Toronto Lynx was a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

Toronto 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 ...

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 ...

, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

(PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division of the Central Conference. The team played its home games 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 ...

, where they had played since 2003. The team's colours were white, gold and black. The team had a sister organization, the

Toronto Lady Lynx Toronto Lady Lynx was a Canadian women's soccer team, founded in 2005. The team was a member of the USL W-League, formerly the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Great Lakes Division of the Cen ...

, who played in the women's

USL W-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 also fielded a team in the USL's Super-20 League, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

umbrella. In 2015, the Lynx men's senior team was incorporated into

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 ...

side Oakville Blue Devils. In late 2017, the teams merged completely under Oakville's umbrella.

History

A-League/USL First Division

The Toronto Lynx announced its expansion rights in

on June 24, 1996, and played their first

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

game in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, on April 12, 1997, falling 3–1 to the

Jacksonville Cyclones The Jacksonville Cyclones were a professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the A-League from 1997 to 1999. The team originated as the Tampa Bay Cyclones, who played in Tampa, Florida from 1995 to 1996 before moving ...

. The Toronto Lynx set an A-League record of 10 consecutive wins during their first season in 1997. In 2000, the Lynx proceeded to the Eastern Conference Finals and only a 1–0 loss to the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

kept the Lynx out of the A-League Championship game. Despite these temporary successes, over the years it spent in the A-League (later renamed USL-D1), the team fared relatively poorly on the field and ultimately failed to consistently draw crowds of more than about 2000 people.

Peter Pinizzotto Peter Pinizzotto is an Italian born Canadian soccer coach who serves as the head coach for Woodbridge Strikers in League1 Ontario. Pinizzotto is known for managing the Toronto Lynx, and is the longest-serving manager in the history of Toronto Ly ...

was the Toronto Lynx head coach from 1997 to 2003. The team made one playoff appearance under his reign. The next season he would be hired as assistant coach for rivals Montreal Impact. In September 2003,

Duncan Wilde Duncan Wilde is an English soccer manager who is currently the manager of Blue Devils FC in League1 Ontario. Managerial career On May 15, 2003 at the Canadian Professional Soccer League press conference the Hamilton Thunder announced Wilde as th ...

was appointed as the new Toronto Lynx head coach for the 2004 season bringing a new philosophy and vision for the club. Wilde also holds the position of Director of the Toronto Lynx Premier Soccer Academy and Super Y-League Program for accomplishing the mission of developing and inspiring youth soccer talent in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

. After just one season, Wilde resigned from his head coaching position amidst rumours of owner interference in squad selection. During the 2005 season the team was managed by former Lynx goalkeeper

Hubert Busby Jr. Hubert Busby Junior (born 18 June 1970) is a Canadian-born Jamaican football manager and former player. Playing career In 1993, Busby Jr. played in the Canadian National Soccer League with Windsor Wheels. As a player, Busby Jr. spent time with ...

, though Wilde returned as head coach for the 2006 season. In their debut season in the

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional So ...

Wilde led the Lynx to the final of the tournament, but were defeated 2–0 by

Ottawa St. Anthony Italia The Ottawa St. Anthony Italia is an amateur soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club was founded in 1952 as the St. Anthony men's soccer team and played in a local league. In 1959, the team consolidated with another local team known as ...

. During their time in the A-League and USL First Division, the Lynx were noted for developing a number of notable players, but failed to retain most of them for long, leading to poor results in the league standings. On October 10, 2006, the Lynx announced they were voluntarily relegating themselves two levels, to the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. The reasons for this were never fully revealed, but it was most likely due to their low attendance (the lowest in the USL 1st Division at that time) and the fact that

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

expansion franchise

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

would be arriving to the city the next season.United Soccer Leagues (USL)

USL Premier Development League

Toronto's first year in the PDL was a difficult one; they lost their opening game 3–0 to

West Michigan Edge West Michigan Edge was an American soccer team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the fra ...

, and didn't pick up their first win until the fifth game of the season, a 2–0 defeat away at the

Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...

. The Lynx's main problem was inconsistency, especially away from home, where they suffered several difficult defeats, including a 4–0 thrashing at the hands of

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

, and a 3–1 defeat to

Cleveland Internationals Cleveland Internationals was an American soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2004, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division ...

in early August. Their home form was generally much better, and they enjoyed several excellent results, notably a comprehensive 5–0 win over

that included a two–goal haul for Murphy Wiredu, and a 5–1 revenge win over Cleveland in which Wiredu scored another brace. An unexpected 3–1 victory over divisional champs Michigan on the final day of the season ended the year brightly; they finished in fourth place, just six points off a playoff spot. The prolific Murphy Wiredu was the Lynx's top scorer, with 10 goals. Toronto built on their 2007 form with a generally better season in 2008. They overpowered

Fort Wayne Fever Fort Wayne Fever was an American soccer team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the f ...

