1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season
# 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season

The 1999 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the second season under the Canadian Professional Soccer League name. The season began on May 28, 1999, and concluded on October 2, 1999, with Toronto Olympians defeating Toronto Croatia 2-0 to claim their first CPSL Championship. The Olympians made history by becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve a treble. For the second straight season, they went undefeated for the entire season. The league also introduced their first All-Star match where the CPSL All-Stars faced the CSA Development team.

## Changes from 1998 season

All founding members of the CPSL returned with the exception of Mississauga Eagles P.S.C. The newest addition to the league were expansion franchise the Oshawa Flames. Other changes were Glen Shields changing their name to Glen Shields Sun Devils, and the York Region Shooters moving to Richmond Hill, Ontario.

### Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
| - | - | - | - |
| Glen Shields Sun Devils | Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) | Dufferin District Field | Dave Benning |
| London City | London, Ontario (Westmount) | Cove Road Stadium | Tony Laferrara |
| North York Astros | Toronto, Ontario (North York) | Esther Shiner Stadium | Rafael Carbajal |
| Oshawa Flames | Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) | Oshawa Civic Stadium | Jens Kraemer |
| St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) | Club Roma Stadium | Lucio Ianiero |
| Toronto Croatia | Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) | Centennial Park Stadium | Bruno Pilas |
| Toronto Olympians | Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) | Birchmount Stadium | David Gee |
| York Region Shooters | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Richmond Green | Sam Foti |

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Toronto Olympians | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 7 | +49 | 40 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Toronto Croatia | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 19 | +12 | 26 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 3 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 18 | +16 | 25 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 4 | London City | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 20 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 5 | Oshawa Flames | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 15 | |
| 6 | St. Catharines Roma | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 30 | −11 | 13 | |
| 7 | York Region Shooters | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 12 | |
| 8 | North York Astros | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 55 | −39 | 7 | |

## Playoffs

### Bracket

The top four teams qualified for a one-game semifinal that led to the championship game played on October 2 at Oshawa Civic Stadium in Oshawa, Ontario.

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Toronto Olympians | 4 | | | |
| 4 | London City | 1 | | | |
| 4 | London City | 1 | 1 | Toronto Olympians | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Toronto Croatia | 0 |
| 2 | Toronto Croatia | 5 | 2 | Toronto Croatia | 0 |
| 3 | Glen Shields Sun Devils | 2 | | | |

### CPSL Championship

| GK | 1 | Brian Bowes | |
| - | - | - | - |
| RB | 5 | Tony Marshall |
| CB | 6 | Peyvand Mossavat |
| CB | 4 | Ian Cardey |
| LB | 8 | Bayete Smith | |
| RM | 9 | Elvis Thomas | 77' |
| CM | 20 | Danny Ziannis (c) |
| CM | 17 | Chris Handsor | 84' |
| LM | 7 | Daryl Holmes |
| ST | 11 | Gus Kouzmanis | 79' |
| ST | 23 | Eddy Berdusco | 75' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 22 | Tom Bianchi | |
| MF | 12 | Louie Ouroutzaglou | |
| DF | 16 | Ron Belfon | 75' |
| DF | 14 | Arte Alkatov | 79' |
| MF | 15 | Louie Katsavrias | 84' |
| MF | 13 | Danny Sanna | |
| FW | 10 | John Matas | 77' |
| Manager: ||
| David Gee ||
| GK | 1 | George Azcurra |
| RB | 2 | Daniel Pilas |
| CB | 3 | Josip Draganic |
| CB | 4 | Domagoj Sain |
| LB | 4 | Ivica Sola | |
| RM | 6 | Ivica Jelic | 71' |
| CM | 20 | Robert Fran | |
| CM | 9 | Ante Musa |
| LM | 10 | Tom Granic (c) | 75' |
| CF | 8 | Czeslaw Zajac | 50' |
| CF | 11 | Denny Draganic | 67' |
| Substitutes: ||
| DF | 13 | Nikola Marketic | 75' |
| MF | 14 | Robert Mandekic | 67' |
| MF | 15 | Paul Grguric | 71' |
| MF | 19 | Peter Curic | 50' |
| Manager: ||
| Bruno Pilas ||

* Assistant referees:
* Steve Cahoon
* Nick Rose
* Fourth official:
* John Lopes

## All-Star game

The league's inaugural all-star match was played on September 26, 1999 at Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, Ontario. The CPSL All-Star team was selected from the six remaining clubs that didn't compete in the CPSL League Cup final, which excluded players from the Toronto Olympians and Toronto Croatia. The Canada Development team featured players from the CSA National Training Centre which consisted of senior national team players with a mix of young prospects with USL A-League experience.

