2020 Canadian Soccer League season

Professional soccer league season

Football league season

Canadian Soccer LeagueSeason| 2020

|

Dates| August 15 – October 3 (regular season)
October 10 – October 17 (playoffs)
Champions| Scarborough SC (First Division regular season)
FC Vorkuta (First Division playoffs, 2nd title)
Matches played| 20
Goals scored| 82 (4.1 per match)
Top goalscorer| Moussa Limane (7)
Biggest home win| Scarborough SC 7–2 Hamilton City
(August 22, 2020)
Biggest away win| Brantford Galaxy 2–5 FC Vorkuta
(September 5, 2020)
Longest winning run| 4 matches
Scarborough SC
Longest unbeaten run| 5 matches
FC Vorkuta
Longest winless run| 7 matches
Brantford Galaxy
Longest losing run| 7 matches
Brantford Galaxy

← 2019

2021 →

The 2020 Canadian Soccer League season was the 23rd season under the Canadian Soccer League name. The season commenced on August 15, 2020, and concluded with the CSL Championship final on October 17, 2020.[1] FC Vorkuta defeated the reigning champions Scarborough SC at Racco Park in Vaughan, Ontario, and secured their second championship. Scarborough made their fourth consecutive appearance in the championship final and claimed their first divisional title.[2]

As the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of the season the league ultimately released a modified shortened schedule which began in early August with the matches taking place within Toronto at Esther Shiner Stadium, and Centennial Park Stadium except for the championship final being moved to Racco Park at Concord/Thornhill Regional Park in Vaughan, Ontario.

## Summary

[edit]

The events throughout the regular season resembled the previous season, with the main theme being Scarborough SC and FC Vorkuta competing for the divisional and championship titles. As both teams were tied in points, the title was decided on the final match of the season, with Scarborough receiving their first division title by accumulating the most wins in the league's tie-breaker rules.[3] In a bid to successfully defend their championship title, the eastern Toronto side made adjustments to the roster with the acquisition of additional imports.[4] The additions proved successful as Scarborough remained competitive and primarily battled with Vorkuta for the top spot and held the position for the final four weeks of the campaign.[5] Their rivalry would conclude in the CSL Championship final with Vorkuta securing their second championship title.[6]

Vorkuta managed to retain their core veteran imports with former general manager Denys Yanchuk serving as the head coach.[7] As a result, Vorkuta was a consistent challenger with the strongest defensive record and shifted between the first and second positions throughout the regular season.[5] The Vaughan-based team earned their dividends in the championship final, where they defeated reigning champions, Scarborough.[7] Included in that race for the divisional title was Hamilton City, where the Steeltown club held the third position for the majority of the season, with only a single point difference in claiming the title.[8] Though Hamilton secured a postseason berth, the organization was prevented by the league from participating after finishing in a Not-in-Good Standing state.[9]

The final playoff berth was secured by the Serbian White Eagles, which marked their fifteenth consecutive season of clinching a playoff berth since their return to the professional scene in 2006. The western Toronto side produced the best offensive record in the regular season but was eliminated in the first round of the championship playoffs by Vorkuta.[10] For the second consecutive season, Brantford Galaxy concluded the season at the bottom of the standings and managed to dodge a winless season by winning their final match of the season.[11]

## Changes from 2019

[edit]

On March 29, 2020, the CSL released a tentative match schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Following recommendations from health officials, the schedule was prolonged for another month to fulfill the entire season by scheduling matches on weekdays.[12] On July 8, 2020, the league announced its schedule, with the commencement of the league beginning in early August, with seven teams returning from the previous season.[13][4] All the matches were scheduled to take place at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, with Kingsman SC, FC Ukraine United, and SC Waterloo Region not participating for the season.[13][14][15] The schedule was postponed for another week, with the season starting on August 15, 2020.[16]

On June 27, 2020, the league officially released its 2020 schedule and confirmed the kickoff date for August 15, 2020, with all matches being played at Esther Shiner Stadium in August, and the remaining months at Centennial Park Stadium.[17] Originally CSC Mississauga and SC Real Mississauga were announced as participating teams but were not included in the revised schedule.

## Teams

[edit]

Team | City | Stadium | Manager

|
|
|

Brantford Galaxy | Brantford, Ontario | Esther Shiner Stadium
Centennial Park Stadium | Saša Vidović[11]
FC Vorkuta | Vaughan, Ontario (Woodbridge) | Denys Yanchuk[18]
Hamilton City | Hamilton, Ontario (Stoney Creek) | Sasa Vukovic[19]
Scarborough SC | Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) | Zoran Rajović[20]
Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) | Uroš Stamatović[21]

### Coaching changes

[edit]

Team  | Outgoing coach  | Manner of
departure  | Date of
vacancy  | Position in table  | Incoming coach  | Date of
appointment

|
|
|
|
|
|

Brantford Galaxy | Milan Prpa [22] | Replaced  | October 3, 2020 | 5th in October  |  Saša Vidović[11] | October 3, 2020

Brantford

Hamilton

Vaughan

TORONTO

class=notpageimage|

Location of First Division teams outside of Toronto for the 2020 CSL season.
First Division

