League1 Ontario (women) explained

Upright:0.8
Country:Canada
Confed:CONCACAF
Organiser:Ontario Soccer Association
Founded:January 2015
First:2015
Divisions:3 tiers
Levels:3
League Cup:L1 Cup
Champions:Alliance United
Season:2023
Most Champs:FC London (3 titles)
Shieldtitle:L1 Cup
Most Shields:4 teams (1 title each)
Current:2024 League1 Ontario season (women)

League1 Ontario (L1O or L1ON) is a semi-professional women's soccer league in Ontario, Canada.[1] The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian soccer league system.[2] League1 Ontario part of League1 Canada, the national third tier with regional divisions, with L1O equivalents in Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec.

The women's division launched in 2015 with seven clubs and has grown to twenty clubs for the 2022 season. Beginning in 2024, the league will become a three-tier league featuring promotion and relegation.

History

League1 Ontario was founded as a men's semi-professional league on November 15, 2013, in an announcement by the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA).[3]

In January 2015, L1O announced the launch of a women's division.[4] Initially, six teams (ANB Futbol, Durham United FC, North Mississauga SC, ProStars FC, Sanjaxx Lions and Vaughan Azzurri) were to compete, but a seventh team (Woodbridge Strikers) was soon added ahead of the inaugural season.[5] The league kicked off their first matches on May 23 with all seven teams playing matches at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton (Ottawa Fury FC Academy also fielded a team for an exhibition match to make an even number so that every team could play).[6] Durham United FC defeated North Mississauga SC by a score of 2–0 in the league's first official match.[7] Durham United were the inaugural league champions.[8] while North Mississauga won the first League Cup title.[9]

For the 2016 season, the division grew to nine teams with the addition of four teams, while two clubs departed.[10] The league grew to 11 teams in 2017, with three new additions and one departure.[11] [2] In 2018, the league grew to 13 teams and the league introduced a playoff format for the first time to declare the league champion.[12] For the 2019 season, the league eliminated the League Cup competition.[13]

Beginning in the 2020 season, League1 Ontario and the Première ligue de soccer du Québec had planned to hold a Final Four end-of-season tournament for their women's divisions, from August 14 to 16, pitting the top two sides from each league in an inter-provincial playoff.[14] Also, the league had planned to introduce a Reserve Division for the women for the first time. However, due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the league cancelled the 2020 season[15] [16] and delayed the start of the 2021 season.[17] Due to the delayed start caused by the pandemic, some clubs were unable to field team's in the main division. Consequently, the league also formed a short-season summer division, with teams opting to either play in the full-season Premier division, the short-season Champion, and/or the Reserve division.[18]

On January 25, 2022, League1 Ontario announced a major restructuring of the men's and women's competitions to commence in 2024.[19] The league will be split into three tiers (Premier, Championship, and League2) with promotion and relegation between the tiers.[20] Future expansion clubs will enter at the League2 level and will have to win to earn promotion to the Championship and then Premier divisions. Also in 2024 will be the return of the L1 Cup, a league cup knockout tournament which will feature teams from all three tiers in the L1O system.

Management

In September 2019, former Canadian national team player Carmelina Moscato was announced as Commissioner of the Women's division (prior to this both the male and female divisions were led by Dino Rossi),[21] however she departed in December 2020[22] to become the Director of Women's Football for the Bahamas Football Association.[23] In March 2021, Chelsea Spencer and Julie Maheu were announced as Director and Operations Manager, respectively, for the league.[24]

Competition format

The League1 Ontario regular season runs from May through September using a single table format, with each team playing one match against all other teams. The top four teams compete in the league playoffs at the end of the season.[25]

Beginning in 2019, the Ron Smale Cup was created by the supporters group of North Mississauga SC to be given to the regular season champions.[26]

L1 Cup

The L1 Cup is a league cup tournament that features all L1O clubs.[27] It runs concurrently with the regular season, with cup games usually taking place during mid-week. It is not a form of playoffs and all matches are separate from the regular season and are not reflected in the season standings. The 2015 cup included a group stage and a knockout stage but from 2016 to 2018 the format was a single-elimination tournament. Following a hiatus from 2019 to 2023,[13] the L1 Cup will return in 2024 to coincide with the league's restructuring.