4–1 in their opening fixture in front of over 1,200 fans, and enjoyed a scintillating run of form throughout the month of June, picking up five wins two ties in nine games, including a breathless 3–2 win over

in which they scored twice in the last two minutes, and a strong 1–0 win over the eventual divisional champions,

. Despite a pair of impressive back-to-back 4–0 wins over

and Cincinnati Kings in the run-in—the last of which saw all four goals being scored by

Daniel Revivo Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

—Toronto's final day defeat to Michigan left them in third place in the Great Lakes division, squeaking into the playoffs on 'games won' ahead of

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two dur ...

, but needing to negotiate a preliminary 'Divisional Round' play-in game against

. Unfortunately for the Lynx, Cleveland scored a late winner to take the game 2–1, sending the Ontarians home early. Daniel Revivo was Toronto's top scorer, with nine goals on the season, while Welshman

Lloyd Grist Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to: People * Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' or ', which means "grey" or "brown" ** List of people with given name Lloyd ** List of people with surname Lloyd * Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), America ...

contributed four assists.

Club data

*All-time leading goal scorer:

Nikola Vignjevic Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...

(29) *All-time games played: David Diplacido, (206) *All-time assists:

(24) *All-time clean sheets:

Theo Zagar Theodosis Zagar (born November 2, 1974) is a Canadian former goalkeeper, who had a notable tenure with the Toronto Lynx of the USL First Division, and played indoor soccer in the National Professional Soccer League. Playing career Before Zaga ...

(30.5)

Players

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *

Andres Arango Andres Arango (born April 23, 1983) is a Colombian-born Canadian former soccer player who played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, USL A-League, and the North American Soccer League. Arango is currently a coach with Florida Premier F ...

Robbie Aristodemo Robert David Aristodemo (born May 20, 1977) is a professional soccer midfielder who is the current head coach for Montverde Academy's varsity girls team, the Orlando Kicks FC of United Women's Soccer, and an assistant coach with the Major Arena ...

Adrian Butters Adrian Butters (born 15 July 1988) is a footballer who plays as a defender. Born in Canada, he represents Guyana at international level. Club career Butters played with the Toronto Lynx of the USL Premier Development League in the 2009 and 2010 ...

Anthony Bahadur Anthony Christopher Bahadur or Anthony Adur (born February 25, 1988) is a Canadian association football, soccer player who played in the Canadian Soccer League, Premier Development League, USL Premier Development League, S.League, S. League, Thai ...

* Darren Baxter * Lloyd Barker *

Chris Broadfoot Chris Broadfoot is an Australian footballer. Biography A journeyman striker, he has played for numerous Gold Coast Premier League clubs, with a notable spell with Broadbeach United. He signed for Gold Coast United for the 2010 season. Honours ...

* Nikola Budalić *

Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne Anthony De Rosario OOnt (born May 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. De Rosario last played for the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League. ...

* David Diplacido *

Jamie Dodds Jamie Dodds (born November 12, 1981 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at the professional level most notability in the USL A-League (later renamed USL First Division), and later in the Canadian Soccer League. ...

Charles Gbeke Charles Gbeke (born March 15, 1978) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he made three appearances for the Canada national team. Gbeke began his career with brief stints with Seattle Sounders a ...

Ali Gerba Ali Ngon Gerba (; born September 4, 1981) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Cameroon, he represented the Canada national team. Club career Canada and United States In 2000 Gerba signed with the Montreal ...

Atiba Hutchinson Atiba Hutchinson (born 8 February 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder and captains both Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Canada national team. While playing in Denmark he won the Danish Super Liga Player o ...

Kevin Jeffrey Kevin Jeffrey (born 4 October 1974 in Trincity, Trinidad and Tobago) is a former professional football (soccer) forward who spent eight seasons in the USL First Division. After his playing career, he became a football manager. After a successf ...

John Jonke John Jonke (born January 20, 1987 in Scarborough, Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian association football, soccer player. Career College and Amateur Jonke began playing soccer at the youth level during his secondary school years with ...

Milan Kojic Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

Tom Kouzmanis Thomas Kouzmanis (born 22 April 1973) is a Canadian former soccer player who played at both professional and international levels. Kouzmanis played as both a midfielder and a striker. Career Club career Born in East York, Ontario, Kouzmanis ...

Joe Mattacchione Joseph Mattacchione (born August 15, 1975) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender. Playing career College career Mattacchione began playing at the youth level with Dixie Soccer Club. He also played at the amateur level ...

Mikael McNamara Taylor Mikael McNamara (born December 4, 1987) is a Canadian association football, soccer player who plays for Oakville Blue Devils FC. Career Youth and Amateur McNamara attended Iona Catholic Secondary School in his native city, Mississauga. H ...

