The 2018 Canadian Soccer League season was the 21st season under the Canadian Soccer League name. The season began on May 13, 2018, and concluded on October 13, 2018, with the

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

final held at

Centennial Park Stadium Centennial Park Stadium is a 2,200 seat capacity stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is primarily used for soccer, track and field, football and occasionally for kabaddi. The park is also used for the ROPSSAA football finals and the PSAA (Pri ...

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 ...

FC Vorkuta FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

won their first championship by defeating

Scarborough SC Scarborough SC is a Canadian soccer team founded in 2014. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a league that is not sanctioned by a FIFA recognized body. The team plays home games out of Birchmount Stadium in the distri ...

in a penalty shootout. Vorkuta found further success in the Second Division by winning their first CSL

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 * ...

after defeating

Halton United Halton United are a Canadian soccer club based in Milton, Ontario, and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League. The club was formed in 2013 and became a member of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) under the name Burlington SC. They pl ...

in the finals. Meanwhile

FC Ukraine United FC Ukraine United is a Canadian soccer club founded in 2006. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Soccer League a league that is not sanctioned by any FIFA recognized body. Their home venue is located at Centennial Park Stadium in Etobi ...

claimed the First Division title. The First Division saw an increase to 9 teams, while the Second Division decreased in size to 6 teams. The First Division returned to the territories of Hamilton, Mississauga, and the promotion of FC Ukraine United. While new entries to the Second Division included the return of

Milton SC Milton SC is a Canadian soccer club formed in 2014. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League. Their home venue is located at Milton Community Sports Park in the town of Milton, Ontario. History In 2014, professio ...

and the debut of Scarborough SC's reserve squad.

Summary

The main narrative of the season was the race for the First Division title between

and

. The outcome was determined on the final match of the season with Ukraine United edging Vorkuta out with a higher goal differential by five goals. Though Vorkuta would achieve success in the postseason by claiming its first

. The organization made further advances in the Second Division as its reserve squad secured the

(division title and DII Championship). In preparation for the season, Vorkuta managed to secure Ukraine United's general manager Denys Yanchuk and continued in the club's practice of foreign recruitment from the Ukrainian football market. After producing a

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

in the Second division Ukraine United returned to the top division in 2018.

Andrei Malychenkov Andrey Yuryevich Malyshenkov (russian: Андрей Юрьевич Малышенков; born March 28, 1968) is a former Russian footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the head coach for FC Continentals in the Canadian Soccer Lea ...

resumed his coaching duties and retained the majority of his previous roster with additional imports from the Ukraine. From the onset of the season, the club remained highly competitive and battled with rivals Vorkuta for supremacy of the division. Vorkuta held the top position for sixteen consecutive weeks until Ukraine United usurped the position for the final five weeks of the season. The western Toronto team ultimately reached the second round of the playoffs and succumbed to

. The third position in the First Division was a highly contested spot with Hamilton City, Scarborough SC,

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned soc ...

, and

SC Waterloo Region SC Waterloo Region is a professional Canadian soccer team that plays in the Canadian Soccer League, a non-FIFA-sanctioned league. The club was formed in 2011 under the name KW United FC and competed in the Second Division of the CSL. The following ...

competing with one another. The White Eagles achieved a five-game undefeated streak and held the spot for two weeks. Shortly their performance dwindled and fluctuated between the fourth and fifth position to conclude the season in the sixth spot. Following their mediocre 2017 season SC Waterloo named Radivoj Panić as the head coach, and assembled a roster with a mixture of league veterans with European imports from the Western Balkans. After a slow start to the season, the club rebounded to a seven-match undefeated streak and secured the third position on the final match of the regular season. Scarborough SC continued to develop as an elite club with

Zoran Rajović Zoran Rajović (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Рајовић; born 28 October 1979) is a Serbian retired professional footballer and coach. Club career Born in Vinkovci, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, Rajović moved to Vojvodina at an early age. He ...

being assigned head coach responsibilities. Rajović took advantage of the influx of European imports to the league, and a player agreement to acquire talent from

York Region Shooters York Region Shooters is a Canadian association football, soccer team, that plays in the Canadian Soccer League. The Shooters played their home games at the St. Joan of Arc Turf Field in the City of Vaughan, Ontario. The team's colours were blue ...

