2022 League1 Ontario season
Football league season
| Season | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 21 – August 21[a] (regular season) August 24 – September 3 (playoffs) |
| Champions | Vaughan Azzurri |
| Regular season champions | Vaughan Azzurri |
| Matches played | 231 |
| Goals scored | 830 (3.59 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Massimo Ferrin Miles Green (23 goals each) |
← 2021 2023 →
| |
The 2022 Men's League1 Ontario season was the eighth season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Vaughan Azzurri defeated Blue Devils FC in the final to win the league championship and qualified for the 2023 Canadian Championship. Guelph United F.C. represented the league in the 2022 Canadian Championship, as they were the 2021 league champions.
Format and changes
The league returned to a single table format for the 2022 season with each team playing 21 games,[1] following the 2021 season which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The regular season ran for 18 weeks between April 21 and August 21 (one postponed match was later played on August 27). The top six teams qualified for the playoffs with the top two getting first round byes. The quarterfinals were held on August 24–25, the semifinals on August 27–28, and the championship final on September 3, which is Labour Day weekend.[1]
With the league set to split into a multi-division format with promotion and relegation beginning in 2024, the points obtained in this season contribute to the assignment of clubs in 2024. The points from the 2022 season (weighted at 75%) will be added to the points teams obtain in the 2023 season (weighted at 100%) to determine the placements.[3]
Clubs
The men's division grew to 22 teams through expansion. Burlington SC,[4] Electric City FC and Simcoe County Rovers joined the league as expansion teams,[5][6] Pickering FC returned from hiatus and played their first season under their new name, having re-branded after the 2019 season,[7] while Toronto Skillz FC has left the league.[8] Hamilton United, St. Catharines Roma Wolves, and BVB IA Waterloo (formerly Waterloo United) made their official Premier Division debuts, after having opted out of the main division last season, having fielded teams in either the short-season Summer Championship or Reserve divisions instead.[2] 1812 FC Barrie departed the league after playing in the Premier Division last year,[4] as well as Toronto Skillz FC who played in the 2021 L1O Summer Championship and Aurora FC who were on hiatus and joined the Simcoe County Rovers group, also officially departed.[5][6]
The following clubs participated in the league.
In-season coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric City FC | Jamie Sherwood | Mutual termination | May 20, 2022 | Randy Ribeiro (interim) | [9] |
| Master's FA | Rick Titus | Resigned | June 1, 2022 | Junior Groves | [10] |
Premier Division
| Pos | Team
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaughan Azzurri (C) | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 25 | +51 | 57 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Blue Devils FC | 21 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 16 | +38 | 47 | |
| 3 | Alliance United FC | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 15 | +28 | 45 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 4 | North Toronto Nitros | 21 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 19 | +18 | 44 | |
| 5 | Simcoe County Rovers FC | 21 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 44 | |
| 6 | ProStars FC | 21 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 58 | 37 | +21 | 43 | |
| 7 | Guelph United F.C. | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 42 | |
| 8 | Hamilton United | 21 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 31 | |
| 9 | Sigma FC | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 31 | |
| 10 | Electric City FC | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 30 | |
| 11 | Woodbridge Strikers | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 29 | |
| 12 | Scrosoppi FC | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 28 | |
| 13 | Darby FC | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 25 | |
| 14 | Pickering FC | 21 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 23 | |
| 15 | BVB IA Waterloo | 21 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 22 | |
| 16 | St. Catharines Roma Wolves | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 36 | −15 | 20 | |
| 17 | Burlington SC | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 19 | |
| 18 | Windsor TFC | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 18 | |
