2020 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season
| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Champions | AS Blainville |
| Cup champions | Not Held |
| Matches played | 22 of 30 completed |
| Top goalscorer | Samuel Salter (8) (AS Blainville) |
← 2019 2021 → | |
The 2020 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season is the ninth season of play for the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Québec. The start date of the season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a modified schedule and season.
On 29 September, following new directives from the Government of Quebec in regards to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Quebec Soccer Federation announced that the remainder of the male PLSQ season was cancelled immediately (the female season had already been completed) with remaining matches not being played and the final standings to be determined based on points earned per game up to that date.[1]
A.S. Blainville was the defending champion for the male division.[2] CS Monteuil was the defending champion for the female division,[3] although they did not participate due to the pandemic.
A.S. Blainville won the men's division for the fourth consecutive season and also won their first women's division title.
Changes from 2019 and Changes due to pandemic[]
The 2020 season was originally set to begin on 2 May 2020.[4] The men's division was set to have nine teams for the second consecutive season. Dynamo de Québec and FC Gatineau withdrew from the league following the 2018 season, while Celtix du Haut-Richelieu and former League1 Ontario club Ottawa South United joined the league.[5] However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the start of the season to be delayed.[6] Ultimately, a shortened season featuring six of the nine teams was announced to start on 1 August and end on 3 October[7] (later changed to 11 October).[8] FC Lanaudière, CS Mont-Royal Outremont, and CS Monteuil opted out of the restart. Due to the pandemic, clubs who opted out would not be penalized.[9] The winner of this season will not earn a spot in the 2021 Canadian Championship as the 2019 champion, A.S. Blainville will participate due to their removal from the 2020 competition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] Three matches (two senior and one reserve) were forced to be postponed on 20 September due to a COVID-19 situation.[11] Another three matches (two senior and one reserve) were postponed the following week as well.[12] The remainder of the male season was cancelled on 29 September, with the standings to be decided on points earned per game.[1]
On the women's side, eight teams were set to compete, up from six the previous year. Dynamo de Québec and FC Sélect Rive-Sud withdrew from the league following the 2018 season, while four new clubs - CS Longueuil, CS St-Hubert, AS Pierrefonds and Ottawa South United - joined the league.[4] League1 Ontario and the PLSQ had planned to hold a Final Four end-of-season tournament for the women's divisions, from August 14 to 16, pitting the top two sides from each league in an inter-provincial playoff.[13] However, like the male division, the female division was impacted by the pandemic. Initially, the women's season was set to be cancelled as only two of the eight clubs had announced their participation,[14] however, two other clubs ultimately joined bringing the total to four participating clubs with four clubs opting out of the restart (CS Mont-Royal Outremont, AS Pierrefonds, CS St-Hubert, and the defending champions CS Monteuil). A shortened season ran from 25 July until 8 August, with a 3-game season,[15] which was followed by a champions playoff weekend on 15 August where the first and second place teams played a championship match, while a consolation match was held between the third and fourth place teams.[9]
Men's Division[]
Nine team were set to initially participate, however, three teams withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The six remaining teams were to play a shortened season from August until mid-October. Each team was to play each other twice (home and away) for a total of 10 games.[16] However, effective 29 September, the remainder of the season was cancelled with immediate effect and remaining matches not to be played with the final standings to be determined based on points earned per game.[1]
| Team | City | Stadium | 2020 Status | Reserve Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.S. Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Parc Blainville | Participating | Withdrew |
| Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie | Stade Alphonse-Desjardins | Participating | Participating |
| CS Fabrose | Laval, Laval | Parc Cartier | Participating | Withdrew |
| FC Lanaudière | Terrebonne, Lanaudière | Centre de Soccer Multifonctionnel de Terrebonne | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Parc Laurier | Participating | Participating |
| CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Parc Recreatif de TMR | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| CS Monteuil | Laval, Laval | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Centre Sportif Roseanne-Laflamme | Participating | Participating |
| Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | George Nelms Sports Park[note 1] | Participating | Participating |
- ^ Due to COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the Government of Ontario, Ottawa South United played all of their home games at various parks in Quebec rather than at George Nelms Park
Standings[]
At the end of September, the remainder of the season was cancelled with immediate effect and remaining matches not to be played with the final standings to be determined based on points earned per game.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A.S. Blainville (C) | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 19 | 2.38 |
| 2 | Ottawa South United | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 14 | 2.00 |
| 3 | Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 12 | 1.50 |
| 4 | CS St-Hubert | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 22 | −6 | 10 | 1.25 |
| 5 | CS Longueuil | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 6 | 0.86 |
| 6 | CS Fabrose | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 3 | 0.50 |
Reserve Division[]
The league operated a reserve division. Only four of the teams in the main division operated teams in the division, wth A.S. Blainville and CS Fabrose choosing not to enter reserve sides. Each team was to play each other twice for a total of 6 matches. However, on 29 September, it was announced that the remainder of the season was cancelled and remaining matches would not be played.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CS Longueuil Reserves | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 10 | 2.50 |
| 2 | CS St-Hubert Reserves | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 10 | 1.67 |
| 3 | Ottawa South United Reserves | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 4 | 1.00 |
| 4 | Celtix du Haut-Richelieu Reserves | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 1 | 0.25 |
Women's Division[]
| Season | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Champions | AS Blainville |
| Matches played | 6+2 |
| Top goalscorer | Valerie Sanderson (5) (AS Blainville) |
← 2019 2021 → | |
Eight teams were set to initially participate, however, four teams withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining four teams played a short season from late July until mid-August, with each team playing each other once, for a total of 3 games. Following this, there were matches for 1st and 3rd place.[17] After the season, the league planned to organize some exhibition matches between the participating and non-participating teams.[9] Matches in the women's division were played at centralized locations rather than at the home fields of the teams.