was negotiated. One notable re-signing was the return of Canadian international

Adrian Cann Adrian Cann (born September 19, 1980) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a defender for Canadian Soccer League club Serbian White Eagles FC. Career College Cann had a college soccer career at the University of Louisville from 2000 to 200 ...

as team captain. The acquisitions produced dividends for the eastern Toronto club as they held the coveted third position for the majority of the season for a total of sixteen weeks until forfeiting it on the final week to Waterloo on an account of a greater goal difference. In the postseason the club reached the championship final for the second consecutive season. After a year of hiatus from the league, Hamilton City returned under new management with Saša Vuković as owner and head coach. The club experienced a transitional stage with fewer imports from abroad and more reliance on talent from their previous reserve team. Hamilton managed to produce an average season enough to secure a playoff berth with just four points away from the third position. The final two postseason berths were secured by

Brantford Galaxy Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club was a semi-professional Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, with their home venue located in Hamilton, Ontario at the Heritage Field Turf. The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a leag ...

and

SC Real Mississauga SC Real Mississauga is a Canadian soccer club based in Mississauga, Ontario that plays in the unsanctioned Canadian Soccer League. History The club joined the Canadian Soccer League in 2018 with a team in the First Division, The club was origi ...

. After the departure of Vukovic, the Galaxy brought in Milan Prpa as head coach and the team assembled by Prpa remained primarily the same as the previous seasons with many veterans returning. The season also witnessed the return of professional soccer to the Peel Region with CSC Mississauga and

representing the city of Mississauga. Real Mississauga, an academy founded by league veteran

Krum Bibishkov Krum Georgiev Bibishkov ( bg, Крум Георгиев Бибишков; born 2 September 1982) is a Bulgarian former footballer and football manager. His son, Marsel Bibishkov, is also a footballer, currently playing for Juventus FC Youth S ...

, received a franchise in the CSL. They primarily competed with Brantford throughout the season and secured a playoff berth. CSC Mississauga struggled to make an impact as they remained at the bottom of the standings for the majority of the season. In the Second Division, Burlington SC was renamed

and were the primary competitors to FC Vorkuta B. For eleven weeks Halton retained the second position and reached the championship final.

First Division

Changes from 2017

Club membership increased in the First Division from eight members to nine. Changes included the return of

from the Second Division with further new additions from two Mississauga franchises CSC Mississauga and

Real Mississauga SC SC Real Mississauga is a Canadian soccer club based in Mississauga, Ontario that plays in the unsanctioned Canadian Soccer League. History The club joined the Canadian Soccer League in 2018 with a team in the First Division, The club was origi ...

. The division also saw the return of

Hamilton City SC Hamilton City 1 Soccer Club was a Canadian soccer team founded in 2016 that played in the Canadian Soccer League, and played their home games at Cardinal Newman Secondary School multi-sport athletic field in the community of Stoney Creek, Hamil ...

from its one-year hiatus under new club management. The

failed to feature an active squad for the season as owner

Tony De Thomasis Anthony De Thomasis is an Italian-born Canadian businessman, financial management advisor, and president of De Thomas Wealth Management. He served as the Director of Soccer Operations for Mississauga MetroStars in the Major Arena Soccer League. ...

became involved with

Unionville Milliken SC Unionville Milliken Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Unionville, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its men's semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2018. The club also f ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's association football, soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league ...

Teams

Standings

Positions by Round

Season Statistics

Goals

Updated: September 26, 2018

Hat-tricks

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

CSL Championship

Second Division

Changes from 2017

The Second Division decreased in size to six-member as FC Ukraine United was promoted to the First Division, and Royal Toronto FC became inactive for the season. SC Waterloo B, London City were disbanded, and

returned to the Second Division. Another new entry was through Scarborough SC as they began operating a reserve team for the first time. Other changes included the renaming of Burlington SC to

Teams

Standings

Positions by Round

Top Goal Scorers

Updated: September 26, 2018

Playoffs

Semifinals

Second Division Championship

Awards

Weekly awards

References

{{2018 in Canadian soccer Canadian Soccer League seasons 2018 domestic association football leagues Canadian Soccer League