2017 Canadian Soccer League season

Canadian Soccer League
*Second Division*
Season	2017
Champions	FC Ukraine United (Second Division regular season); FC Ukraine United (Second Division playoffs, 1st title)
Matches played	56
Goals scored	290 (5.18 per match)
Top goalscorer	Taras Hromyak (15)
Biggest home win	FC Ukraine United 12–0 Serbian White Eagles B; (June 18)
Biggest away win	Royal Toronto FC B B 1–12 FC Ukraine United; (July 8)
Longest winning run	7 matches; FC Ukraine United
Longest unbeaten run	14 matches; FC Ukraine United
	← 2016 2018 →

Canadian Soccer League
*First Division*
Season	2017
Champions	FC Vorkuta (First Division regular season); York Region Shooters (First Division playoffs, 3rd title)
Matches played	56
Goals scored	241 (4.3 per match)
Top goalscorer	Aleksandar Stojiljković (17)
Biggest home win	Serbian White Eagles 8–1 Milton SC; (August 18)
Biggest away win	Milton SC 1–7 York Region Shooters; (July 30); Milton SC 1–7 Royal Toronto FC; (August 4); Brantford Galaxy 2–7 FC Vorkuta; (August 26); Brantford Galaxy 0–7 FC Vorkuta; (August 30)
Longest winning run	5 matches; FC Vorkuta
Longest unbeaten run	12 matches; Serbian White Eagles
	← 2016 2018 →

The 2017 Canadian Soccer League season (known as the Givova Canadian Soccer League for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season under the Canadian Soccer League name. The season began on May 26, 2017, and concluded on September 30, 2017, with the CSL Championship final. The season saw the York Region Shooters claim their third CSL Championship by defeating Scarborough SC in a penalty shootout. In the Second Division, FC Ukraine United went home with their first CSL double after defeating Burlington SC in the finals. FC Ukraine became the second club in the Second Division after TFC Academy II in 2012 to go undefeated the entire regular season. While FC Vorkuta became the second expansion franchise in CSL history since the Ottawa Wizards in the 2001 season to claim the r title in their debut season.

Summary

The 2017 season was a highly competitive campaign, particularly in the First Division. The title was heavily contested between FC Vorkuta, Serbian White Eagles, and York Region Shooters. The outcome was determined on the final week of the regular season with Vorkuta claiming their first division title.^[1]^[2] The divisional champions were an expansion franchise with a noted history at the amateur level around the York Region.^[3]^[4]

Vorkuta relied on the Ukrainian soccer market for player recruitment and hired the services of Serhiy Zayets as head coach.^[5]^[6]^[7] Another source of talent acquisition came from FC Ukraine United's decision to relegate to the Second Division which allowed Vorkuta to acquire Ukraine United's key players.^[8]^[9] The club's foray into the professional scene was instantly felt as they managed to obtain the first position in the first two weeks. The majority of the season they were situated in the top three and produced an eight-game undefeated streak.^[10] They ultimately secured the title in the final two weeks and reached the second stage of the postseason.^[11]

The Serbian White Eagles entered the season as the defending champions with general manager Uroš Stamatović originally returning to manage the squad. Serbia retained their seasoned imports from Europe, while also rejuvenating the roster with graduates from their youth system.^[12] Their on-field performance prospered as the White Eagles began the season with a 12-game undefeated streak.^[13]^[14] Their only defeat occurred in an away match while at home they remained undefeated and held the first position for seven consecutive weeks. A defeat to York Region dropped the Serbs to third and concluded as runners up to Vorkuta by a single point. Unfortunately, they failed to defend their championship after being eliminated by York Region in the semifinals.^[15]

York Region Shooters were consistent challengers for the divisional title. The Vaughan-based team preserved their veteran roster and continued their practice of acquiring additional talent from the Caribbean soccer market. They managed to hold the first position for three different occasions and held the third spot for the majority of the season. York Region continued their reputation as a solid defensive team and as a result, secured the best defensive record. The Shooters were undefeated on the road and eventually finished third in the standings just two points away from the division title.^[16] In the postseason the Shooters secured their third CSL Championship.^[17]

The fourth position was secured by Scarborough SC as the eastern Toronto club developed into an elite team. Preparations for the season included the recruitment of Krum Bibishkov as a player-coach.^[18] Scarborough added more depth to their roster by attracting further overseas talent.^[19] The team achieved a five-game undefeated streak towards the conclusion of the season and finished in the top four in best offensive and defensive records.^[20] In the postseason Scarborough reached the championship final for the first time in its history.^[21]

Brantford Galaxy secured a postseason berth by finishing fifth in the standings. The Galaxy primarily battled with Scarborough and fluctuated between the fourth and fifth positions. Saša Vuković was the change in the managerial structure and took the team to the first round of the playoffs.^[22]^[23] The bottom section of the division featured Milton SC, Royal Toronto FC, and SC Waterloo Region. After competing in the second division for the 2016 season Waterloo returned to the First division with former player Stefan Ristic managing the team. The club produced a mediocre season by finishing in seventh place tied with Milton in points only separated by a lower goal difference.

Royal Toronto FC an academy operated by former players Dario Brezak and Luka Majstorovic was granted a franchise in the league. The expansion franchise failed to produce sufficient results and finished at the bottom of the standings. FC Ukraine United decided to relegate themselves to the Second division for the 2017 season. The club continued in attracting seasoned imports from the Ukrainian soccer market and as result achieved a club milestone by producing their first perfect season in the league. The division witnessed the return of Burlington SC where they finished as runners up in the division and faced Ukraine United in the DII Championship final.

