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
Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
Brampton Hitmen | Brampton, Ontario | Victoria Park Stadium | Paul Kitson |
Durham Flames | Oshawa, Ontario | Oshawa Civic Stadium | Danny Stewart |
Glen Shields Sun Devils | Vaughan, Ontario | Dufferin District Field | Dave Benning |
London City | London, Ontario | Cove Road Stadium | Jurek Gebczynski |
Montreal Dynamites | Laval, Quebec | Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne | Zoran Jankovic |
North York Astros | Toronto, Ontario | Esther Shiner Stadium | Tony LaFerrara |
Ottawa Wizards | Ottawa, Ontario | OZ Optics Stadium | Rasim Kara |
St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario | Club Roma Stadium | Lucio Ianiero |
Toronto Croatia | Mississauga, Ontario | Memorial Park | Bruno Pilas |
Toronto Olympians | Toronto, Ontario | Birchmount Stadium | David Gee |
Toronto Supra | Toronto, Ontario | Brockton Stadium | Cesar Garcia |
York Region Shooters | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Crosby Field | Adam 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.Position | Name | Nationality |
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.
Award | Player |
CPSL Most Valuable Player | Abraham Osman |
CPSL Golden Boot | Kevin Nelson |
CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | George Azcurra Luciano Miranda |
CPSL Defender of the Year Award | Kurt Ramsey |
CPSL Rookie of the Year Award | Kevin Nelson |
CPSL Coach of the Year Award | Zoran Jankovic |
CPSL Referee of the Year Award | Amato De Luca |
CPSL Fair Play Award | Durham Flames |