| Team | City | 2020 Status |
|---|---|---|
| A.S. Blainville | Blainville, Laurentides | Participating |
| CS Fabrose | Laval, Laval | Participating |
| CS Longueuil | Longueuil, Montérégie | Participating |
| CS Monteuil | Laval, Laval | Withdrew |
| CS Mont-Royal Outremont | Mount Royal, Montréal | Withdrew |
| Ottawa South United | Ottawa, Ontario | Participating |
| AS Pierrefonds | Lac St-Louis, Montreal | Withdrew |
| CS St-Hubert | Saint-Hubert, Montérégie | Withdrew |
Standings[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A.S. Blainville (C) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 9 | Championship Match |
| 2 | CS Fabrose | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | |
| 3 | CS Longueuil | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3rd Place Match |
| 4 | Ottawa South United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 |
Championship Match
| 15 August 2020 | A.S. Blainville | 0–0 (4–2 p) | CS Fabrose | showLaval, Quebec |
Third Place Match
| 15 August 2020 | CS Longueuil | 4–0 | Ottawa South United | showLaval, Quebec |
18References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "COVID-19 : Mise à Jour Du 29 Septembre 2020" [COVID-19: Update September 29, 2020]. Quebec Soccer Federation (in French). 29 September 2020.
- ^ Jacques, John (1 September 2019). "AS Blainville Wins PLSQ For Third Straight Year". Northern Tribune.
- ^ Chenoix, Eric (13 August 2019). "PLSQ-F: Monteuil champion!". Viau Park (in French).
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Le Calendrier 2020 de la PLSQ Dévoilé!" [The 2020 PLSQ Calendar Unveiled!]. Quebec Soccer Federation (in French). 25 February 2020.
- ^ "PLSQ 2020: Des Départs, Des Arrivées" [PLSQ 2020: Departures, Arrivals]. PLSQ (in French). 7 November 2020.
- ^ "COVID-19: Report du Début de la Saison" [COVID-19: Postponement of Early Season]. PLSQ (in French). 25 March 2020.
- ^ "La Première ligue de soccer du Québec lancera bientôt sa saison" [The Premier league of Quebec soccer will launch its season soon]. RDS (in French). 13 July 2020.
- ^ "Calendrier & Résultats PLSQ Masculine" [Calendar & Results - PLSQ Male]. PLSQ (in French).
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Les Dates de Début de la PLSQ Sont Maintenant Connues!" [The Start Dates of the PLSQ Are Now Known!]. Quebec Soccer Federation (in French). 13 July 2020.
- ^ "PLSQ 2020: Dévoilement Des Calendriers" [PLSQ 2020: Unveiling of Calendars]. PLSQ (in French). 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Par prévention d'une situation de COVID-19". Twitter. 20 September 2020.
- ^ "PLSQ-M – Journée 9: Avant-Match" [PLSQ-M – Day 9: Pre-Game]. PLSQ (in French). 25 September 2020.
- ^ "2020 L1O schedule: Condensed seasons & revamped championships for men's, women's". League1 Ontario. 5 March 2020.
- ^ Frosi, Robert (12 July 2020). "Soccer élite féminin-masculin : deux poids, deux mesures?" [Elite women's and men's soccer: double weights, double measures?]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé (in French).
- ^ "Calendrier & Résultats PLSQ Féminine" [Calendar & Results - PLSQ Female]. PLSQ (in French).
- ^ "La Première ligue de soccer du Québec lancera bientôt sa saison" [The Premier league of Quebec soccer will soon launch its season]. La Presse (in French). 13 July 2020.
- ^ Lidbetter, Mark (23 July 2020). "Pandemic infects PLSQ play for 2020". The Suburban.
- 2020 in Canadian soccer
- Première Ligue de soccer du Québec seasons