First Division

Changes from 2016

Since 2014 season the First Division has continued to be primarily based in the Greater Toronto Area, as Hamilton City SC and Toronto Atomic FC both failed to renew their membership for the 2017 season.^[24] The additions of FC Vorkuta and Royal Toronto FC were brought in as expansions.^[25]^[26] While SC Waterloo Region was promoted to the First Division to bring the division back to 8 teams. While the Second Division saw an increase to 8 teams with the return of Burlington SC and the relegation of FC Ukraine United.^[27]

Teams

Team	City	Stadium	Manager
Brantford Galaxy	Brantford, Ontario	Steve Brown Sports Complex	Saša Vuković^[28]
FC Vorkuta	North York, Toronto	Esther Shiner Stadium	Serhiy Zayets^[29]
Milton SC	Milton, Ontario	Jean Vanier Stadium	Jasmin Halkic^[30]
Royal Toronto FC	Toronto, Ontario	Varsity Stadium	Luka Majstorovic^[31]
Scarborough SC	Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario	Birchmount Stadium	Krum Bibishkov^[32]
Serbian White Eagles	Etobicoke, Toronto	Centennial Park Stadium	Milan Mijailović^[33]
SC Waterloo Region	Waterloo, Ontario	RIM Park	Stefan Ristic^[34]
York Region Shooters	Maple, Vaughan	Joan of Arc Turf Field	Tony De Thomasis^[35]

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
Serbian White Eagles	Uroš Stamatović^[36]	Resigned	July 7, 2017	1st in July	Branislav Vukomanović (interim)	July 7, 2017^[37]
Serbian White Eagles	Branislav Vukomanović (interim)	end of interim period	September 2017	2nd in September	Milan Mijailović	September 2017^[33]

Brantford

Waterloo

Milton

Vaughan

TORONTO

Location of First Division teams outside of Toronto for the 2017 CSL season.

First Division

Scarborough

Serbian White Eagles

Royal Toronto

FC Vorkuta

York Region Shooters

Location of First Division teams in Toronto for the 2017 CSL season.

First Division

Standings

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Positions by round

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Season Statistics

Goals

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Aleksandar Stojiljković	Scarborough SC	17
2	Sergiy Ivliev	FC Vorkuta	13
3	Evan Beutler^[38]	York Region Shooters	7
4	Miroslav Čabrilo	Brantford Galaxy	6
	Scott Damion Tristan	Milton SC
	Kiril Dimitrov	Scarborough SC
	Đorđe Jočić	Serbian White Eagles
	Miroslav Jovanović	Serbian White Eagles
	Branislav Vukomanović	Serbian White Eagles
5	Krum Bibishkov	Scarborough SC	5
	Kavin Bryan	York Region Shooters
	Oleg Shutov	FC Vorkuta

Updated: September 11, 2017
Source: http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/2017-first-division-stats/ Archived 2018-09-01 at the Wayback Machine

Hat-tricks

Player	Club	Against	Result	Date
Sergiy Ivliev	FC Vorkuta	Royal Toronto FC	5–1 (H)	17 June 2017
Alton Ellis	York Region Shooters	Milton SC	1–7 (A)	30 July 2017
Scott Damion Tristan	Milton SC	SC Waterloo Region	4–3 (H)	6 August 2017
Evan Beutler	York Region Shooters	Royal Toronto FC	5–0 (H)	18 August 2017
Aleksandar Stojiljković	Scarborough SC	Royal Toronto FC	3–3 (A)	27 August 2017
Aleksandar Stojiljković	Scarborough SC	Milton SC	7–0 (H)	2 September 2017
Aleksandar Stojiljković	Scarborough SC	Brantford Galaxy	5–0 (H)	8 September 2017

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

September 15, 2017	Serbian White Eagles	5–3 (a.e.t.)	SC Waterloo Region	Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto
19:00	Ivan Nikolic 5' Luka Bojić 58' Vukomanović 87' Miroslav Jovanović 101' 114'	Report	Jure Glavina 27' Jure Glavina 45' Ramon Bailey 70'	Attendance: 150 Referee: Tony Amaral

September 16, 2017	FC Vorkuta	6–3	Royal Toronto FC	Ontario Soccer Centre, Vaughan
20:00	Kerchu Ivliev Shutov Volodymyr Rudyi	Report	Dario Brezak Adrian Bembridge	Referee: Marco Jaramillo

September 16, 2017	Scarborough SC	6–2	Brantford Galaxy	Birchmount Stadium, Toronto
20:00	Stojiljkovic	Report	Cabrilo

York Region Shooters advanced to the semi-final as a result of a 3-0 forfeit.

September 17, 2017	York Region Shooters	3–0	Milton SC	Joan of Arc Turf Field, Maple
18:30		Report

Semifinals

September 22, 2017	Serbian White Eagles	1-2	York Region Shooters	Centennial Park Stadium, Toronto
19:00	Ivan Nikolic 35'	Report	Hassan Abdulmumini 22' Bryan 52'	Attendance: 300 Referee: Marco Jaramillo

September 23, 2017	FC Vorkuta	0–1	Scarborough SC	Esther Shiner Stadium, Toronto
18:00		Report	Fazlagic 21'

CSL Championship

September 30, 2017	York Region Shooters	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Scarborough SC	Lamport Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
16:30	Evan Beutler 51'	Report	Fazlagic 61'