Yearly results

Season!Teams! style="width:165px;"
Regular seasonPlay-offsL1 Cup
20157
20169
201711
201813Durham United FAWoodbridge Strikers
201914Oakville Blue Devils FCFC London—
202013Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
20217FC LondonWoodbridge Strikers
202220Vaughan AzzurriNDC Ontario—
202319NDC OntarioAlliance United FC—
202422—FC London

Clubs

Current clubs

Currently there are 20 clubs, based mainly in the Greater Toronto Area and other cities in Southern Ontario. There are no clubs based in Northern Ontario.

League1 Premier

TeamCityPrincipal stadiumFirst season
Alliance United FCMarkham / ScarboroughBirchmount Stadium / Varsity Stadium / Ontario Soccer Centrealign=center 2019
Blue Devils FCOakvilleSheridan Trafalgar Stadiumalign=center 2018
FC LondonLondonTricar Fieldalign=center 2016
Guelph UnionGuelphCentennial Bowlalign=center 2021
NDC OntarioVaughanOntario Soccer Centrealign=center 2022
North Mississauga SCMississaugaChurchill Meadows (Mattamy Sports Park)align=center 2015
North Toronto NitrosTorontoDownsview Park2020
Simcoe County Rovers FCBarrieJ.C Massie Field, Georgian Collegealign=center 2022
Vaughan AzzurriVaughanNorth Maple Regional Parkalign=center 2015
Woodbridge StrikersWoodbridge (Vaughan)Vaughan Grovealign=center 2015

League1 Championship

TeamCityPrincipal stadiumFirst season
Burlington SCBurlingtonCorpus Christi CSSalign=center 2022
BVB IA WaterlooWaterlooRIM Parkalign=center 2021
Darby FCWhitbySouth Courtice Fieldalign=center 2016
Hamilton UnitedHamiltonRon Joyce Stadium (McMaster University)align=center 2018
Pickering FCPickeringPickering Soccer Centre/Kinsmen Parkalign=center 2015
ProStars FCBramptonOntario Soccer Centre / Victoria Park Stadium / Terry Fox Stadiumalign=center 2015
Rush CanadaOakvilleRiver Oaks Parkalign=center 2024
Scrosoppi FCMilton / VaughanOntario Soccer Centre (Vaughan)align=center 2024
Tecumseh SCTecumsehAcadémie Ste. Cécile International Schoolalign=center 2021
Unionville Milliken SCUnionville (Markham)Ontario Soccer Centrealign=center 2017

League2 Ontario

In 2024, a third tier has been introduced featuring new clubs as well as reserve teams. 24 teams, 3 independent and 21 reserve, have been split into three conferences and will be eligible to earn promotion to the higher tiers.

TeamCityPrincipal stadiumFirst season
Alliance United FC 2MarkhamReserve team
Darby FC 2DarlingtonReserve team
Master's FAScarborough (Toronto) Alumni Fieldalign=center 2021
North Mississauga SC 2MississaugaChurchill Meadows (Mattamy Sports Park)Reserve team
North Toronto Nitros 2North York (Toronto)Reserve team
Pickering FC 2PickeringReserve team
Simcoe County Rovers FC 2BarrieReserve team
Unionville Milliken SC 2Unionville (Markham)Bill Crothers Turf WestReserve team
Vaughan Azzurri 2VaughanReserve team
Woodbridge Strikers 2Woodbridge (Vaughan)Reserve team
Blue Devils FC 2OakvilleNorth Park TurfReserve team
Burlington SC 2BurlingtonCity View Park CentreReserve team
BVB IA Waterloo 2WaterlooReserve team
FC London 2LondonCity Wide Sports ParkReserve team
Guelph United FC 2GuelphReserve team
Hamilton United 2HamiltonReserve team
ProStars FC 2BramptonReserve team
Rush Canada SA 2OakvilleRiver Oaks ParkReserve team
Scrosoppi FC 2MiltonReserve team
St. Catharines Roma WolvesSt. CatharinesBrock Universityalign=center 2022
Windsor City FC 2WindsorSt. Clair CollegeReserve team

Former clubs

Former teams
TeamCityStadiumFirst seasonFinal season
ANB FutbolKingThe Country Day School2015
Aurora FCAuroraStewart Burnett Parkalign=center 2016align=center 2020
DeRo United Futbol AcademyScarborough (Toronto)L'Amoreaux Parkalign=center 2018align=center 2019
Electric City FCPeterboroughFleming Collegealign=center 2022align=center 2023
FC OshawaOshawaCivic Stadium2019
Kingston ClippersKingstonTindall Field, Queen's University2016
Ottawa South UnitedManotick (Ottawa)Quinn's Pointe2019
Sanjaxx LionsTorontoMonarch Park Stadiumalign=center 2015align=center 2017
Toronto Azzurri BlizzardTorontoAzzurri Villagealign=center 2017align=center 2018
West Ottawa SCKanata (Ottawa)Wesley Clover Parkalign=center 2017align=center 2018