Scarborough

Serbian White Eagles

FC Vorkuta

class=notpageimage|

Location of First Division teams in Toronto for the 2020 CSL season.
First Division

|

## Standings

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Scarborough SC (C) | 8  | 5  | 0  | 3  | 18  | 16  | +2  | 15  | Playoffs
2  | FC Vorkuta (O) | 8  | 4  | 3  | 1  | 16  | 8  | +8  | 15
3  | Hamilton City SC | 8  | 4  | 2  | 2  | 19  | 19  | 0  | 14  | Ineligible for Playoffs[note 1]
4  | Serbian White Eagles | 8  | 3  | 1  | 4  | 20  | 16  | +4  | 10  | Playoffs
5  | Brantford Galaxy | 8  | 1  | 0  | 7  | 9  | 23  | −14  | 3  |

Source: Canadian Soccer League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) head-to-head points; 4) goal differential; 5) most goals
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

1. ^ Hamilton finished the season in a Not-in-Good Standing and were removed from the playoffs

### Positions by round

[edit]

Team ╲ Round| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | |
Brantford Galaxy| 5| 4| 5| 5| 5| 5| 5| 5
FC Vorkuta| 2| 1| 2| 1| 2| 2| 3| 2
Hamilton City SC| 1| 3| 3| 3| 3| 3| 2| 3
Scarborough SC| 3| 2| 1| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1
Serbian White Eagles| 4| 5| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4

Source: [1]

## Playoffs

[edit]

Three teams advanced to the playoffs. Third seed Hamilton City ended the season in "Not-in-Good Standing", which resulted in their disqualification from the playoffs.[9] The CSL Championship final was originally scheduled to take place at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, but due to further provincial government restrictions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue was moved to Racco Park at Concord/Thornhill Regional Park in Vaughan, Ontario.[23]

| Semifinal | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | Scarborough SC | 1 |
| 2 | FC Vorkuta | 2 | | | 2 | FC Vorkuta | 2 |
| 4 | Serbian White Eagles | 1 | | | |

### Semifinal

[edit]

FC Vorkuta v Serbian White Eagles October 10, 2020 |  FC Vorkuta | 2–1 (a.e.t.)|  Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario

|
|
|
|

14:00 | Temnyuk 70'
Melnyk 107' | Report | Vukomanović 37' | Stadium: Centennial Park Stadium

### Finals

[edit]

Scarborough SC v FC Vorkuta October 17, 2020 |  Scarborough SC | 1–2|  FC Vorkuta | Vaughan, Ontario

|
|
|
|

15:00 | Angel Angelov  40' | Report | Borovskyi 56'
Chornomaz 70' | Stadium: Racco Park
Referee: Braden K.

## Season statistics

[edit]

### Goals

[edit]

Rank  | Player  | Club  | Goals[24]

|
|
|

1  |  Moussa Limane | Scarborough SC  | 7
2  |  Luke Rankin  | Hamilton City SC  | 6
3  |  Dusan Kovacevic  | Serbian White Eagles  | 5
Mykola Temnyuk | FC Vorkuta
4  |  Misel Klisara  | Serbian White Eagles  | 4
5  | Arsen Platis  | Hamilton City SC  | 3

### Hat-tricks

[edit]

Player  | Club  | Against  | Result  | Date

|
|
|
|

Moussa Limane | Scarborough SC  | Hamilton City  | 7–2 (H) | 22 August 2020
Luke Rankin[25] | Hamilton City  | Serbian White Eagles  | 4–3 (A) | 5 September 2020
Dusan Kovacevic[26] | Serbian White Eagles  | Scarborough SC  | 3–0 (H) | 19 September 2020