| GK | 29 | Adam Morandini | 85' |
| - | - | - | - |
| RB | 5 | Dave McDonald |
| CB | 15 | Mike Marshall |
| LB | 25 | Gerald Gallacher | 35' |
| RM | 8 | Mike Kim | |
| CM | 10 | Jurek Gebczynski (c) | 35' |
| CM | 13 | Lucio Ianiero |
| CM | 7 | Phil Ionadi | 78' |
| LM | 4 | Mike Glasgow | 63' |
| ST | 11 | Willy Giummarra | |
| ST | 17 | Marco Antonucci | |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Rafael Carbajal | 85' |
| DF | 12 | JP Rickwood | 78' |
| FW | 18 | Dave Kohek | 63' |
| FW | 16 | Alex Nardi | 35' |
| FW | 9 | Adrian Sciarra | |
| DF | 6 | Anthony Whitney | 35' |
| Manager: ||
| Tony La Ferrara Dave Benning ||
| GK | 1 | Steve Cox |
| RB | 2 | Carl Fletcher | 70' |
| CB | 3 | Victor Oppong |
| CB | 5 | Marco Reda |
| LB | 6 | Nevio Pizzolitto | |
| RM | 4 | Adrian Serioux | |
| CM | 8 | Miles O'Connor | |
| CM | 11 | Toll Dasterridis | 62' |
| LM | 12 | Jordan Gillespie | |
| CF | 9 | Semir Mesanovic | |
| CF | 10 | Dwayne De Rosario | |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 22 | Alim Hassin | |
| MF | 17 | Matt Smith | |
| MF | 14 | Jamie Dodds | 70' |
| MF | 7 | Adrian Llewellyn | 62' |
| FW | 16 | Atiba Hutchinson | |
| Manager: ||
| Paul James ||

* Assistant referees:
* Steve Cahoon
* O.J. Panic
* Fourth official:
* Stephanie Denhamm

## 1999 scoring leaders

    Full article: CSL Golden Boot

| Position | Player's name | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Eddy Berdusco | Canada | Toronto Olympians | 25 |
| 2 | Elvis Thomas | Canada | Toronto Olympians | 21 |
| 3 | Gus Kouzmanis | Canada | Toronto Olympians | 16 |
| 4 | Mike Glasgow | Canada | Glen Shields | 10 |
| 5 | Phil Ionadi | Canada | Glen Shields | 10 |
| 6 | Andy Madeiros | Canada | Toronto Croatia | 10 |
| 7 | John Matas | Canada | Toronto Olympians | 10 |
| 8 | Semir Mesanovic | Canada | London City Soccer Club | 10 |

## CPSL Executive Committee

The 1999 CPSL Executive Committee.

## Awards

### Weekly awards

| Week | CPSL Player of the Week | CPSL Player of the Week | Reference |
| - | - | - | - |
| Week | Player | Club | Reference |
| Week 1 | Semir Mesanovic | London City | |
| Week 2 | John Matas | Toronto Olympians | |
| Week 3 | Eddy Berdusco | Toronto Olympians | |
| Week 4 | Gus Kouzmanis | Toronto Olympians | |
| Week 5 | Mike Glasgow | Glen Shields Sun Devils | |
| Week 6 | Leo Marasovic | Toronto Croatia | |
| Week 7 | Mich D'Angelo | York Region Shooters | |

### Individual awards

The CPSL held their second annual awards ceremony on November 21, 1999 at the Hollywood Princess in Concord, Ontario. The Toronto Olympians went home with the majority of the awards with 4 wins. David Gee along with Tony LaFerrara of London City won the Coach of the Year award. Gee became the first manager to win the award consecutively twice. Canadian internationals Elvis Thomas and Eddy Berdusco received the MVP and Golden Boot award. Toronto's final award was the Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season. London City produced their fourth straight Rookie of the Year with Semir Mesanovic. While Toronto Croatia received their first CPSL club award with George Azcurra being named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Silviu Petrescu who later went on to officiate matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was recognized with the Referee of the Year award.

| Award | Player (Club) |
| - | - |
| CPSL Most Valuable Player | Elvis Thomas (Toronto Olympians) |
| CPSL Golden Boot | Eddy Berdusco (Toronto Olympians) |
| CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | George Azcurra (Toronto Croatia) |
| CPSL Rookie of the Year Award | Semir Mesanovic (London City) |
| CPSL Coach of the Year Award | David Gee (Toronto Olympians) Tony LaFerrara (London City) |
| CPSL Referee of the Year Award | Silviu Petrescu |
| CPSL Fair Play Award | Toronto Olympians |
