1997 Canadian National Soccer League season

The 1997 Canadian National Soccer League season was the seventy fifth season for the Canadian National Soccer League. The season began on June 4, 1997, and concluded on October 8, 1997, with St. Catharines Roma Wolves defeating Toronto Supra in a two-game series for the CNSL Championship.[1] While the league cup was awarded to Toronto Supra due to several irregularities on behave of Kosova Albanians.

Canadian National Soccer League

Season	1997
Champions	St. Catharines Roma Wolves (regular season) St. Catharines Roma Wolves (playoffs, 3rd title)
League cup	Toronto Supra
Matches played	24
Goals scored	49 (2.04 per match)
Biggest home win	Toronto Supra 6-0 London City (July 13)
Biggest away win	London City 0-8 Toronto Supra (June 20)
Highest scoring	London City 0-8 Toronto Supra (June 20)
← 1996 CPSL 1998 →

The season was noteworthy with the return of Toronto Croatia, and Hamilton White Eagles after the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League) decided to merge with the CNSL. A notable departure was Toronto Italia a well distinguished club who had another opportunity in 1998 to return to the professional scene, but failed to settle disputes regarding territory and league policy.[2][3] The league operated as a private league for the final time, and under the banner of the CNSL as it reconciled its relationship with the Ontario Soccer Association in 1998.[4] The following season it would operate as the Canadian Professional Soccer League sanctioned by the Ontario Soccer Association in order to implement the Image of the Game report to provide a suitable professional soccer structure in Ontario and potentially throughout the country.[5][6]

Overview

Summary

The amount of clubs participating in the 1997 season remained seven as the previous season with several notable additions, and departures. As the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League) merged with the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL) it marked the return of Toronto Croatia, Hamilton White Eagles, and with Kosova Albanians as a new entry.[7] A notable absence was the departure of well-established Toronto Italia, which was a result of a feud with Toronto Croatia stemming from the an alleged debt owed to the latter from the 1995 season.[8][9][10] Meanwhile, after a single season in the CNSL Oakville Canadian Western ceased operations. While Scarborough Astros merged with North York Talons and played their home matches in North York, and Scarborough.

As the USISL A-League expanded to include the Toronto Lynx the CNSL began to automatically serve as an unofficial feeder system with Peter Pinizzotto, and several CNSL players being recruited to the inaugural roster.[11][12] The league received this official recognition in the 2002 season under its successor league.[13][14] Throughout the on-field activities St. Catharines Roma Wolves secured the final CNSL Championship, the club's third title after defeating Toronto Supra.[15] Controversies abounded throughout the season as a league meeting was convened in the final quarters of the season, which resulted in the suspension of Hamilton, and North York for the remainder of the season.[16] While the final five matches of the regular season were canceled, which allowed all remaining clubs a berth in the postseason.[16]

Teams

Team	City	Stadium	Manager
Hamilton White Eagles	Hamilton, Ontario	Brian Timmis Stadium
Kosova Albanians	North York, Ontario	Esther Shiner Stadium	Jose Valencia[17]
London City	London, Ontario	Cove Road Stadium	Steve Roney[18]
North York Talons	North York, Ontario Scarborough, Ontario	Esther Shiner Stadium Birchmount Stadium	Jorge Armua[19]
St. Catharines Roma Wolves	St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle)	Club Roma Stadium	Dino Perri[20]
Toronto Croatia	Etobicoke, Ontario	Centennial Park Stadium	Zlatko Haramincic
Toronto Supra	Toronto, Ontario	Lamport Stadium	Cesar Garcia[21]

London St. Catharines Hamilton TORONTO Location of CNSL teams outside of Toronto for the 1997 CNSL season.

North York Toronto Croatia Kosova Toronto Supra Location of CNSL teams in Toronto for the 1997 CNSL season.

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	St. Catharines Roma Wolves (C, O)	7	7	0	0	18	4	+14	21	Qualification for Playoffs
2	Toronto Croatia	7	2	2	3	6	8	−2	8
3	Toronto Supra	4	2	1	1	15	2	+13	7
4	Kosova Albanians	5	1	2	2	6	8	−2	5
5	London City	7	0	1	6	4	27	−23	1

Updated to match(es) played on September 7, 1997. Source: [22]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

Playoffs

First round

September 12, 1997	Toronto Supra	4–0	Toronto Croatia	Toronto, Ontario
20:00 ET	Handsor  3' Mike Deluca  27' Mella  32' Gary Bryant  67'	(Report)		Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 80 Referee: Graham Williams

September 17, 1997	Toronto Croatia	1–4	Toronto Supra	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00 ET	5' (o.g.)	(Report)	Moore  10',  13',  37' Mella  63'	Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium Attendance: 50 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

Kosova wins two 15 minute half mini game 1-0 to win tiebreaker in this series.

