2000_Canadian_Professional_Soccer_League_season
2000 Canadian Professional Soccer League season
Football league season
The 2000 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the third season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 26, 2000 and concluded on October 1, 2000 with Toronto Croatia defeating Toronto Olympians 2-1 to claim their first CPSL Championship (known as the Primus CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons).[1] The final was hosted at Cove Road Stadium for the first time.[2] Throughout the season, all eight clubs from the previous year returned, while the Olympians secured their third straight regular season title. The league received sponsorship from Primus Canada, which granted Primus naming rights to the CPSL Championship, and Vincent Ursini was appointed the CPSL Chairman.[3]
| Season | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Toronto Croatia |
| Regular Season title | Toronto Olympians |
| Matches played | 56 |
| Goals scored | 186 (3.32 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gus Kouzmanis (Toronto Olympians) |
| Best goalkeeper | Piotr Libicz |
| Biggest home win | Toronto Olympians 8-0 London City (September 27, 2000) |
| Biggest away win |
|
| Highest scoring | Toronto Olympians 8-0 London City (September 27, 2000) |
← 1999 2001 → | |
| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Shields Sun Devils | Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) | Dufferin District Field | Dave Benning |
| London City | London, Ontario (Westmount) | Cove Road Stadium | Jurek Gebczynski |
| North York Astros | Toronto, Ontario (North York) | Esther Shiner Stadium | Rafael Carbajal[4] |
| Oshawa Flames | Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) | Oshawa Civic Stadium | Stan Bombino[5] |
| St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) | Club Roma Stadium | Lucio Ianiero[6] |
| Toronto Croatia | Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) | Centennial Park Stadium | Velimir Crljen[7] |
| Toronto Olympians | Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) | Birchmount Stadium | David Gee |
| York Region Shooters | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Richmond Green | Bijan Azizi[8] |
  Vaughan London Oshawa St. Catharines Richmond Hill  TORONTO Location of CPSL teams outside of Toronto for the 2000 CPSL season.  |
 Toronto Olympians Toronto Croatia North York Astros York Region Shooters Glen Shields Sun Devils Location of CPSL teams in Toronto for the 2000 CPSL season.
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Olympians | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 9 | +36 | 37 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | St. Catharines Roma | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 19 | +12 | 37 | |
| 3 | Toronto Croatia | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 36 | 17 | +19 | 28 | |
| 4 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 30 | −4 | 18 | |
| 5 | York Region Shooters | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 30 | −13 | 14 | |
| 6 | North York Astros | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 11 | |
| 7 | Oshawa Flames | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 35 | −13 | 9 | |
| 8 | London City | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 45 | −33 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Primus Canada CPSL Championship playoffs
The top four teams qualified for a one-game semifinal that led to the championship game played on October 1 at Cove Road Stadium in London, Ontario.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Toronto Olympians | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Toronto Olympians | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Toronto Croatia | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | St. Catharines Roma | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto Croatia | 3 | |||||||
Wildcard
| September 29, 2000 | London City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | Glen Shields Sun Devils | London, Ontario |
| 8:30 ET | Michael Kubicki  58' |
(Report) | Mike Glasgow 15' |
Stadium: Cove Road Stadium Attendance: 400 |
| Penalties | ||||
|
|
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Semifinals
| September 30, 2000 | Toronto Croatia | 3–1 | St. Catharines Roma | London, Ontario |
| 5:00 ET |
|
(Report) | Gary McGutchan 61' |
Stadium: Cove Road Stadium Attendance: 100 |
| September 30, 2000 | Toronto Olympians | 1–0 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | London, Ontario |
| 7:00 ET | Titus 31' |
(Report) | Stadium: Cove Road Stadium Attendance: 100 |
Primus CPSL Championship
| Toronto Olympians | 1–2 | Toronto Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Kouzmanis 92' |
Report |
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Assistant referees:
