's opening game was played May 26, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec and saw the hometown Ottawa Pioneers and Hamilton Steelers play to a 0-0 draw in steady drizzle in front 2,500 spectators. The league was divided into an Eastern and Western division for its first four seasons and without divisions in its final two. The Eastern Division in 1987 consisted of Ottawa, Hamiton, the Toronto Blizzard, and North York Rockets. The Western Division was comprised of the Calgary Kickers, Edmonton Brickmen, Vancouver 86ers, and Winnipeg Fury. Hamiton won their division both in the regular season and in the playoffs, as did Calgary. The final saw the top point-getting team in the regular season, Calgary, defeat the second-best side, Hamilton, 2-1 at home in a winner take all one game final.

Regular season

The final regular season standings were:

"Play-offs"

Home team on top.6TeamBracket | RD1= Quarterfinals
RD2= Semi-finals
RD3= Final
group1= West
group2= East

RD1-seed1= 2
RD1-team1= Vancouver
RD1-score1= 2
RD1-seed2= 3
RD1-team2= Edmonton
RD1-score2= 1

RD1-seed3= 2
RD1-team3= Ottawa
RD1-score3= 1
RD1-seed4= 3
RD1-team4= Toronto
RD1-score4= 2

RD2-seed1= 1
RD2-team1= Calgary
RD2-score1= 4
RD2-seed2= 2
RD2-team2= Vancouver
RD2-score2= 3

RD2-seed3= 1
RD2-team3= Hamilton
RD2-score3= 1
RD2-seed4= 3
RD2-team4= Toronto
RD2-score4= 0

RD3-seed1= 1
RD3-team1= Calgary Kickers
RD3-score1= 2
RD3-seed2= 1
RD3-team2= Hamilton Steelers
RD3-score2= 1

Leading goalscorers

*John Catliff, Vancouver, 22
*Domenic Mobilio, Vancouver, 20
*Amadeo Gasparini, North York / Hamilton, 18
*Jerry Adzic, Hamilton, 14
*Eddy Berdusco, North York, 11
*Nick Gilbert, Toronto / Calgary, 11
*Geoff Aunger, Winnipeg, 11

"Play-offs"

Leading goalscorers

*Ted Eck, Ottawa, 21
*Justin Fashanu, Edmonton, 17
*Amadeo Gasparini, Hamilton, 15
*Vladan Tomic, North York, 14
*Billy Domazetis, Hamilton, 13
*Andy Smith, Calgary, 11

"Play-offs"

Quarter-finalsSemi-finals

Finalfootballbox
date = 1989
time =
team1 = Vancouver 86ers
score = 3 – 2
report =
team2 = Hamilton Steelers
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium =
attendance =
referee =

League all-star team

*Ted Eck, Ottawa, S / M
*Justin Fashanu, Edmonton, S
*Drew Ferguson, Hamilton, ?
*Amadeo Gasparini, Hamilton, S
*Pat Harrington, Toronto, G
*Paul James, Ottawa, M
*Steve MacDonald, Vancouver, D
*Trevor McCallum, Toronto, M
*Peter Sarantopoulos, North York, D
*Vladan Tomic, North York, S
*Carl Valentine, Vancouver, S

1990 season

Before the season, Kitchener and London were added.

G W T L GF GA PTS Eastern DivisionToronto Blizzard 26 18 3 5 52 15 39Montreal Supra 26 13 11 2 30 12 37Hamilton Steelers 26 10 9 7 44 35 29Kitchener Spirit 26 8 7 11 30 36 23North York Rockets 26 7 9 10 34 36 23Ottawa Intrepid 26 2 9 15 21 49 13London Lasers 26 2 7 17 26 68 11

Western Division

Vancouver 86ers 26 17 3 6 69 26 40Victoria Vistas 26 12 7 7 42 32 31Winnipeg Fury 26 7 11 8 22 37 22Edmonton Brick Men 26 6 14 6 20 44 18

Quarterfinals:
*Victoria 1 at Winnipeg 4
* Victoria 2 at Winnipeg 1
* Victoria 1 at Winnipeg 1 - 5-4 Victoria Penalty
* Vancouver 2 at North York 0
* North York 1 at Vancouver 2
* Kitchener 0 at Toronto 1
* Kitchener 0 at Toronto 0 - 4-3 Kitchener Penalty
* Montreal 1 at Hamilton 2
* Hamilton 1 at Montreal 0Semifinals: Vancouver 2 at Victoria 2 Victoria 1 at Vancouver 6 Hamilton 1 at Kitchener 0 Kitchener 3 at Hamilton 3CHAMPIONSHIP: Hamilton 1 at Vancouver 6

After the season, Victoria, Edmonton, Ottawa and London folded.

