2016 League1 Ontario season
# 2016 League1 Ontario season

The 2016 Men's League1 Ontario season was the third season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

This season saw the return of all but one of the teams which completed the previous season, as well as the addition of five new teams for the men's division.

## Changes from 2015

Five new teams joined the men's division for this season. Aurora United FC, North Mississauga SC, North Toronto Nitros, Toronto Skillz FC added new entries, while FC London moved over from the Premier Development League. One team (ANB Futbol) from 2015 did not renew their license, resulting in a 16-team competition and a change from a single-table format to a two-conference format.

The league's cup tournament for the men's division will be a single-elimination competition; eliminating the group stage seen in previous editions.

On June 16, 2016, Toronto FC entered into a partnership with the Windsor Stars wherein the latter would become a "regional satellite club" of the former, who would in turn provide technical and coaching development. As part of the agreement, Windsor would become known as "Windsor TFC" in the future. The agreement does not affect the participation in L1O of either the Windsor Stars or the TFC Academy team.

## Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Founded | First season | Head coach |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Western Conference ||||||
| FC London | London, Ontario | German Canadian FC Stadium | 2008 | 2016 | Mario Despotović |
| North Mississauga SC | Mississauga, Ontario | Hershey Centre, Field 2 | 1982 | 2016 | Rick Titus |
| Oakville Blue Devils | Oakville, Ontario | Sheridan Stadium | 1994 | 2015 | Duncan Wilde |
| ProStars FC | Brampton, Ontario | Victoria Park Stadium | 2015 | 2015 | Josef Komlodi |
| Sanjaxx Lions | Toronto, Ontario | Monarch Park Stadium | 2012 | 2015 | Peter Mellon |
| Sigma FC | Mississauga, Ontario | Hershey Centre, Field 1 | 2005 | 2014 | Bobby Smyrniotis |
| Toronto FC Academy | Toronto, Ontario | KIA Training Ground | 2008 | 2014 | Stuart Neely |
| Windsor Stars | Windsor, Ontario | McHugh Stadium | 2004 | 2014 | Shane Topalovic |
| Eastern Conference ||||||
| Aurora United FC | Aurora, Ontario | Sheppard's Bush | 1964 | 2016 | Jim Brennan |
| Durham United FA | Pickering, Ontario | Kinsmen Park | 2014 | 2014 | Sanford Carabin |
| Kingston Clippers | Kingston, Ontario | Tindall Field, Queen's University | 1971 | 2014 | Christian Hoefler |
| Master's Futbol | Toronto, Ontario | L'Amoreaux Park | 2012 | 2014 | Andre Savelev |
| North Toronto Nitros | Toronto, Ontario | Varsity Stadium | 1980 | 2016 | Hermann Kingué |
| Toronto Skillz FC | Toronto, Ontario | Birchmount Stadium | 2008 | 2016 | Leslie Fitzpatrick |
| Vaughan Azzurri | Vaughan, Ontario | McNaughton Park | 2014 | 2014 | Carmine Isacco |
| Woodbridge Strikers | Woodbridge, Ontario | Vaughan Grove | 1976 | 2014 | Peter Pinizzotto |

## Standings

Each team played 22 matches as part of the season; two against every team in their own conference, and one against every team in the opposing conference. The top team from each conference met at the end of the season to determine the league champion and face the PLSQ league champion in the Inter-Provincial Cup.

### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Vaughan Azzurri (C, X) | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 70 | 24 | +46 | 55 | League Championship |
| 2 | Woodbridge Strikers | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 52 | 17 | +35 | 47 | |
| 3 | North Toronto Nitros | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 45 | |
| 4 | Durham United FA | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 36 | |
| 5 | Kingston Clippers | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 34 | 53 | −19 | 26 | |
| 6 | Aurora United FC | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 27 | 66 | −39 | 15 | |
| 7 | Toronto Skillz FC | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 32 | 63 | −31 | 13 | |
| 8 | Master's Futbol | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 38 | 92 | −54 | 11 | |

### Western Conference

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FC London | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 64 | 32 | +32 | 47 | League Championship |
| 2 | Sigma FC | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 44 | |
| 3 | Toronto FC Academy | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 70 | 37 | +33 | 38 | |
| 4 | North Mississauga SC | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 42 | +21 | 38 | |
| 5 | Windsor Stars | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 28 | |
| 6 | Oakville Blue Devils | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 28 | |
| 7 | Sanjaxx Lions | 21 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 23 | 56 | −33 | 16 | |
| 8 | ProStars FC | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 24 | 67 | −43 | 15 | |

### League Championship

The league champion is determined by a single-match series between the top-ranked teams from the western and eastern conferences.