Timeline

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PlotData= width:20 textcolor:white shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m bar:1 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 text:ANB Futbol bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 text:Durham United FC bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2020 text:Durham United FA bar:2 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 textcolor:black text:Pickering FC bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2022 text: bar:2 color:Active from:01/01/2024 till:end text: bar:3 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2017 text:Kingston Clippers bar:4 color:Active from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2019 text:North Mississauga SC bar:4 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 text: bar:4 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:5 color:Active from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 text:ProStars FC bar:5 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:6 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2018 text:Sanjaxx Lions bar:7 color:Active from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2019 text:Vaughan Azzurri bar:7 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:7 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:8 color:Active from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2019 text:Woodbridge Strikers bar:8 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:8 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:9 color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 text:Aurora United FC bar:9 color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2019 text:Aurora FC bar:9 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:10 color:Active from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2019 text:Darby FC bar:10 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 text: bar:10 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:11 color:Active from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2019 text:FC London bar:11 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:11 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:12 color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2019 text:Toronto Azzurri Blizzard bar:13 color:Active from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2019 text:Unionville Milliken SC bar:13 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 text: bar:13 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:14 color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2019 text:West Ottawa SC bar:15 color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2020 text:DeRo United FC bar:16 color:Active from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2019 text:Hamilton United bar:16 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:16 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:17 color:Active from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2019 text:Oakville Blue Devils FC bar:17 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:17 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text:Blue Devils FC bar:18 color:Active from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:Alliance United FC bar:18 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 text: bar:18 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:19 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:FC Oshawa bar:19 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 text: bar:20 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 text:Ottawa South United bar:21 color:Covid from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 textcolor:black text:North Toronto Nitros bar:21 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:22 color:Covid from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 textcolor:black text:Guelph Union bar:22 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:23 color:Active from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2023 text:Tecumseh SC bar:23 color:Active from:01/01/2024 till:end text:Tecumseh United FC bar:24 color:Covid from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 textcolor:black text:Waterloo United bar:24 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:BVB IA Waterloo bar:25 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Burlington SC bar:26 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:NDC Ontario bar:27 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Electric City FC bar:28 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:Simcoe County Rovers bar:29 color:Active from:01/01/2022 till:end text:St. Catharines Roma Wovles bar:30 color:Active from:01/01/2024 till:end text:Rush Canada SA

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Players who earned national team caps while in L1O

The following players have earned a senior national team cap while playing in League1 Ontario (the year of their first cap while playing in the league is listed). Players who earned caps before or after playing in League1 Ontario are not included, unless they also earned caps while in the league. This section also does not include youth caps (U23 or below).