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Adamson, Stan (March 29, 2020). "CSL KICKOFF SET FOR END OF MAY – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
2. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 18, 2020). "VORKUTA RALLY FOR CSL CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
3. ^ Stanchev, Stancho (October 14, 2020). "К. Димитров-Брежанеца отново спечели редовния сезон на канадската лига" [K. Dimitrov-Brezhanetsa again won the regular season of the Canadian league]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
4. ^ a b Stanchev, Stancho (August 13, 2020). "Двойна радост споходи в Канада брежанеца К. Димитров в навечерието на новия футболен сезон" [Double joy came to Canada's K. Dimitrov from Brezhnev on the eve of the new football season]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved September 7, 2020.
5. ^ a b Stanchev, Stancho (September 3, 2020). "Мениджър от Брежани изведе "Скарбъро" до стратегически успех в канадския втори ешелон" [Brezani manager leads Scarborough to strategic success in Canadian second tier]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
6. ^ Stanchev, Stancho (October 30, 2020). "Брежанецът К. Димитров и подопечните му сдадоха титлата в Канада, привикаха на пожар ексорлето Кр. Бибишков, но не го пуснаха на терена" [Brezhanets K. Dimitrov and his wards handed over the title in Canada, summoned the exorcist Kr. Bibishkov, but they did not let him on the field]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
7. ^ a b Rosip, Dmitry (November 8, 2020). "Клуб в Канаде назвали в память о жертвах сталинских лагерей. Его создал юрист из России" [The club in Canada was named in memory of the victims of the Stalinist camps. It was created by a lawyer from Russia]. www.championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
8. ^ Stanchev, Stancho (September 24, 2020). "Брежанският мениджър К. Димитров понесе първа загуба в Канада за сезона" [Brezani manager K. Dimitrov suffered his first loss in Canada this season]. Вестник СТРУМА (in Bulgarian). Retrieved November 26, 2020.
9. ^ a b Adamson, Stan (October 9, 2020). "Three Teams Bid for CSL Championship…….Semifinal Saturday". Canadian Soccer League.
10. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 10, 2020). "OVERTIME VICTORY PUTS VORKUTA IN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
11. ^ a b c Adamson, Stan (October 4, 2020). "SCARBOROUGH WINS LEAGUE TITLE……….Brantford 's last game victory – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
12. ^ Adamson, Stan (April 18, 2020). "CSL SEASON KICKOFF DELAY EXTENDED TO JUNE 29 – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved April 18, 2020.
13. ^ a b Adamson, Stan (July 8, 2020). "CSL Aims to Complete Brief 2020 Season Through to Championship". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
14. ^ "FC UKRAINE UNITED TEAMS WILL NOT PLAY IN 2020 OUTDOOR SEASON". fcukraineunited. August 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
15. ^ "Жизнь футбольной "Воркуты" из Канады: не делят русских и украинцев, платят почти среднюю зарплату по стране, на логотипе – колючая проволока" [The life of the football "Vorkuta" from Canada: Russians and Ukrainians are not divided, they pay almost the average salary in the country, there is barbed wire on the logo]. Sports.ru (in Russian). February 12, 2021. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
16. ^ Adamson, Stan (August 6, 2020). "VORKUTA'S FADI SALBACK TRIALS IN UKRAINE……CSL kickoff delayed until August 15 – Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
17. ^ Adamson, Stan (August 11, 2020). "CSL NEW SEASON KICKOFF SET FOR SATURDAY – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 11, 2020.
18. ^ "FC Vorkuta – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
19. ^ "Hamilton City 1 SC – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
20. ^ "Scarborough SC – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
21. ^ "Serbian White Eagles – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
22. ^ "Brantford Galaxy SC – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved August 17, 2020.
23. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 15, 2020). "IMPRESSIVE VORKUTA AND SCARBOROUGH WELL MATCHED FOR CSL FINAL – Canadian Soccer League". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
24. ^ "2020 Top scorers". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
25. ^ "Luke Rankin - 2019-20 - University of Guelph". gryphons.ca. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
26. ^ "Dusan Kovacevic - Men's Soccer". McMaster University Athletics. Retrieved September 20, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Soccer League

Teams|

* AEM Canada FC
* Scarborough SC
* Serbian White Eagles
* Unity FC

Former teams|

* Brampton Stallions
* Brampton City United
* Brantford Galaxy
* BGHC 1
* Capital City
* Caribbean Selects
* CSC Mississauga
* Durham Flames
* Durham Storm
* Dynamo Toronto
* FC Ukraine United
* FC Continentals
* Glen Shields Sun Devils
* Hamilton City
* Hamilton Croatia
* Hamilton Thunder
* Halton United
* Kingston
* Kingsman SC
* Laval Dynamites
* London City SC
* Milltown
* Milton SC
* Mississauga Eagles FC
* Mississauga Eagles
* Montreal Impact Academy
* Niagara United
* North York Astros
* Ooty Black Pearl
* Ottawa Wizards
* Royal Toronto FC
* SC Real Mississauga
* SC Toronto
* SC Waterloo Region
* St. Catharines Wolves
* TFC Academy
* Toronto Atomic FC
* Toronto Croatia
* Toronto Falcons
* Trois-Rivières Attak
* Weston United
* Windsor Stars
* York Region Shooters (1998)
* York Region Shooters

Seasons|

* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Other|

* CSL Championship
* Open Canada Cup
* Foreign players
* Awards
* Golden Boot

* Soccer portal
* Multimedia

* v
* t
* e

2020 in Canadian soccer

« 2019

2021 »

Men's leagues|

* CPL
* Final
* MLS
* MLS is Back Tournament
* Playoffs
* ~~L1O~~
* PLSQ
* USL1
* ~~USL2~~
* CSL

Women's leagues|

* ~~L1O~~
* PLSQ

Cups|

* Canadian Championship (postponed until 2022)

Other|

* ~~MLS All-Star Game~~
* CPL transfers
* MLS transfers

International

Club competitions|

* 2020 CONCACAF Champions League
* 2020 CONCACAF League

National teams|

| Women|

* Olympic qualification

|

Team seasons

Club seasons|

| CPL|

* Atlético Ottawa
* Cavalry FC
* FC Edmonton
* Forge FC
* HFX Wanderers
* Pacific FC
* Valour FC
* York9 FC

|

MLS|

* Montreal Impact
* Toronto FC
* Vancouver Whitecaps FC

USL1|

* Toronto FC II

*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template