2018 League1 Ontario season (women)

The 2018 League1 Ontario season was the fourth season of play for the Women's Division of League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario. Durham United FA won the league championship after beating the previously undefeated FC London and Woodbridge Strikers in the playoffs.

League1 Ontario
Women's Division
Season2018
ChampionsDurham United
L1 Cup championsWoodbridge Strikers
Matches played78
Goals scored269 (3.45 per match)
Top goalscorerJade Kovacevic (19 goals)
Best goalkeeperMarissa Zucchetto
Alana Rossi (0.50 GAA)
Highest scoringOakville 11–0 Darby (July 21)
2017
2019
All statistics correct as of September 1, 2018.

Changes from 2017

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The women's division grew from 11 to 13 teams, with the addition of women's side from the Oakville Blue Devils, as well as Hamilton United (representing the league's first entry from that city) and DeRo United FC (an academy run by former national team player Dwayne De Rosario).[1] Sanjaxx Lions did not field a team in the women's division for this season.

Teams

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Team City Principal Stadium Founded First Season Head Coach[note 1]
Aurora FC Aurora Stewart Burnett Park 2015 2016 Gianni Cimini
Darby FC Whitby Whitby Soccer Centre & Darlington Field 2015 2016 Mirco Schroff
DeRo United FC Toronto (Scarborough) L'Amoreaux Park 2018 2018
Durham United FA Pickering Kinsmen Park 2015 Ramin Muhammadi
Hamilton United Hamilton Ron Joyce Stadium 2018 2018
FC London London German Canadian FC Stadium 2015 2016 Mike Marcoccia
North Mississauga SC Mississauga Hershey Centre 2015 Jhon Ardila
Oakville Blue Devils Oakville Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium 2018 2018
Toronto Azzurri Blizzard Toronto (North York) Azzurri Village 2017 2017 Cesare Tripodo
Unionville Milliken SC Unionville (Markham) Bill Crothers Park 2017 2017 Paul Omoghan
Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan McNaughton Park 2015 Carmine Isacco
West Ottawa SC Ottawa Wesley Clover Park 2017 2017 Kristina Kiss
Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge (Vaughan) Vaughan Grove 2015 David Porco
  1. ^ Unless otherwise noted, this information was obtained from team directories on the league website

Regular season

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Each team plays 12 matches as part of the season; one match against all other teams. The top four teams advance to the playoffs to determine the league champion.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 FC London 12 11 1 0 31 9 +22 34 League Playoffs
2 Woodbridge Strikers 12 9 3 0 32 9 +23 30
3 Vaughan Azzurri 12 8 0 4 31 16 +15 24
4 Durham United FA (C) 12 7 2 3 25 9 +16 23
5 Oakville Blue Devils 12 7 1 4 40 18 +22 22
6 DeRo United FC 12 6 3 3 20 12 +8 21
7 Hamilton United 12 5 3 4 22 14 +8 18
8 Unionville Milliken SC 12 5 3 4 17 12 +5 18
9 North Mississauga SC 12 4 0 8 13 39 −26 12
10 West Ottawa SC 12 3 1 8 15 28 −13 10
11 Aurora FC 12 2 2 8 10 21 −11 8
12 Darby FC 12 1 1 10 9 38 −29 4
13 Toronto Azzurri Blizzard 12 0 0 12 4 44 −40 0
Updated to match(es) played on August 21, 2018. Source: http://www.league1ontario.com/page/show/2309115-standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) head-to-head goal differential; 5) playoff match
(C) Champions

Playoffs

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The top four teams from the regular season earn entry into the playoffs, which consists of a single knockout phase containing two semifinals and a final.

Semifinals Finals
      
1 FC London 1
4 Durham United 2
4 Durham United 1
2 Woodbridge Strikers 0
2 Woodbridge Strikers 1
3 Vaughan Azzurri 0

Semifinals

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August 22, 2018 Woodbridge Strikers 1–0 Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan, Ontario
9:00 pm Stadium: Vaughan Grove Park
August 25, 2018 FC London 1–2 Durham United London, Ontario
6:30 pm Stadium: German Canadian Club

Final

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September 1, 2018 Woodbridge Strikers 0–1 Durham United Vaughan, Ontario
3:00 pm Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre

The cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all thirteen teams from the women's division take part. It is not a form of playoffs at the end of the season (as is typically seen in North American sports), but is more like the Canadian Championship or the FA Cup, albeit only for League1 Ontario teams. All matches are separate from the regular season and are not reflected in the season standings.

