1995 Canadian National Soccer League season

Canadian National Soccer League
Season1995
Champions
League cupSt. Catharines Wolves
Matches played30
Goals scored98 (3.27 per match)
Top goalscorerLaszlo Martonfi (12)
Best goalkeeperJoe Ciaravino
Biggest home winSt. Catharines Wolves 7-1 Hamilton White Eagles (September 6, 1995)
Biggest away winHamilton White Eagles 0-5 Toronto Jets (September 17, 1995)
Highest scoringSt. Catharines Wolves 7-1 Hamilton White Eagles (September 6, 1995)
← 1994
1996 →

The 1995 Canadian National Soccer League season was the third season of the league under the Canadian National Soccer League name, and the seventy-third season in the league's history. The season began on May 26, 1995, with London City facing Scarborough Astros at Cove Road Stadium. The season concluded on November 2, 1995, with St. Catharines Wolves claiming their second CNSL Championship after defeating Toronto Jets in a two-game series.[1][2]

The CNSL lost its presence in Quebec and became solely located in the province of Ontario. The league also received some local competition with the advent of the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League).[3] The league managed to recruit Parma FC, who were the 1994–95 UEFA Cup champions for their All-Star match.[4]

Overview

Since the conclusion of the 1993 season, the CNSL went through a tumultuous period throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The territorial boundaries of the league were further reduced from the Montreal-Windsor corridor and became primarily restricted within the Golden Horseshoe area in Ontario. Both of the league's franchises in Montreal departed with the Montreal Ramblers relocating to the American-based USISL Pro League under the name New Hampshire Ramblers, and Montreal Croatia folding.[5] The CNSL also experienced direct competition from the newly formed Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League), which received sponsorship from Puma.[6][3] The Puma League was centered around the Toronto area with ethnically supported teams and was able to attract Toronto Croatia in defecting.[7][6]

The results of these events caused a decrease in league membership to six teams with all the clubs being located in the province of Ontario.[8] After a twelve-year absence in the Hamilton region, the league returned with the acceptance of the Hamilton White Eagles.[9][10] The previous time the city was represented in the CNSL was in the 1983 season when the Hamilton Steelers competed in the league. Former league commissioner and Toronto Italia owner Rocco Lofranco resigned, and the league took over the Toronto franchise.[11] Various reports claimed that Lofranco had intentions of acquiring the franchise rights of the Toronto Rockets to receive entry into the American Professional Soccer League, but the Rockets ownership refused to relinquish their territorial rights.[12]

Teams

Team City Stadium Manager
Hamilton White Eagles Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium[10] Lou Nagy[13] Lucio Bravo[10]
London City London, Ontario Cove Road Stadium Ian Mahoney[14]
Scarborough Astros Scarborough, Ontario Birchmount Stadium[15] Jorge Armua[16]
St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma Stadium Mark Konert[17]
Toronto Italia Etobicoke, Ontario Centennial Park Stadium David Gee[18]
Toronto Jets North York, Ontario Esther Shiner Stadium Vince Solomita[19]

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Jets (C) 10 6 2 2 23 13 +10 20 Qualification for Playoffs
2 St. Catharines Wolves (O) 9 6 1 2 24 12 +12 19
3 Toronto Italia 10 4 3 3 19 16 +3 15
4 London City 10 4 1 5 10 15 −5 13
5 Scarborough Astros 10 2 4 4 12 15 −3 10
6 Hamilton White Eagles 9 1 1 7 10 27 −17 4
Updated to match(es) played on October 21, 1995. Source: [20]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Playoffs

Finals

St. Catharines Wolves1–1Toronto Jets
John Williams 64' [[21] Report] Tony Zanini 54'
Club Roma Stadium, St. Catharines, Ontario
Attendance: 60
Referee: Andrzej Jasinski
Toronto Jets1–2St. Catharines Wolves
Zomparelli 87' Report Moore 51'
Walker 56'
Attendance: 30
Referee: Tony Camacho

St. Catharines won 3–2 on aggregate.

Cup

The cup tournament (known as the Umbro Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all six teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season. Teams played each other once home and away in the Cup competition, and the first and second place teams would play a singles match for the Cup.[27]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Scarborough Astros 10 6 4 0 21 8 +13 22 Qualification for Playoffs
2 St. Catharines Wolves (C) 10 5 2 3 15 10 +5 17
3 Toronto Jets 10 4 3 3 12 9 +3 15
4 Toronto Italia 10 4 2 4 20 21 −1 14
5 Hamilton White Eagles 10 2 2 6 16 25 −9 8
6 London City 10 1 3 6 12 23 −11 6
Updated to match(es) played on October 21, 1995. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/soccer14.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Matches

