1987 Canadian Soccer League season
Season | 1987 |
---|---|
Champions | Calgary Kickers |
Division Leaders | Hamilton Steelers (East) Calgary Kickers (West) |
Matches played | 80 |
Goals scored | 212 (2.65 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Nick Gilbert (10) |
1988 → |
The 1987 Canadian Soccer League season was the first season of play for the Canadian Soccer League, a new Division 1 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid.
Format[]
The schedule was not a balanced schedule based on the league principle of playing each club home and away due to travel concerns.[1] The league was divided into two four-team division with each team playing each team in their division four times, twice at home and twice on the road, and playing the teams in the opposing division twice, once at home and once on the road for a total of twenty games.[2] Following the season, the top three teams in each division would advance to the playoffs, with the division leaders earning a first round bye, to designate a national champion club.[1]
Summary[]
The Canadian Soccer League was the second attempt to create a national professional league in Canada. Many teams were existing franchises from the non-professional provincial leagues, while others had come from semi-professional leagues, including Edmonton (Western Soccer Alliance), Hamilton (Canadian National Soccer League), and Toronto (CNSL and NASL), while some teams, such as the Vancouver 86ers were new.[3] The league opened with a good start with sizable crowds and a fairly high level of play, but teams soon began to feel the financial pressure, particularly in the smaller markets.[3]
The league's inaugural match took place on June 7, 1987 in Aylmer, Quebec between the National Capital Pioneers and the Hamilton Steelers and finished in a 1–1 draw, in a steady drizzle, in front 2,500 spectators.[4][5][6]
The Eastern Division in 1987 consisted of National Capital Pioneers, Hamilton Steelers, Toronto Blizzard, and the North York Rockets. The Western Division comprised the Calgary Kickers, Edmonton Brick Men, Vancouver 86ers, and the Winnipeg Fury. Calgary and Hamilton won their divisions and both advanced to the finals in the playoffs. In the final, Calgary defeated Hamilton 2–1, at home, in a winner-take-all one game final.
Regular season[]
East Division[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hamilton Steelers | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 26 | Playoff semifinals |
2 | National Capital Pioneers | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 23 | Playoff quarterfinals |
3 | Toronto Blizzard | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 20 | |
4 | North York Rockets | 20 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 39 | −24 | 9 |
West Division[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Calgary Kickers (O) | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 27 | Playoff semifinals |
2 | Vancouver 86ers | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 21 | Playoff quarterfinals |
3 | Edmonton Brick Men | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 20 | |
4 | Winnipeg Fury | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 36 | −11 | 14 |
Playoffs[]
Home team on top.
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
1W | Calgary (OT) | 4 | ||||||||||||
2W | Vancouver | 2 | 2W | Vancouver | 3 | |||||||||
3W | Edmonton | 1 | 1W | Calgary Kickers | 2 | |||||||||
1E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | ||||||||||||
1E | Hamilton | 1 | ||||||||||||
2E | Ottawa | 1 | 3E | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||
3E | Toronto (OT) | 2 |
Statistics[]
Top scorers[]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nick Gilbert | Calgary Kickers | 10 |
2 | Domenic Mobilio | Vancouver 86ers | 9 |
3 | Željko Adžić | Hamilton Steelers | 8 |
4 | Norman Odinga | Edmonton Brick Men | 7 |
Winnipeg Fury | |||
James Easton | Vancouver 86ers | ||
7 | Vancouver 86ers | 6 | |
John Catliff | Calgary Kickers | ||
Ivor Evans | Vancouver 86ers | ||
Hamilton Steelers | |||
11 | National Capital Pioneers | 5 | |
Ed McNally | National Capital Pioneers | ||
David Bryne | Toronto Blizzard | ||
Reference: [7] |
Honours[]
The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 1987 season.[7]
Most Valuable Player[]
Player | Team |
---|---|
Nick Gilbert | Calgary Kickers |
League All-Stars[]
Player | Position |
---|---|
Sven Habermann (Calgary Strikers) | Goalkeeper |
(Edmonton Brick Men) | Defender |
Greg Kern (Calgary Strikers) | Defender |
Paul James (Hamilton Steelers) | Defender |
Randy Ragan (Toronto Blizzard) | Defender |
Željko Adžić (Hamilton Steelers) | Midfielder |
Ray Hudson (Edmonton Brick Men) | Midfielder |
James Easton (Vancouver 86ers) | Midfielder |
Ed McNally (National Capital Pioneers) | Forward |
(Hamilton Steelers) | Forward |
Nick Gilbert (Calgary Strikers) | Forward |
Reserves
Player | Position |
---|---|
Don Ferguson (National Capital Pioneers) | Goalkeeper |
David Norman (Winnipeg Fury) | Defender |
(Winnipeg Fury) | Midfielder |
(North York Rockets) | Forward |
Front Office
Person | Role |
---|---|
(National Capital Pioneers) | Head Coach |
(Calgary Kickers) | Assistant Coach |
Buzz Parsons (Vancouver 86ers) | General Manager |
See also[]
- Canadian Professional Soccer League (1983) – previous season of D1 soccer in Canada
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b MacDonald, Archie (February 26, 1987). "Soccer rebirth". The Vancouver Sun. p. F3.
- ^ Bunke, Trevor (June 7, 1987). "Pioneers Primed for Kickoff". The Sunday Herald.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Litterer, Dave. "The Year in American Soccer - 1987". Sover. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009.
- ^ Gomez, Boris (May 28, 1987). "Ravens become Ottawa pioneers". The Charlatan. p. 10.
- ^ Lovegrove, Don. "CSL '87 Preview - Toronto-Hamilton Rivalry Renewed on Soccer Pitch". CSL Memories. Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ "Histoire du Championnat et de la Coupe du Canada" [History of the Championship and the Canada Cup]. Impact Soccer (in French).
- ^ Jump up to: a b "1987 CSL Stats" (PDF). Canadian Soccer League.
External links[]
- 1987 in Canadian soccer
- Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) seasons