## L1 Cup

The cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all sixteen teams from the men's division take part. It is not a form of playoffs at the end of the season (as is typically seen in North American sports), but is more like the Canadian Championship or the FA Cup, albeit only for League1 Ontario teams. All matches are separate from the regular season, and are not reflected in the season standings.

The cup tournament for the men's division is a single-match knockout tournament with four total rounds culminating in a final match at the end of July, with initial matchups determined by random draw. Each match in the tournament must return a result; any match drawn after 90 minutes will advance directly to kicks from the penalty mark instead of extra time.

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sigma FC | 1 (2) | | | | | | | |
| Master's Futbol (p) | 1 (3) | | | | | | | |
| Master's Futbol (p) | 1 (3) | Master's Futbol | 3 | | | | | |
| | | Toronto Skillz FC | 1 | | | | | |
| Windsor Stars | 1 | Toronto Skillz FC | 1 | | | | | |
| Toronto Skillz FC | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Toronto Skillz FC | 2 | | | Master's Futbol | 0 | | | |
| | | | | Vaughan Azzurri | 3 | | | |
| Oakville Blue Devils | 1 (4) | | | | | Vaughan Azzurri | 3 | | | |
| Vaughan Azzurri (p) | 1 (5) | | | | | | | |
| Vaughan Azzurri (p) | 1 (5) | Vaughan Azzurri | 3 | | | | | |
| | | Aurora United FC | 2 | | | | | |
| Sanjaxx Lions | 1 (1) | Aurora United FC | 2 | | | | | |
| Aurora United FC (p) | 1 (4) | | | | | | | |
| Aurora United FC (p) | 1 (4) | | | | | | Vaughan Azzurri | 1 |
| | | | | | | | Woodbridge Strikers | 0 |
| FC London | 0 | | | | | | | | Woodbridge Strikers | 0 |
| Durham United FA | 3 | | | | | | | |
| Durham United FA | 3 | Durham United FA | 1 | | | | | |
| | | North Toronto Nitros | 3 | | | | | |
| North Mississauga SC | 1 | North Toronto Nitros | 3 | | | | | |
| North Toronto Nitros | 2 | | | | | | | |
| North Toronto Nitros | 2 | | | North Toronto Nitros | 0 | | | |
| | | | | Woodbridge Strikers | 1 | | | |
| ProStars FC | 3 | | | | | Woodbridge Strikers | 1 | | | |
| Woodbridge Strikers | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Woodbridge Strikers | 4 | Woodbridge Strikers | 2 | | | | | |
| | | Kingston Clippers | 0 | | | | | |
| Toronto FC Academy | 1 | Kingston Clippers | 0 | | | | | |
| Kingston Clippers | 3 | | | | | | | |

## Inter-Provincial Cup Championship

The Inter-Provincial Cup Championship was a two-legged home-and-away series between the league champions of League1 Ontario and the Première ligue de soccer du Québec – the only Division 3 men's semi-professional soccer leagues based fully within Canada.

CS Mont-Royal Outremont won 3–2 on aggregate

## All-Star Game

On July 25, the league announced the rosters for the first-ever all-star game, to be played between the eastern and western conferences. Eighteen players for each team were selected by coaches and league officials, and each roster contains at least one player from each team in their respective conference.

Due to the unavailability of some players, the league released updated rosters for both western and eastern teams on August 2.