June 5, 1995 Toronto Italia 1–5 Scarborough Astros Etobicoke, Ontario
Jin Rii 79' Report Gary DeLeon 11'
Lazlo Martonfi 15', 69'
Michael Marshall 85'		 Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 700
Referee: Julio Chewacco
June 6, 1995 St. Catharines Wolves 2–1 London City St. Catharines, Ontario
Report Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
June 12, 1995 Toronto Italia 2–3 St. Catharines Wolves Etobicoke, Ontario
Maradona 20' Report Moore 22'
Tony Carbonara 30'		 Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 300
June 16, 1995 London City 0–1 Toronto Jets London, Ontario
Report Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
June 18, 1995 Scarborough Astros 2–2 Hamilton White Eagles Scarborough, Ontario
Report Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
June 21, 1995 St. Catharines Wolves 3–1 Hamilton White Eagles St. Catharines, Ontario
Report Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
June 22, 1995 Toronto Jets 1–3 Scarborough Astros North York, Ontario
Gioia 59' Report Gary DeLeon 55', 95'
Carvelles 89'		 Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 400
June 23, 1995 London City 0–2 St. Catharines Wolves London, Ontario
Report Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
June 27, 1995 St. Catharines Wolves 0–2 Toronto Jets St. Catharines, Ontario
Report Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
June 30, 1995 London City 3–3 Hamilton White Eagles London, Ontario
Report Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
July 2, 1995 Hamilton White Eagles 0–3 Toronto Jets Hamilton, Ontario
Report Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium
July 9, 1995 Hamilton White Eagles 2–1 St. Catharines Wolves Hamilton, Ontario
Report Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium
July 9, 1995 Scarborough Astros 1–1 Toronto Italia Scarborough, Ontario
Report Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
July 14, 1995 London City 1–3 Toronto Italia London, Ontario
Report Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
July 16, 1995 Scarborough Astros 1–1 St. Catharines Wolves Scarborough, Ontario
Report Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
July 17, 1995 Toronto Italia 1–1 Toronto Jets Etobicoke, Ontario
Maradona 82' Report Tom Perks 83' Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 700
Referee: Tony Camacho
July 18, 1995 St. Catharines Wolves 0–1 Scarborough Astros St. Catharines, Ontario
Report Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
July 23, 1995 Scarborough Astros 1–0 Toronto Jets Scarborough, Ontario
Report Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
July 27, 1995 Toronto Jets 3–1 Hamilton White Eagles North York, Ontario
20:00 Orlando Rizzo 49'
Jack Zomparelli 81'
Robert Marcucci 87'		 Report Zoran Zubic 42' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Referee: Hugh Elliot
August 6, 1995 Hamilton White Eagles 1–2 Scarborough Astros Hamilton, Ontario
Report Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium
August 7, 1995 Toronto Italia 4–2 London City Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00 Mike Palmitta 47'
Maradona 75'
Crljen 76'
Nick Maxwell 79'		 Report John Bottineau 55'
Ian Mahoney 72'		 Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Attendance: 400
Referee: Mike Fretanovich
August 20, 1995 Scarborough Astros 4–0 London City Scarborough, Ontario
Laszlo Martonfi 1', 69'
Hanna 53'
Audley Taffe 88'		 Report Stadium: Birchmount Stadium
Referee: Glen Sharkey
August 21, 1995 Toronto Italia 1–3 Hamilton White Eagles Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00 Nick Maxwell 77' Report Sasa Vukovic 21'
Zoran Zubic 51'
Tommy Fiore 83'		 Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium
Referee: Frank Marcello
August 24, 1995 Toronto Jets 0–0 Hamilton White Eagles North York, Ontario
20:00 Report Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 100
August 25, 1995 London City 1–1 Scarborough Astros London, Ontario
Report Stadium: Cove Road Stadium
August 27, 1995 Hamilton White Eagles 2–3 London City Hamilton, Ontario
Report Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium
August 29, 1995 St. Catharines Wolves 3–1 Toronto Italia St. Catharines, Ontario
Report Stadium: Club Roma Stadium
August 31, 1995 Toronto Jets 1–2 Toronto Italia North York, Ontario
20:00 Jack Zomparelli 26' Report Igor Ciric 21'
Mike Palmitta 36'		 Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: James Bainbridge
September 10, 1995 Hamilton White Eagles 1–4 Toronto Italia Hamilton, Ontario
Report Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium
September 28, 1995 Toronto Jets 1–1 London City North York, Ontario
20:00 Marco Antonucci 76' Report John Bottineau 75' Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium
Attendance: 40
Referee: Gord Arrowsmith

Finals

St. Catharines Wolves0–0Scarborough Astros
Report
Club Roma Stadium, St. Catharines, Ontario
Scarborough Astros0–0 (a.e.t.)St. Catharines Wolves
Report
Penalties
Hanna soccer ball with red X
Laszlo Martonfi soccer ball with red X
Ednie Tavares soccer ball with red X		 0 – 3 Gary McGuchan soccer ball with check mark
Moore soccer ball with check mark
Campbell soccer ball with check mark
Attendance: 60

Assistant referees:
Glenn Sharkey

St. Catharines won 3–0 on penalties.