September 14, 1997	Kosova Albanians	0–3	London City	North York, Ontario
18:00 ET		(Report)	Peter Paterson  81' John Williams  85' Howard Buchanan  89'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 30 Referee: Mike Long

September 19, 1997	London City	1–2	Kosova Albanians	London, Ontario
20:00 ET		(Report)		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

Second round

September 24, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	2–1	Kosova Albanians	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:00 ET		(Report)		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

September 29, 1997	Kosova Albanians	3–3	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	North York, Ontario
20:00 ET	Garvin Huston  50' Sean Carasquero  68' Jose Pisco  78'	(Report)	Hughes  3' Bobby Pretto  62' Gary McGuchan  64'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 30 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

Finals

3 October 1997

20:00 ET

Toronto Supra	0–0	St. Catharines Roma Wolves
	Report

Lamport Stadium, Toronto, Ontario

Referee: Madi Tamashi

GK 1 Piotr Libicz RB 18 Chris Handsor CB 3 Leonardo Simon CB 2 McIver Broomes LB 5 Carlos Manuel Lebellos RM 20 Luiz Ganhao  45' CM 8 Czeslaw Zajac CM 6 Frank Cardona LM 7 Mike DeLuca  45' ST 9 Paul Moore ST 11 Adolfo Mella  80' Substitutes: MF 19 Kirby Mitchell[23]  45' DF 15 Bart Ostawaski MF 21 Gerry Bryant  80' DF 14 Jason Faria[24] MF 17 Miguel Ferreira  45' Manager: Cesar Garcia

GK 1 Dino Perri[25] RB 2 John McNeil  61' CB 7 Tony Carbonara CB 9 Gary Hughes LB 3 Salvatore Borgh RM 13 Lucio Ianiero CM 16 Keith Moore CM 20 Bobby Pretto [26] LM 22 Gary McGuchan ST 19 Jerry Cipriani ST 11 Jamie Perfetti Substitutes: MF 14 Anwar Ahmed  61' FW 15 Luciano Berarocco[27] Manager: Dino Perri

Assistant referees: Ivan Calic Yakov Keimakh

8 October 1997

20:15 ET

St. Catharines Roma Wolves	4–3	Toronto Supra
Cipriani  1',  15' Gary McGuchan  31' Arghittu  39'	Report	Mella  10' Handsor  38' Moore  48'

Club Roma Stadium, St. Catharines, Ontario

Attendance: 400

Referee: Graham Williams

GK 1 Dino Perri[25] RB 2 John McNeil CB 7 Tony Carbonara CB 9 Gary Hughes LB 3 Salvatore Borgh RM 20 Bobby Pretto [26] CM 16 Keith Moore LM 22 Gary McGuchan ST 18 Carlo Arghittu  88' ST 13 Lucio Ianiero ST 19 Jerry Cipriani  79' Substitutes: GK 1 Lee Burrows MF 14 Anwar Ahmed MF 26 Gary Weinhandl MF 8 Jamie Perfetti  79' FW 15 Luciano Berarocco[27]  88' Manager: Dino Perri

GK 1 Piotr Libicz RB 4 Miguel Ferreira CB 3 Leonardo Simon CB 2 McIver Broomes LB 5 Carlos Manuel Lebellos  45' RM 7 Mike DeLuca  45' CM 8 Czeslaw Zajac CM 10 Chris Handsor LM 6 Frank Cardona ST 9 Paul Moore ST 11 Adolfo Mella Substitutes: MF 19 Kirby Mitchell[23] DF 14 Max Valenzuela MF 21 Gerry Bryant  45' DF 14 Jason Faria[24]  45' MF 16 Luiz Ganhao Manager: Cesar Garcia

Assistant referees: Stuart Kelly Ken Thomas

St. Catharines won 4–3 on aggregate.

Cup

The cup tournament was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all seven teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season. Teams played each other once home and away in the Cup competition, and the first place team would win the Cup competition.

Originally Kosova won the tournament after finishing first in the standings as a result of a greater goal differential.[28] Shortly after league executives ordered a single finals match to determine the champion. The decision was influenced after Kosova's president was required to provide a performance cheque for a player who was involved in an altercation with a referee in an earlier match.[29] League executive Michael Di Biase reported that the club officials failed in properly addressing the request.[30] Though Toronto Croatia finished with similar results they were disqualified after using an ineligible player. As Hamilton, and North York were suspended from league play the suspension also included their participation in the cup tournament.

