The 1995 Canadian National Soccer League season was the third season of the league under the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

name, and the seventy-third season in the league's history. The season began on May 26, 1995, with London City facing

Scarborough Astros The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, C ...

Cove Road Stadium German Canadian Club of London Field is a multi-purpose stadium in London, Ontario, Canada. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of German Canadian FC and FC London (League 1 only). The stadium holds 1,000 spec ...

. The season concluded on November 2, 1995, with

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

claiming their second CNSL Championship after defeating

Toronto Jets The Toronto Jets was a S.S. Pauline Soccer Club team that played in the Minor Division (MD) of the Canadian National Soccer League, formerly the National Soccer League (N.S.L.) between 1977–1979, and perhaps as early as 1976. The 1976 and 1979 tea ...

in a two-game series. The CNSL lost its presence in Quebec and became solely located in the province of Ontario. The league also received some local competition with the advent of the Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League). The league managed to recruit

Parma FC Parma Calcio 1913 (), commonly known as Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, which competes in the Serie B, the second tier of Italian football. ''Parma Football Club'' was originally founded in Decembe ...

, who were the

1994–95 UEFA Cup The 1994–95 UEFA Cup was won by Parma on aggregate over Juventus. Internazionale were the defending champions with a wild card, but were knocked out in the first round by Aston Villa. New format Twenty-two national champions were demoted to t ...

champions for their All-Star match.

Overview

Since the conclusion of the

1993 season File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, the CNSL went through a tumultuous period throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The territorial boundaries of the league were further reduced from the Montreal-Windsor corridor and became primarily restricted within the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...

area in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Both of the league's franchises in Montreal departed with the Montreal Ramblers relocating to the American-based

USISL Pro League The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer (t ...

under the name New Hampshire Ramblers, and Montreal Croatia folding. The CNSL also experienced direct competition from the newly formed Canadian International Soccer League (Puma League), which received sponsorship from

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

. The Puma League was centered around the Toronto area with ethnically supported teams and was able to attract

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

in defecting. The results of these events caused a decrease in league membership to six teams with all the clubs being located in the province of Ontario. After a twelve-year absence in the Hamilton region, the league returned with the acceptance of the

Hamilton White Eagles Hamilton White Eagles was a soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario. The club was formed in 1995 and competed in the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). After a single season in the CNSL, the White Eagles departed and became a member of the Ca ...

. The previous time the city was represented in the CNSL was in the 1983 season when the Hamilton Steelers competed in the league. Former league commissioner and Toronto Italia owner Rocco Lofranco resigned, and the league took over the Toronto franchise. Various reports claimed that Lofranco had intentions of acquiring the franchise rights of the

Toronto Rockets The Toronto Rocket (TR) train is the fifth and latest series of rolling stock used in the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the trains were built by Bombardier Transpo ...

to receive entry into the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, but the Rockets ownership refused to relinquish their territorial rights.

Teams

Final standings

Playoffs

Finals

''St. Catharines won 3–2 on aggregate.''

Cup

The cup tournament (known as the

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...

Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all six teams took part. All the matches were separate from the regular season. Teams played each other once home and away in the Cup competition, and the first and second place teams would play a singles match for the Cup.

Matches

Finals

''St. Catharines won 3–0 on penalties.''

All-Star game

The all-star match was held in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of the University of Toronto. Athletic events have been hosted on the site since 1898; the ...

, and the league arranged for

the

champions as the opposition for the match.

Individual awards

The annual Canadian National Soccer League awards ceremony was held at the North York Council Chambers in

North York, Ontario North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popul ...

with an attendance of around 200 people. The master of the ceremony was future

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 OHL season, 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Cent ...

president

Cary Kaplan Cary Kaplan is the president and co-owner of the sports marketing firm Cosmos Sports & Entertainment with his wife Amelia Kaplan, which launched in 2003.

, who was operating as the secretary of the league. London and St. Catharines were tied each with two awards being given to the clubs. Mark Konert was named the Coach of the Year after leading St. Catharines to a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, which consisted of the CNSL Championship, and Umbro Cup. Wolves midfielder

Chris Handsor Chris Handsor (born January 14, 1972) is a Canadian former soccer player who played outdoor and indoor primarily in the USL A-League, National Professional Soccer League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League. Playing career Handsor beg ...

was voted the MVP, and would go on to play in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

, and play a prominent role in

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

throughout North America. London City was given the Most Disciplined Team award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season, and John Bottineau received the Rookie of the Year. The remainder of the awards such as the Golden Boot went to Scarborough Astros Laszlo Martonfi, and Joe Ciaravino of the Toronto Jets was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Les Wilcox was named the Referee of the Year. ; First Team All-Stars

References

External links

RSSSF CNSL pagethecnsl.com - 1995 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian National Soccer League 1995 Season 1995 domestic association football leagues

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...