The cup tournament is a single-match knockout tournament with four total rounds culminating in a final match in the start of August, with initial matchups determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes will advance directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.[2]

 
First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
June 24 Hershey Centre
 
 
North Mississauga SC2
 
May 26 Wesley Clover Turf
 
DeRo United FC3
 
West Ottawa SC1
 
July 22 Vaughan Grove
 
DeRo United FC3
 
DeRo United FC0
 
May 27 Stewart Burnett Park
 
Woodbridge Strikers1
 
Oakville Blue Devils1
 
June 24 Vaughan Grove
 
Aurora FC2
 
Aurora FC1
 
May 27 Vaughan Grove
 
Woodbridge Strikers3
 
Durham United FA0
 
August 4 Ontario Soccer Centre
 
Woodbridge Strikers4
 
Woodbridge Strikers1
 
 
Unionville Milliken SC0
 
 
June 24 Ontario Soccer Centre
 
 
Unionville Milliken SC2
 
May 25 Clarington Field
 
Toronto Azzurri Blizzard0
 
Darby FC1
 
July 21 McNaughton Park
 
Toronto Azzurri Blizzard3
 
Unionville Milliken SC0 (4)
 
May 26 McNaughton Park
 
Vaughan Azzurri0 (3)
 
Vaughan Azzurri2
 
June 23 Marconi Club
 
Hamilton United0
 
Vaughan Azzurri1
 
 
FC London0
 
 
 
 

Statistics

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Awards

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The following players received honours in the 2018 season:[3]

Award Player (Club)
Most Valuable Player Jade Kovacevic (FC London)
Golden Boot Jade Kovacevic (FC London)
Coach of the Year Mike Marcoccia (FC London)
Ramin Mohammadi (Durham United)
Young Player of the Year Markela Bejleri (Aurora FC)
Defender of the Year Diamond Simpson (Woodbridge Strikers)
Goalkeeper of the Year Sara Petrucci (Durham United)
Fair Play Award Sara Wong (Vaughan Azzurri)
Goal of the Year Mahira Ali (Oakville Blue Devils)
First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Sara Petrucci (Durham United) Rachel Melhado (Vaughan Azzurri)
Diamond Simpson (Woodbridge Strikers)
Tamara Brown (Durham United)
Katherine Koehler-Grassau (DeRo United)
Julia Benati (FC London)
Sara Wong (Vaughan Azzurri)
April Syme (Woodbridge Strikers)
Mahira Ali (Oakville Blue Devils)
Jade Kovacevic (FC London)
Nour Ghoneim (Vaughan Azzurri)
Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Vanessa Fiore (North Mississauga) Christina White (Woodbridge Strikers)
Mikaela Tierney (DeRo United)
Jenna Hong (FC London)
Alyscha Mottershead (Woodbridge Strikers)
Carla Portillo (North Mississauga)
Ashley Campbell (FC London)
Alicia Tamburro (Durham United)
Angela Cutaia (Hamilton United)
Laura Gosse (Durham United)
Nathasha Klassios (Unionville Milliken)
Third Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Marilena Spagnolo (Hamilton United) Abigail Hubble (Darby FC)
Kayla Goncalves (Unionville Milliken)
Kira Bertrand (Woodbridge Strikers)
Markela Bejleri (Aurora FC)
Laura Twidle (Oakville Blue Devils)
Rebecca Bartosh (Toronto Azzurri Blizzard)
Jessie Faber (Vaughan Azzurri)
Cassandre Van Bakel (Vaughan Azzurri)
Crystal Schuder (West Ottawa SC)
Alexis Kirton (DeRo United)

References

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  1. ^ "Significant expansion planned for League1 Ontario". league1ontario.com. League1 Ontario. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. ^ "L1 Cup". league1ontario.com. League1 Ontario. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Top 2018 Performers Recognized At Year-End Awards Gala". League1 Ontario. November 26, 2018.
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