1991 season

Before the season, Nova Scotia was added. Kitchener changed their nickname toKickers.

Vancouver 86ers 28 20 4 4 69 31 64Toronto Blizzard 28 14 6 8 57 33 48North York Rockets 28 13 9 6 50 36 48Hamilton Steelers 28 14 4 10 42 38 46Montreal Supra 28 11 7 10 41 38 40Nova Scotia Clippers 28 7 7 14 29 53 28Kitchener Kickers 28 4 7 17 28 56 19Winnipeg Fury 28 4 6 18 26 57 18

Quarterfinals: North York 4 at Nova Scotia 0 Nova Scotia 1 at North York 5 Hamilton 0 at Montreal 3 Montreal 0 at Hamilton 4 Montreal 0 at Hamilton 1Semifinals: Toronto 2 at North York 0 North York 2 at Toronto 1 North York 0 at Toronto 1 Vancouver 1 at Hamilton 1 Hamilton 1 at Vancouver 2CHAMPIONSHIP: Toronto 3 at Vancouver 5

After the season, Hamilton, Nova Scotia, and Kitchener folded.

1992 season

The CSL barely limped into the 1992 season, staggering under the weight of their ever-present financial problems. Despite their losses from 1991, they managed to add a new team, the London Lasers. However the financial picture did not improve during the season, and with declining attendance and red ink continuing to mount, the league called it quits after the season. This brought an unfortunate end to the first truly national Canadian league. This was a major blow for the Canadian Soccer Federation, as the CSL had been enormously successful in providing Canadian players with a higher level of competition than had been previously available since the demise of the North American Soccer League. All was not lost however, as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver joined the APSL, while North York and Winnipeg, with fewer financial resources, joined the semi-pro Canadian National Soccer League.

Final League Standings

Before the season, London was added.

Play-offs

4TeamBracket-2legs
RD1= Semi-finals
RD2= Final

RD1-seed1= 1
RD1-team1= Vancouver 86ers
RD1-score1-1= 1
RD1-score1-2= 1
RD1-score1-A= 2
RD1-seed2= 4
RD1-team2= Montreal Supra
RD1-score2-1= 1
RD1-score2-2= 0
RD1-score2-A= 1

RD1-seed3= 2
RD1-team3= North York Rockets
RD1-score3-1= 1
RD1-score3-2= 0
RD1-score3-A= 1
RD1-seed4= 3
RD1-team4= Winnipeg Fury
RD1-score4-1= 1
RD1-score4-2= 1
RD1-score4-A= 2

RD2-seed1= 1
RD2-team1= Vancouver 86ers
RD2-score1-1= 0
RD2-score1-2= 1
RD2-score1-A= 1
RD2-seed2= 2
RD2-team2= Winnipeg Fury
RD2-score2-1= 2
RD2-score2-2= 1
RD2-score2-A= 3

After the season, the league folded, along with the London franchise.Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto joined the American Professional Soccer League, and North York, and Winnipegjoined the semi-pro National Soccer League (which changed its name to the
Canadian National Soccer League in 1993).

Leading Goalscorers

*Eddy Berdusco, North York 14
*Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg 8
*John Catliff, Vancouver 6
*Doug Muirhead, Vancouver 6
*Dale Mitchell, Vancouver 6
*Geoff Aunger, London 5
*Grant Needham, Montreal 5
*Tony Notica, Winnipeg 5

All-Star Team

*Pat Onstad, Winnipeg
*Peter Sarantopoulos, Winnipeg
*Nick Dasovic, North York
*Dino Lopez, London
*Carl Fletcher, Toronto
*Geoff Aunger, London
*Dale Mitchell, Vancouver
*Lyndon Hooper, Toronto
*Eddy Berdusco, North York
*Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg
*Paul Peschisolido, Toronto

ources

* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1987.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1987]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1988.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1988]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1989.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1989]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1990.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1990]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1991.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1991]
* [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1992.html#CSL The Year in American Soccer - 1992]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/clips/13468/ Canadian pro soccer in jeopardy - CBC Archives]