1990 Canadian Soccer League season

The 1990 Canadian Soccer League season was the fourth season of play for the Canadian Soccer League, a Division 1 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid.

Canadian Soccer League
Season1990
ChampionsVancouver 86ers
Division LeadersToronto Blizzard (East)
Vancouver 86ers (West)
Matches played143
Goals scored390 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerJohn Catliff (19)
Best goalkeeperPat Harrington (0.43 GAA)
← 1989
1991 →

Format and changes from previous season

The Kitchener Spirit and London Lasers joined the Canadian Soccer League as an expansion teams for the 1990 season, with both joining the East Division.[1][2] Meanwhile, the Calgary Strikers folded following the 1989 season.[3]

As a result of those team changes, the league had a seven-team East Division and a four-team West Division. Consequently, the league did not have a balanced home and away schedule between conferences. West Division teams played each other four times each, twice each home and away, while playing the East Division teams twice, once each home and away. Eastern Division teams played other East Division teams three times, while playing the West Division teams twice, once each home and away.

The playoff format was also modified with eight teams (five from the East and three from the West) now qualifying for the post-season, as opposed to six in the previous years. The fifth place team from the East would cross over and play in the West Division playoff bracket. In addition, the playoff format was changed from an aggregate score system to a total points system. Teams would play a two-game series, with teams earning two points for a victory, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss, regardless of the score. If the teams were tied on points (e.g. each team won a game, or both games were ties), then the first tiebreaker was the teams playing a thirty-minute mini-game. If the mini-game resolved nothing, then penalty kicks were used as the second tiebreaker. In the mini-game, each team named a new lineup, could include three more substitutes and re-activate any players who sat out of Game Two for caution accumulation. Game Two home teams, the higher seeds, had an advantage as they had their entire 22-man active list available while away teams often traveled with as few as 14 players for economic reasons. The playoff final remained a one-off match, as in previous years, hosted by the top seed, or team with the best league record, in 1990.

Summary

Vancouver won their third consecutive West Division title, while Toronto won their second East Division title in a row. Once again, Vancouver and Hamilton met in the finals for the third consecutive season, with Vancouver winning the title for the third time in a row.

As 1989 league champions, the Vancouver 86ers competed in the North American Club Championship against the champions of the American Professional Soccer League, the Maryland Bays. Vancouver defeated Maryland 3–2 in the final played in Burnaby to capture the title.[4][5]

Regular season

East Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Blizzard 26 18 3 5 52 15 +37 39 Playoffs
2 Montreal Supra 26 13 11 2 30 12 +18 37
3 Hamilton Steelers 26 10 9 7 44 35 +9 29
4 Kitchener Spirit 26 8 7 11 30 36 −6 23
5 North York Rockets 26 7 9 10 34 36 −2 23
6 Ottawa Intrepid 26 2 9 15 21 49 −28 13
7 London Lasers 26 2 7 17 26 68 −42 11
Source: Canadian Soccer History Archives 1990 CSL Stats

West Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Vancouver 86ers (O) 26 17 6 3 69 26 +43 40 Playoffs
2 Victoria Vistas 26 12 7 7 42 32 +10 31
3 Winnipeg Fury 26 7 8 11 22 37 −15 22
4 Edmonton Brick Men 26 6 6 14 20 44 −24 18
Source: Canadian Soccer History Archives 1990 CSL Stats
(O) Play-off winner

Playoffs

The playoffs were conducted with a total points system. Teams earned two points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. The team with the most points following the two-game series advanced. If the teams were tied on points, they played a 30-minute mini-game for a bonus point, followed by a penalty shootout if the mini-game remained tied.

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
             
1W Vancouver 86ers 2 2 4 PTS
5E North York Rockets 0 1 0 PTS
1W Vancouver 86ers 2 6 3 PTS
2W Victoria Vistas 2 1 1 PTS
2W Victoria Vistas (p) 1 3 (5) 2+1 PTS
3W Winnipeg Fury 4 2 (4) 2 PTS
1W Vancouver 86ers 6
3E Hamilton Steelers 1
2E Montreal Supra 1 0 0 PTS
3E Hamilton Steelers 2 1 4 PTS
3E Hamilton Steelers 1 3 3 PTS
4E Kitchener Spirit 0 3 1 PTS
1E Toronto Blizzard 1 1 (3) 2 PTS
4E Kitchener Spirit (p) 2 0 (4) 2+1 PTS

Statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 John Catliff Vancouver 86ers 19
2 Domenic Mobilio Vancouver 86ers 13
Paul Peschisolido Toronto Blizzard
4 Alex Bunbury Hamilton Steelers/Toronto Blizzard 12
5 Billy Domazetis Toronto Blizzard 10
6 Eddy Berdusco North York Rockets 9
Ted Eck Toronto Blizzard
7 Geoff Aunger Victoria Vistas 8
Ivor Evans Vancouver 86ers
Reference:[6]

Top goaltenders
Rank Player Club GAA
1 Pat Harrington Montreal Supra 0.43
2 Pat Onstad Toronto Blizzard 0.58
3 Paul Dolan Vancouver 86ers 1.08
4 Grant Darley Victoria Vistas 1.13
5 Shel Brodsgaard Victoria Vistas 1.16
Reference:[6]

Honours

The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 1990 season.[6]

Awards
AwardPlayerTeam
Most Valuable Player Pat HarringtonMontreal Supra
Canadian Player of the Year John CatliffVancouver 86ers
Rookie of the Year Jorge RodriguezLondon Lasers
Top Newcomer Allan EvansVictoria Vistas
Top Goaltender Pat HarringtonMontreal Supra
Fair Play AwardEdmonton Brick Men

League All-Stars
PlayerPosition
Pat Harrington (Montreal Supra)Goalkeeper
Patrick Diotte (Montreal Supra)Defender
Allan Evans (Victoria Vistas)Defender
Ian Bridge (Victoria Vistas)Defender
Edinho (Toronto Blizzard)Defender
Michael Araujo (Montreal Supra)Midfielder
Lyndon Hooper (Toronto Blizzard)Midfielder
Ivor Evans (Vancouver 86ers)Midfielder
Domenic Mobilio (Vancouver 86ers)Forward
John Catliff (Vancouver 86ers)Forward
Paul Peschisolido (Toronto Blizzard)Forward

Reserves

PlayerPosition
Tim Rosenfeld (Winnipeg Fury)Goalkeeper
Steve MacDonald (Vancouver 86ers)Defender
Vlado Vanis (Vancouver 86ers)Defender
Jaime Lowery (Vancouver 86ers)Midfielder
Alex Bunbury (Toronto Blizzard)Forward

Front Office

PersonRole
Roy Wiggemansen (Montreal Supra)Head Coach
Ian Bridge (Vancouver 86ers)Assistant Coach
Roy Wiggemansen (Montreal Supra)General Manager

References
  1. "Canadian Soccer League (1987-1992)". Fun While it Lasted.
  2. Litterer, Dave. "Canadian Soccer League I". Soccer History USA.
  3. Litterer, David (May 30, 2008). "The Year in American Soccer 1989". American Soccer History Archives. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  4. MacIntyre, Iain (September 27, 1990). "Bays beaten in overtime, 3-2, in North American title game Mobilio's goal lifts Vancouver". The Baltimore Sun]].
  5. "Canadian Soccer History". Ottawa Fury SC. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.
  6. "1990 CSL Stats" (PDF). Canadian Soccer League.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.