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- Full article: CSL Golden Boot[10]
| Position | Player's name | Nationality | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gus Kouzmanis | Canadian | Toronto Olympians | 31 |
| 2 | Leo Marasovic | Canadian | Toronto Croatia | 13 |
| 3 | Eddy Berdusco | Canadian | Toronto Olympians | 12 |
| 4 | Gary McGuchan | Canadian | St. Catharines Wolves | 11 |
| 5 | Carlo Arghittu | Canadian | St. Catharines Wolves | 10 |
| 6 | Jimmy Kuzmanovski | Canadian | Oshawa Flames | 9 |
| 7 | Paul Moore | Canadian | Toronto Croatia | 9 |
| 8 | Elvis Thomas | Canadian | Toronto Olympians | 9 |
| 9 | Frank Zumpano | Canadian | St. Catharines Wolves | 8 |
| 10 | John Matas | Canadian | Toronto Olympians | 8 |
The 2000 CPSL Executive Committee.[3]
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman: | Vincent Ursini |  Canadian |
| Director of Operations: | Chris Bellamy[11] | Canadian |
| Director of Discipline: | Clifford Dell[12] | Canadian |
| Director of Officials: | Tony Camacho |  Portuguese |
The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 1, 2000 after the CPSL Championship final at the German Canadian Club in London, Ontario.[13] Where for the second straight season the Toronto Olympians went home with the most awards with 3 wins.[1] Kouzmanis became the first player to win the Golden Boot more than once and continues to hold that distinction.[14] Olympian veteran Bayete Smith was named the Defender of the Year for his contribution for helping the club achieve the best defensive record. Their final award was their second straight Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season.
The league chose former NPSL and USL A-League veteran Willy Giummarra of the York Region Shooters as its MVP. The Goalkeeper of the Year was given to Piotr Libicz, a former NPSL and CNSL veteran.[15] After managing the St. Catharines Roma Wolves to second place finish behind Toronto with only a lower goal differential Lucio Ianiero was chosen as the Coach of the Year.[16] Jimmy Kuzmanovski of the Oshawa Flames broke London City's four year hold on the Rookie of the Year award. For his efforts Steve Cahoon went home with the Referee of the Year award.
| Award | Player (Club) |
|---|---|
| CPSL Most Valuable Player | Willy Giummarra (York Region Shooters) |
| CPSL Golden Boot | Gus Kouzmanis (Toronto Olympians) |
| CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | Piotr Libicz (North York Astros) |
| CPSL Defender of the Year Award | Bayete Smith (Toronto Olympians) |
| CPSL Rookie of the Year Award | Jimmy Kuzmanovski (Oshawa Flames) |
| CPSL Coach of the Year Award | Lucio Ianiero (St. Catharines Roma Wolves) |
| CPSL Referee of the Year Award | Steve Cahoon |
| CPSL Fair Play Award | Toronto Olympians |
- RUMLESKI, Kathy. "LFP Sports: Croatia bags Primus Cup by upsetting Olympians". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- "Canadian Professional Soccer League". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- Ursini, Vincent (2001-05-30). "2000 - Nov. 8 - Chairman's Report 2000". Archived from the original on 2001-05-30. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "North York Astros Soccer Club Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software". 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- "Welcome to the Official Oshawa Flames Professional Soccer Club Homepage". 2000-08-30. Archived from the original on 2000-08-30. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- Potrecz, Bill (26 May 2000). "Roma Wolves ready to rebound from disappointing campaign: Strong pre- season stirs conviction last year was an aberration". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C3.
- "Canadian Professional Soccer League". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- "Canadian Professional Soccer League". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
- "Successful Diaspora Returnee Stories: Domagoj Šain, Data Domain, Korcula". www.total-croatia-news.com. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- "Top Goal Scorers 2000". 2002-03-28. Archived from the original on March 28, 2002. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
- "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
- "2001 - April 17 - Message from DOO; Volunteers; Dell". April 17, 2001. Archived from the original on November 8, 2001. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
- "CPSL announces finalists for this years awards". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
- "2000 - Awards Winners". 2002-03-28. Archived from the original on 2002-03-28. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Banquet 2000". 2001-04-21. Archived from the original on 2001-04-21. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Wolves' Ianiero named CPSL coach of the year". St. Catharines Standard. 3 October 2000. pp. C1.