2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season


The 2001 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the fourth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 25, 2001 and concluded on October 14, 2001 with St. Catharines Wolves defeating Toronto Supra by a score of 1-0 to win their second CPSL Championship . The final was hosted in St. Catharines with Club Roma Stadium as the venue, while the match received coverage from Rogers TV. The season saw the league expand to a total of 12 teams, and went beyond the GTA and Ontario border to include a Montreal and Ottawa franchise. Throughout the regular season the Ottawa Wizards became the first club to end the Toronto Olympians league title dynasty. The CPSL also launched the CPSL Soccer Show with Rogers TV providing the broadcasting, and granting Rogers naming rights to the CPSL Championship. Other major sponsors included the Government of Canada, which served as the sole sponsor for the CPSL Rookie of the Year Award. The league also announced a working partnership with the Canadian United Soccer League a task force originally started by the Canadian Soccer Association in order forge a unified professional structure with the cooperation of the Canadian franchises in the USL A-League to launch a Canadian first and second division domestic league.

Changes from 2000 season

All 8 clubs from the previous season returned, and the league expanded to include 4 new entries the Brampton Hitmen, Montreal Dynamites, Ottawa Wizards, and Toronto Supra all began play this year. Oshawa Flames changed their name to the Durham Flames in order to represent the entire Durham Region, and received sponsorship from Danone. Toronto Croatia transferred their home venue from Centennial Park Stadium to Memorial Park in Streetsville, Mississauga. Changes to the CPSL executive management committee saw former Director of Media Relations for the Toronto Lynx Stan Adamson appointed to the position of CPSL Director of Media and Public Relations.

Teams

TeamCityStadiumManager
Brampton HitmenBrampton, Ontario Victoria Park StadiumPaul Kitson
Durham FlamesOshawa, Ontario Oshawa Civic StadiumDanny Stewart
Glen Shields Sun DevilsVaughan, Ontario Dufferin District FieldDave Benning
London CityLondon, Ontario Cove Road StadiumJurek Gebczynski
Montreal DynamitesLaval, QuebecCentre Sportif Bois-de-BoulogneZoran Jankovic
North York AstrosToronto, Ontario Esther Shiner StadiumTony LaFerrara
Ottawa WizardsOttawa, Ontario OZ Optics StadiumRasim Kara
St. Catharines WolvesSt. Catharines, Ontario Club Roma StadiumLucio Ianiero
Toronto CroatiaMississauga, Ontario Memorial ParkBruno Pilas
Toronto OlympiansToronto, Ontario Birchmount StadiumDavid Gee
Toronto SupraToronto, Ontario Brockton StadiumCesar Garcia
York Region ShootersRichmond Hill, Ontario Crosby FieldAdam Pagliaroli

Final standings

Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs

Wildcard

Semifinals

Consolation final

Rogers CPSL Championship

Rogers CPSL Championship MVP:

All-Star game

For the 2001 season the CPSL administration arranged two all-star matches for the league. In order to prepare for the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie the Morocco national under-23 football team expressed a desire to play a solid Canadian team. Subsequently, the Canadian Soccer Association requested the CPSL to arrange a select team for the match. The second match consisted of a CPSL All-Star team against C.S. Marítimo of the Primeira Liga.

2001 scoring leaders

CPSL Executive Committee

The 2001 CPSL Executive Committee.
PositionNameNationality
Chairman:Vincent Ursini Canadian
Director of Operations:Chris Bellamy Canadian
Director of Discipline:Clifford Dell Canadian
Director of Officials:Tony Camacho Portuguese
Treasurer:Peter Li Preti Canadian
Legal Counsel:Ira Greenspoon Canadian

Individual awards

The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held on October 14, 2001 at Club Roma in St. Catharines, Ontario. Expansion franchise Ottawa Wizards received the most awards with 3 wins. Trinidadian journeyman Kevin Nelson went home with both the Golden Boot, and the Rookie of the Year. While his teammate Abraham Osman was given the MVP. George Azcurra shared his second Goalkeeper of the Year award with Luciano Miranda.
Kurt Ramsey of the North York Astros won the Defender of the Year, and former Montreal Impact manager Zoran Jankovic went home with the Coach of the Year. Amato De Luca who later refereed matches at the international level and Major League Soccer was named the Referee of the Year. Durham Flames received the Fair Play award.
AwardPlayer
CPSL Most Valuable PlayerAbraham Osman
CPSL Golden BootKevin Nelson
CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year AwardGeorge Azcurra
Luciano Miranda
CPSL Defender of the Year AwardKurt Ramsey
CPSL Rookie of the Year AwardKevin Nelson
CPSL Coach of the Year AwardZoran Jankovic
CPSL Referee of the Year AwardAmato De Luca
CPSL Fair Play AwardDurham Flames