All-Star game

The all-star match was held in Toronto, Ontario at Varsity Stadium, and the league arranged for Parma FC the 1994–95 UEFA Cup champions as the opposition for the match.[31]

CNSL All-Stars0–5Parma
Report Baggio 12'
Sensini 29', 43'
Apolloni 73'
Stoichkov 82'
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Les Wilcox

Individual awards

The annual Canadian National Soccer League awards ceremony was held at the North York Council Chambers in North York, Ontario with an attendance of around 200 people.[32] The master of the ceremony was future Hamilton Bulldogs president Cary Kaplan, who was operating as the secretary of the league. London and St. Catharines were tied each with two awards being given to the clubs.[17] Mark Konert was named the Coach of the Year after leading St. Catharines to a double, which consisted of the CNSL Championship, and Umbro Cup.[17] Wolves midfielder Chris Handsor was voted the MVP, and would go on to play in the USL A-League, and play a prominent role in indoor soccer throughout North America.

London City was given the Most Disciplined Team award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season, and John Bottineau received the Rookie of the Year.[17] The remainder of the awards such as the Golden Boot went to Scarborough Astros Laszlo Martonfi, and Joe Ciaravino of the Toronto Jets was named the Goalkeeper of the Year.[33] Les Wilcox was named the Referee of the Year.[17]

Award Player (Club)
CNSL Most Valuable Player Chris Handsor (St. Catharines)
CNSL Golden Boot Laszlo Martonfi (Scarborough Astros)
CNSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Joe Ciaravino (Toronto Jets)
CNSL Rookie of the Year Award John Bottineau (London City)
CNSL Coach of the Year Award Mark Konert (St. Catharines)
CNSL Referee of the Year Award Les Wilcox
CNSL Most Disciplined Team Award London City
First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Dino Perri (St. Catharines Wolves) Rene Martin (Scarborough Astros)
Jeff Brown (London City)
Shawn Taggart (London City)
Tom Perks (Toronto Jets) 		Chris Handsor (St. Catharines Wolves)
Jack Zomparelli (Toronto Jets)
Orlando Rizzo (Toronto Jets)
Lucio Ianiero (St. Catharines Wolves) 		John Bottineau (London City)
Gary Deleon (Scarborough Astros)

References

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  2. ^ "CSL Past Champions – Canadian Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
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  4. ^ Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. p. 184.
  5. ^ Reinert, Bob (June 18, 1995). "Ramblers are filling the soccer void". Boston Globe.
  6. ^ a b Fanfair, Ron. Stars Soccer Review. - Aldwynable. Caribbean Stars Inc. p. 88.
  7. ^ "Pro Soccer in London, Ontario". 2001-05-02. Archived from the original on May 2, 2001. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  8. ^ "Soccer A Maradona in TO". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1995. p. C8.
  9. ^ "Our Story | Hamilton & District Soccer Association". hamiltonsoccer.net. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  10. ^ a b c Brown, Stewart (May 27, 1995). "White Eagles to fly in professional league". Hamilton Spectator. p. C5.
  11. ^ Glover, Robin (July 17, 1995). "CNSL Toronto Italia vs Toronto Jets". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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  14. ^ Glover, Robin (August 7, 1995). "CNSL Toronto Italia vs London City". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  15. ^ Laskaris, Sam (June 16, 1995). "Astros hope Iraqi helps offence soar". Toronto Star. p. SC6.
  16. ^ "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  17. ^ a b c d e Da Costa, Norman (November 21, 1995). "Italians now favored for the European title". Toronto Star. p. D9.
  18. ^ "About Us – D.G. Sports Inc". Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  19. ^ Glover, Robin (July 17, 1995). "CNSL Toronto Italia vs Toronto Jets". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  20. ^ "Canadian National Soccer League 1995 Season Summary | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  21. ^ Feschuk, Dave (31 October 1995). "Rough night at Roma Park". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C4.
  22. ^ "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  23. ^ "Richard Alexander (1991-1994)". Syracuse University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  24. ^ "Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  25. ^ "Dino Perri - Men's Soccer Coach". McMaster University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  26. ^ "Mississauga MetroStars fire head coach/GM after lengthy losing run". SooToday.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  27. ^ Laskaris, Sam (October 20, 1995). "Astros fail to win trophy; Colts take aim at Final Four tournaments". Toronto Star. p. SC4.
  28. ^ "ESPINOSA TAKES OVER REINS OF MEN'S SOCCER PROGRAM". Redeemer University College Athletics. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  29. ^ "Florin Oprea - Retired". www.footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  30. ^ "Dino Perri - Men's Soccer Coach". McMaster University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
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  32. ^ Glover, Robin. "1995 Awards Reception". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  33. ^ Brown, Stewart (September 23, 1995). "White Eagles eager to put sorry season behind them". Hamilton Spectator. p. C5.