Western Conference All-Stars :

| Pos. | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Starters |||
| GK | Matt Zaikos | Sanjaxx Lions |
| D | Stephen Al-Sayed | FC London |
| D | *Al James | Oakville Blue Devils |
| D | Eric Crawford | Oakville Blue Devils |
| D | Jerome Smith | Sigma FC |
| MF | *Chris Nanco | Sigma FC |
| MF/F | Joey Melo | North Mississauga SC |
| MF | *Kota Sakurai | Toronto FC Academy |
| F | *Elvir Gigolaj | FC London |
| F | Leaford Allen | Sigma FC |
| F | Felipe Vilela | Oakville Blue Devils |
| Substitutes |||
| GK | Anthony Sokalski | FC London |
| D | *Rocco Romeo | Toronto FC Academy |
| D | *Jamar Kelly | Windsor Stars |
| MF | Lee Victor Massunda | North Mississauga SC |
| MF | *Kwame Awuah | Sigma FC |
| MF | *Erick Olazabal | ProStars FC |
| F/MF | *Michael Pio | Windsor Stars |
| Replacements |||
| D | Jerome Smith | Sigma FC |
| D | Shawn Brown | North Mississauga SC |
| MF | Christian Samaniego | Sigma FC |
| MF | Gil Hong | ProStars FC |
| MF | Noah Pio | Windsor Stars |
| MF | Randy Ribeiro | FC London |
| F | Jumbo Iyowuna | Windsor Stars |
| F | Hilliard Serrao | Sanjaxx Lions |

Eastern Conference All-Stars :

| Pos. | Name | Team |
| - | - | - |
| Starters |||
| GK | Matt George | Woodbridge Strikers |
| D | Bruce Cullen | Durham United FA |
| D | Niba MacDonald | North Toronto Nitros |
| D | Nyal Higgins | Vaughan Azzurri |
| D | Stephen Almeida | Woodbridge Strikers |
| MF | *Jonathan Lao | Vaughan Azzurri |
| MF | Dylan Carreiro | Woodbridge Strikers |
| MF | Jarek Whiteman | Vaughan Azzurri |
| MF | Stefan Lamanna | Durham United FA |
| F | Kilian Elkinson | North Toronto Nitros |
| F | Simon Adjei | Aurora United FC |
| Substitutes |||
| GK | Mark Rogal | North Toronto Nitros |
| D | Cameron Brooks | Woodbridge Strikers |
| D | Eric Koskins | Kingston Clippers |
| MF | Tyrell Rayne | Master's Futbol |
| MF | Ryan Reid | Toronto Skillz FC |
| F | Kashiff De Jonge | Durham United FA |
| F | Andrew Martin | Kingston Clippers |
| Replacements |||
| MF | Eddie Lay | Durham United FA |

## Awards

| Award | Player (club) |
| - | - |
| Goal of the Year | Hilliard Serrao (Sanjaxx Lions) |
| Most Valuable Player | Elvir Gigolaj (FC London) |
| Golden Boot | Elvir Gigolaj (FC London) |
| Coach of the Year | Carmine Isacco (Vaughan Azzurri) |
| Young Player of the Year | Kota Sakurai (Toronto FC Academy) |
| Defender of the Year | Niba MacDonald (North Toronto Nitros) |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Matt George (Woodbridge Strikers) |

### First Team All-Stars

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| - | - | - | - |
| Matt George (Woodbridge Strikers) | Cameron Brooks (Woodbridge Strikers) Niba MacDonald (North Toronto Nitros) Bruce Cullen (Durham United FA) | Randy Ribeiro (FC London) Kashiff De Jonge (Durham United FA) Joey Melo (North Mississauga SC) Joseph Di Chiara (Vaughan Azzurri) | Leaford Allen (Sigma FC) Elvir Gigolaj (FC London) Jarek Whiteman (Vaughan Azzurri) |

### Second Team All-Stars

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| - | - | - | - |
| Anthony Sokalski (FC London) Matt Zaikos (Sanjaxx Lions) | Tyrell Rayne (Master's Futbol) Jarred Phillips (Vaughan Azzurri) Thanujan Jeyathilaka (Toronto Skills FC) Jerome Smith (Sigma FC) Rocco Romeo (Toronto FC Academy) Kevin Dhillon (North Mississauga SC) | Stephen Almeida (Woodbridge Strikers) Brandon Mills (Vaughan Azzurri) Khody Ellis (Oakville Blue Devils) Mackenzie Roach (Kingston Clippers) Justin Stoddart (Sigma FC) Dylan Carreiro (Woodbridge Strikers) Kota Sakurai (Toronto FC Academy) Celso Carapau (Windsor Stars) | Simon Adjei (Aurora United FC) Kilian Elkinson (North Toronto Nitros) Manny Slewa (ProStars FC) Mario Kovacevic (Vaughan Azzurri) |