In the postseason semifinal match against St. Catharines Roma Wolves the game was delayed when Kosova's president declared his club as cup champions after presenting a trophy to Kosova.[31] Consequently, the league officials canceled the final match, and automatically declared Toronto Supra as league cup champions. In response to the decision Kosova protested the league's actions, and subsequently withdrew from the CNSL.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kosova Albanians	8	4	2	2	21	11	+10	14	Qualification for Playoffs
2	Toronto Supra (C)	8	4	2	2	21	14	+7	14
3	Toronto Croatia	8	4	2	2	14	12	+2	14
4	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	8	3	2	3	13	13	0	11
5	London City	8	1	1	6	9	28	−19	4

Updated to match(es) played on September 7, 1997. Source: http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com/97cnsl14.htm
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Matches

June 13, 1997	London City	0–4	North York Talons	London, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

June 18, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	2–1	North York Talons	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

June 29, 1997	Toronto Supra	8–1	London City	Toronto, Ontario
19:30	Handsor  14' Gerald Gallacher  22' (o.g.) Ionadi  28' Moore  37',  44' Cardona  80' Kirby Mitchell  82' Mella  87'	Report	Gebczynski  40'	Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 150 Referee: Gene Bainbridge

July 2, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	2–0	London City	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

July 9, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	3–0	Hamilton White Eagles	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

July 9, 1997	Toronto Croatia	2–0	North York Talons	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00	Darko Pantolon  27' Ante Musa  30'	Report		Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Hugh Elliott

July 11, 1997	London City	2–1	Toronto Croatia	London, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

July 12, 1997	Kosova Albanians	0–1	North York Talons	North York, Ontario
20:00		Report	Gary DeLeon  46'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Referee: Teddy Tanashi

July 16, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	0–1	Toronto Croatia	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

July 18, 1997	Toronto Supra	3–0	North York Talons	Toronto, Ontario
20:30	Handsor  71',  79' Marcelo Castillo  88'	Report		Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Hugh Grant

July 20, 1997	North York Talons	1–1	Toronto Croatia	North York, Ontario
16:00	Gary DeLeon  54'	Report	Ante Musa  20'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 60 Referee: Peter Eleftehoglou

July 20, 1997	Hamilton White Eagles	1–1	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	Hamilton, Ontario
19:30		Report		Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium

July 23, 1997	North York Talons	0–3	Kosova Albanians	Scarborough, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Birchmount Stadium

July 25, 1997	London City	2–2	Toronto Supra	London, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

July 26, 1997	Kosova Albanians	1–1	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	North York, Ontario
20:00	Gentian Cara  63'	Report	Gary McCuchan  42'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 80 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

July 27, 1997	North York Talons	0–2	London City	North York, Ontario
16:00		Report	Dominique  9',  41'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 30 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

July 27, 1997	Hamilton White Eagles	0–1	Toronto Supra	Hamilton, Ontario
19:30		Report		Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium

July 30, 1997	Toronto Croatia	3–1	Toronto Supra	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00	Iglic  4' Bulku  40' John Marsonovic  79'	Report	Mella  87'	Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Graham Williams

July 30, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	1–2	Kosova Albanians	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

August 2, 1997	Kosova Albanians	2–4	Toronto Supra	North York, Ontario
20:00	Martin Quiroz  8' Garvin Huston  41'	Report	Mella  1' Henrique Ferreira  38' Jason Faria  82' Moore  91'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 80 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

August 6, 1997	Toronto Croatia	1–3	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

August 8, 1997	London City	2–3	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	London, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

August 9, 1997	Kosova Albanians	4–4	Toronto Croatia	North York, Ontario
20:00	Yuri Castillo  15' Biron Vargas  20',  35' Marco Ponce  47'	Report	Tomi Milkovic  50' Ante Musa  62' Ivica Zelic  64' Zoran Maryanovic  73'	Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Referee: Yakov Keimakh

August 13, 1997	Toronto Croatia	1–0	Kosova Albanians	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00	Zoran Marjanovic  34'	Report		Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Yakov Keimakh

August 15, 1997	Toronto Supra	0–0	Toronto Croatia	Toronto, Ontario
20:30		Report		Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 100

August 22, 1997	Toronto Supra	0–3	Kosova Albanians	Toronto, Ontario
20:30		Report	Garvin Huston  34' Gentian Cara  79' Biron Vargas  87'	Stadium: Lamport Stadium Attendance: 100

August 27, 1997	Toronto Croatia	3–2	London City	Etobicoke, Ontario
20:00	Ante Bralo  5' Ante Musa  19' Leo Marasovic  84'	Report	Michael Gauthier  27' Tonino Commisso  78'	Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Ken Thomas

August 27, 1997	St. Catharines Roma Wolves	1–2	Toronto Supra	St. Catharines, Ontario
20:15		Report		Stadium: Club Roma Stadium

August 29, 1997	London City	0–2	Kosova Albanians	London, Ontario
20:00		Report		Stadium: Cove Road Stadium

September 7, 1997	Kosova Albanians	7–0	London City	North York, Ontario
18:00	Biron Vargas  13',  51',  57',  90' Francis Rigoult  34' Garvin Huston  55' Sean Carasquero  91'	Report		Stadium: Esther Shiner Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Valentine Karagine

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