PlayerCountryYearRef
Kayla Desouza2015[28]
Briana DeSouza2015
Ashlee Savona2015
Kira Bertrand2015
Farkhunda Muhtaj2016[29]
Ashley Lawrence2016[30]
Kadeisha Buchanan2016
Calaigh Copland2016[31]
Bria Williams2016
Sarah Stratigakis2017[32]
Alex Lamontagne2017
Kylee Bertrand2018
Cloey Uddenberg2018[33]
Brianne Desa2018
Rylee Traicoff2018
Julia Gonsalves2018
Jade Vyfhuis2018
Alicia Zaban2018
Nicole Kozlova2019
Markela Bejleri2020
Gabriella Salvadore2021[34]
Serena McDonald2021
Yoana Peralta2021
Kyra Dickinson2022[35]
Justine Rodrigues2022[36]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Competitive S4L Leagues . Ontario Soccer . October 15, 2021 . League1 Ontario sits as the highest level of soccer for Ontario-based players and is defined as a semi-professional league.
  2. Web site: League 1 kicks off Ontario soccer season, offering a chance to rise up the ranks . Chat News Today . . April 28, 2017 . Neil . Davidson.
  3. Web site: OSA to pilot semi-pro League1 Ontario in 2014–2015 . . November 15, 2013 . April 13, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140706062605/http://www.ontariosoccer.ca/OSABlog/index.php/archives/9550 . July 6, 2014 . dead .
  4. Web site: League1 And OSA Announce 2015 Women's Division. January 28, 2015. League1 Ontario.
  5. Web site: Seventh League1 Ontario Women's Team Added For 2015. March 26, 2015. League1 Ontario.
  6. Web site: Semi-professional women's soccer set to take Ontario by storm. May 13, 2015. League1 Ontario.
  7. Web site: Durham United F.C. 2 - North Mississauga Panthers 0. May 24, 2015. League1 Ontario.
  8. Web site: Durham United F.C. and Oakville Blue Devils Clinch League1 Ontario Titles. October 6, 2015. Ontario Soccer Association.,
  9. Web site: North Mississauga Capture League1 Ontario Women's L1O Cup. August 9, 2015. League1 Ontario.
  10. Web site: League1 Ontario Announces Eight New Teams For Upcoming Season. League1 Ontario. December 17, 2015.
  11. Web site: League1 Ontario Continues To Grow Across Ontario. December 19, 2016. League1 Ontario.
  12. Web site: 2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions. March 14, 2018. League1 Ontario.
  13. Web site: League1 Ontario Kicks Off A Sixth Season With Early May Openers. March 13, 2019. League1 Ontario.
  14. Web site: 2020 L1O schedule: Condensed seasons & revamped championships for men's, women's. March 5, 2020. League1 Ontario.
  15. Web site: League1 Ontario's 2020 'Summer season' cancelled, officials target Fall start. Marty. Thompson. June 6, 2020. League1 Ontario.
  16. Web site: League1 Ontario cancels 'Fall season' plans for 2020. Marty. Thompson. September 4, 2020. League1 Ontario.
  17. Web site: League1 Ontario 2021 season now slated to start July 29th . Canadian Premier League . January 21, 2022 . June 15, 2021.
  18. Web site: League1 Ontario Set To Kick Off Seventh Season With Late July Fixtures. July 22, 2021. League1 Ontario.
  19. Web site: League1 Ontario reveals league pyramid, pro/rel system for 2024 season . Canadian Premier League . January 26, 2022 . January 25, 2022.
  20. Web site: Jacques . John . Seven Things To Know About The League1 Ontario Restructure . Northern Tribune . January 26, 2022 . January 25, 2022.
  21. Web site: CSB hires Carmelina Moscato as Manager, Women's Professional Football Development, League1 Women's Division Commissioner. League1 Ontario. September 12, 2019.
  22. Web site: Carmelina Moscato Steps Down As League1 Ontario Women's Commissioner. December 17, 2020. Northern Tribune. John. Jacques.
  23. Web site: Bahamas Football Association Adds Carmelina Moscato As Director Of Women's Football. February 12, 2021. Northern Tribune. John. Jacques.
  24. Web site: League1 Ontario unveils Women's Division leadership. March 8, 2021. Canadian Premier League. Marty. Thompson.
  25. Web site: 2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions. League1 Ontario. March 14, 2018.
  26. Web site: Supporters Like No Others. September 13, 2019. League1 Ontario.
  27. Web site: Womens L1 Cup . League1 Ontario . April 8, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161220205424/http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2497239-womens-l1-cup-2016- . December 20, 2016.
  28. Web site: Lady Jags Kayla DeSouza named League 1 Ontario Defender-of-the-Year. November 25, 2015. Guyana Chronicle.
  29. Web site: Farkhunda Muhtaj. January 14, 2022. Afghans of Toronto. Facebook.
  30. Web site: Forty-Nine League1 Players (Incl. Alumni) Represented Canada In 2016. December 31, 2016. Anthony. Gallo. League1 Ontario.
  31. Web site: CANADACONCACAF Olympic Qualifying rosters announced. February 8, 2016. The Equalizer.
  32. Web site: Coach Herdman picks young squad to defend Algarve Cup. February 22, 2017. CBC Sports. Neil. Davidson.
  33. Web site: Aurora Stingers' Uddenberg looks forward to Women's World Cup qualifier. John. Cudmore. May 16, 2018. Richmond Hill Liberal.
  34. Web site: Lady Jags arrive in Puerto Rico for Training Camp and Practice Matches. October 20, 2021. Kaieteur News.
  35. Web site: USVI blanked by St. Kitts and Nevis in CONCACAF W Qualifiers finale. April 13, 2022. Virgin Islands Daily News. Bill. Kisser.
  36. Web site: Lady Jags pummel Dominica 4-0. April 13, 2022. February 18, 2022. Guyana Times.

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