| 19 | Master's FA | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 33 | 59 | −26 | 17 | |
| 20 | Unionville Milliken SC | 21 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 25 | 64 | −39 | 14 | |
| 21 | North Mississauga SC | 21 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 25 | 66 | −41 | 14 | |
| 22 | FC London | 21 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 10 |
Source: League1 Ontario
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) goal differential; 4) goals for; 5) away goals differential; 6) away goals for; 7) home goals differential; 8) home goals for; 9) head-to-head record; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.[11]
(C) Champions
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) goal differential; 4) goals for; 5) away goals differential; 6) away goals for; 7) home goals differential; 8) home goals for; 9) head-to-head record; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.[11]
(C) Champions
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Vaughan Azzurri | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | North Toronto Nitros | 0 | 5 | Simcoe County Rovers FC | 1 | |||||||||
| 5 | Simcoe County Rovers FC | 2 | 1 | Vaughan Azzurri | 5 | |||||||||
| 2 | Blue Devils FC | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Blue Devils FC | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Alliance United FC | 4 | 3 | Alliance United FC | 2 | |||||||||
| 6 | ProStars FC | 0 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
North Toronto Nitros v Simcoe County Rovers FC
| August 24, 2022 | North Toronto Nitros | 0–2 | Simcoe County Rovers FC | Toronto, Ontario |
| 8:00 PM | Report | Wishart  83'Beckford 88' | Stadium: Downsview Park Attendance: ~250 Referee: Brian Butler |
Alliance United FC v ProStars FC
| August 25, 2022 | Alliance United FC | 4–0 | ProStars FC | Vaughan, Ontario |
| 9:00 PM | N.Sivananthan 7', 72' A.Sivananthan 28', 67' | Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park Attendance: ~200 Referee: Nivan Raizada |
Semi-finals
Vaughan Azzurri v Simcoe County Rovers FC
| August 27, 2022 | Vaughan Azzurri | 2–1 | Simcoe County Rovers FC | Vaughan, Ontario |
| 7:00 PM | Carreiro 48' Benítez 76' | Report | Beckford 12' | Stadium: North Maple Regional Park Attendance: ~200 Referee: Kevin McEleleney |
Blue Devils FC v Alliance United FC
| August 28, 2022 | Blue Devils FC | 3–2 | Alliance United FC | Oakville, Ontario |
| 4:00 PM | Santos 18' Ellis 35'Ilyas 72' | Report | Tesker 6' Gardner 68' | Stadium: Bronte Athletic Park Attendance: ~200 Referee: Scott Bowman |
Final
Vaughan Azzurri v Blue Devils FC
| September 3, 2022 | Vaughan Azzurri | 5–1 | Blue Devils FC | Vaughan, Ontario |
| 1:00 PM | Mills 16' Nwafornso 30', 45+1', 48'Ferrin 43' (pen.) | Report | Ilyass 45+4' | Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre Attendance: ~1200 Referee: Ryan Schwenger |
Statistics
Top goalscorers
Updated to end of regular season. Source: League1 Ontario | Top goalkeepers
Updated to end of regular season. Minimum 900 minutes played. Source: [1] |
League honours
Awards
| Award | Player | Team | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Massimo Ferrin | Vaughan Azzurri | [12] |
| Young Player of the Year (U20) | Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy | ProStars FC | |
| Coach of the Year | Patrice Gheisar | Vaughan Azzurri | |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Praveen Ahilan | Alliance United | |
| Defender of the Year | Amardo Oakley | Guelph United F.C. | |
| Midfielder of the Year | Nikola Stakic | Alliance United | |
| Forward of the Year | Miles Green | Hamilton United | |
| Golden Boot | Massimo Ferrin | Vaughan Azzurri |
League All-Stars
The following players were named League1 Ontario Premier Division All-Stars for the 2022 season:[13]
| First Team All-Stars
| Second Team All-Stars
| Third Team All-Stars
|
The following players were named League1 Ontario Premier Division U20 All-Stars for the 2022 season:[14]
| U20 All-Star Team
U21 Reserve DivisionThe Reserve Division will return with each Premier Division club fielding one or more teams, as well as some other OPDL clubs that do not operate a League1 Ontario team. North Division
Source: League1 Ontario (C) Champions West Division
Source: League1 Ontario Central Division
Source: League1 Ontario East Division
Source: League1 Ontario Playoffs
U19 Reserve DivisionThe team in the U19 reserve division played each team in their own division twice, plus some teams from the opposing division once for a 20-game schedule. Central Division
Source: League1 Ontario (C) Champions West Division
Source: League1 Ontario Playoffs
References
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
