2007 Canadian Soccer League season
| Season | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Toronto Croatia |
| Top goalscorer |  Nicolas Lesage (20 goals) |
← 2006 2008 → | |
The 2007 Canadian Soccer League season was the tenth since its establishment. The first match of the season was played on May 11, 2007, and the season ended on October 28, 2007. The season concluded with Toronto Croatia claiming their third championship by defeating rivals Serbian White Eagles 4-1 on aggregate, thus making Croatia the most successful club in the history of the CSL soccer, having won more league trophies than any other club. Toronto Croatia also celebrated its 50 anniversary in Canadian soccer. Winning the CSL title after losing just one game in the 5-month long campaign, including an unbeaten streak in their international triumph of the Croatian World Club Championship.
The league experienced a major increase in match attendances, with clubs averaging over 1,000 fan support per game. With the Serbian White Eagles and newly expansion Trois-Rivières Attak averaging the most.[1] The season was also notable with the introduction of the inaugural Locust CSL All Star Game, played on July 28, 2007 at Windsor Stadium.[2] With the International Conference All-Stars winning over the National Conference All-Stars.[3]
Changes from 2006 season
- The Oakville Blue Devils moved to Scarborough, Ontario, became the Canadian Lions, and played in the International Conference.
- The Trois-Rivières Attak began play as an expansion franchise, and also absorbed the Laval Dynamites.[4]
- The Brampton Stallions went on hiatus and became a dormant franchise.
- The Caribbean Selects folded after playing one season.
Final standings
National Conference
| Place | Team | P | W | L | T | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Catharines Wolves | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 19 | 42 |
| 2 | Trois-Rivières Attak | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 48 | 29 | 38 |
| 3 | North York Astros | 22 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 32 | 55 | 20 |
| 4 | Windsor Border Stars | 22 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 33 | 49 | 19 |
| 5 | London City | 22 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 82 | 11 |
International Conference
| Place | Team | P | W | L | T | GF | GA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbian White Eagles | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 55 | 31 | 45 |
| 2 | Toronto Croatia | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 42 | 16 | 41 |
| 3 | Italia Shooters | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 17 | 40 |
| 4 | Canadian Lions | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 40 | 36 | 27 |
| 5 | Portuguese Supra | 22 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 31 | 42 | 17 |
| Purple indicates conference winners |
| Green indicates playoff berth clinched |
Rogers Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals
| Italia Shooters | 0–3 | Trois-Rivières Attak |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Lesage  22' Mayard 55' Kolić 88' |
| Windsor Border Stars | 1–2 | Serbian White Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Byrd 54' |
(Report) | Budalić 26' Kokot 61' |
| Canadian Lions | 0–0 (aet) | St. Catharines Wolves |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | ||
| Penalties | ||
 Ncube |
9 – 10 |  Kamendy |
| North York Astros | 2–4 (aet) | Toronto Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Vainshtein 17' Lammie 27' |
(Report) | Pupić 64' 105' Fitzwilliams 90' 95' |
Semifinals
| St. Catharines Wolves | 2–3 | Toronto Croatia |
|---|---|---|
Aragona  30' Gallagher 41' Magnotta 59' (pk) |
(Report) | Fitzwilliams 11' Attard 28' (og) Maletić 44' |
| Serbian White Eagles | 2–1 | Trois-Rivières Attak |
|---|---|---|
| Kokot 6' Milićević 25' Viciknez 45+2' |
(Report) | Lesage 84' Kolić 90+4'' |
Rogers Cup Final
| Toronto Croatia | 4–1 | Serbian White Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Bustamante 13' 45' Curić ??' Fitzwilliams 70' |
(Report) | Milićević 14' |
Toronto Croatia wins on total goals 4-1.
| Canadian Soccer League 2007 winners |
|---|
| Toronto Croatia Third Title |
Format change for Rogers Cup finals
Due to Toronto Croatia and the Serbian White Eagles playing for the Championship Cup, the CSL decided to change the format to a two-leg game rather than the standard knockout. The first game will be played on Friday, October 27, and will be played in front of only Croatia fans, with the team serving as the home side. The next day, October 28, the White Eagles will be the home side, and their fans will be the only ones permitted at the game.[5][6][7][8]
2007 scoring leaders
- Full article: CSL Golden Boot
| Position | Player's name | Nationality | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolas Lesage | Canada
|
Trois-Rivières Attak | 20 |
| 2 | Gabriel Pop |  Romania
|
Serbian White Eagles | 18 |
| 3 | Evan Milward | Canada
|
Canadian Lions | 15 |
| - | Darko Kolić |  Serbia
|
Trois-Rivières Attak | 15 |
| 5 | Aaron Byrd |  United States
|
Windsor Border Stars | 14 |
| 6 | Saša Viciknez | Serbia
|
Serbian White Eagles | 13 |
| - | Antonio Stranges | Canada
|
St. Catharines Wolves | 13 |
| 8 | Kadian Lecky |  Jamaica
|
Italia Shooters | 10 |
| 9 | Helio Pereira |  Brazil
|
Portuguese Supra | 9 |
| - | Carlo Arghittu | Canada
|
St. Catharines Wolves | 9 |
| - | Tihomir Maletić |  Croatia
|
Toronto Croatia | 9 |
Individual awards[9]
- CSL MVP Award: Nicolas Lesage, Trois-Rivières Attak
- CSL Golden Boot: Nicolas Lesage, Trois-Rivières Attak
- CSL Defender of the Year Award: Domagoj Šain, Toronto Croatia
- CSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award: Claudio Perri, St. Catharines Wolves
- CSL Rookie of the Year Award: Tihomir Maletić, Toronto Croatia
- CSL Coach of the Year Award: James McGilivary, St. Catharines Wolves
- Harry Paul Gauss Award: Bruno Ierullo, North York Astros
- CSL Best Official: Joe Fletcher
- CSL Fair Play Award: Trois-Rivières Attak
References
- ^ League Attendance Increases
- ^ CSL All Star game lineups
- ^ July 28, 2007 CSL All Star Game results
- ^ MONTREAL IMPACT FARM TEAM IN CSL
- ^ CSL Announcement--Two Game Final--Serbian White Eagles vs Toronto Croatia
- ^ Ethnic tension divides CSL final
- ^ CSL keeps Balkan fans apart
- ^ Local Soccer Playoff "Segregation" Sparks Controversy
- ^ TORONTO CROATIA TAKES TOP HONOURS AT CSL AWARDS