Cameron Medwin Cameron Medwin (born March 19, 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian soccer defender who plays with Portugal AC in the Arena Premier League. Playing career Cameron began playing amateur soccer with local clubs such as Vaughan Rockets, ...

Dwain Anderson Dwain Cleaven Anderson (born November 23, 1947) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. Oakland A's The El Cerrito High School standout signed as an amateur free agent with the Kansas City A's in at just seventeen years old. He ba ...

John Barry Nusum John Barry Nusum (born March 18, 1981 in Mineola, New York) is an Americans, American-born Bermuda, Bermudian retired association football, football player. Career College Nusum grew up in Devonshire, Bermuda, before returning to the United St ...

Pat Onstad Patrick Stewart Onstad (born January 13, 1968) is a Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper who serves as the General Manager of the Houston Dynamo. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United State ...

Dominic Oppong Dominic Oppong (born January 21, 1986) is a Ghanaian-born Canadian former soccer player. Career College and Amateur Oppong grew up in Scarborough, Ontario, attended St John Henry Newman CHS (Cardinal Newman CHS at the time), and played two ye ...

Matthew Palleschi Matthew Palleschi (born January 11, 1983) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward Career College career Palleschi played at the college level with the Humber College Hawks, where he was named Team MVP an ...

Vince Petrasso Vince Petrasso (born April 11, 1987) is a former Canadian soccer player who played the USL Premier Development League, USL Second Division, and the Canadian Soccer League. He is currently the Director Woodbridge Strikers, Woodbridge Soccer Club w ...

Chris Pozniak Krzysztof "Chris" Pozniak (born 10 January 1981) is a Canadian retired soccer player. Club career Pozniak emigrated from Poland with his parents Tadeusz and Elżbieta, and sister Kinga, to Canada in 1990. He is able to speak Polish. He began h ...

Marco Reda Marco Reda (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian former soccer player who began his professional career in the USL A-League with the Toronto Lynx where he developed his skills as a solid defender. This led to his transfer to Europe to sign with Sogn ...

Adrian Serioux Adrian Serioux (born May 12, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional soccer player who played as a defender. Club career After playing college soccer for the University of New Haven, Serioux started his pro career with the Toronto Lynx in the ...

Paul Stalteri Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in th ...

* Rick Titus *

Nikola Vignjević Nikola Vignjević (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Вигњевић; born March 12, 1971) is a former Serbian football player, who currently works as Technical coach by Alberta Golden Bears and the Greater St.Albert Sports Academy. While playing fo ...

Mauricio Vincello Mauricio Vincello (born August 19, 1977 in Salto, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine former football defender. Playing career Vincello began his career in his native country in Argentina with the youth teams of Defensores de Salto, and ...

* Chris Williams *

Sherif El-Masri Sherif El-Masri (born 5 February 1990) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger. Early and personal life He was born in Scarborough, Ontario to a Tunisian father and a Guyanese mother. His younger sister Mariam is also a ...

* Jordan Webb

Staff

– academy director and head coach *

Billy Steele William Steele (born 19 May 1956 in Dunfermline) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a striker. Steele began his career in the early 1970s as a youngster with Rangers, although he failed to make a first-team appearance. In 1975, S ...

– men's senior coach * Danny Stewart – women's senior coach * Glen McNamara – goalkeeper coach * Robert Gringmuth – medical coordinator * Frank Markus – team doctor

Year-by-year

International friendlies

*September 7, 1998 – Toronto Lynx 2,

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

0 (Iranian First Division champions), Persepolis fielded a reserve team *June 5, 1999 – Santa Clara 2 (Portuguese First Division), Toronto Lynx 1 *June 6, 2000 –

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are n ...

(Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

) 2, Toronto Lynx 0 *May 14, 2002 – Toronto Lynx 1, 1860 Munich 0 (

German Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

)

Head coaches

(1997–2003) *

(2004) *

(2005) *

(2006–2014)

Stadiums

;

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 ...

(2003–2014) *

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 ...

;

four games (2008–2009) *

Brian Timmis Stadium Brian Timmis Stadium was a soccer stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. The stadium was built in 1968, and seated 5,000 people. The stadium most recently hosted association football (soccer) teams Hamilton Croatia, a Canadian Soccer League club, and th ...

;

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

one game (2008) * Edelweiss Park;

Bolton, Ontario Bolton (2021 population 26,795) is an unincorporated village that is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, Ontario. It is located beside the Humber River in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto. In r ...

three games (2008–2009) * Hershey Centre;

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

three games (2009–2010) *

Barrie Community Sports Complex Barrie Community Sports Complex is a multi use sports facility located in Minesing, Ontario, Canada. Vintage Throne Stadium is the baseball park at the complex and is home to the Barrie Baycats of the Intercounty Baseball League The Intercou ...

;

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

one game (2009) * OSA Soccer Center;

Vaughan, Ontario Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

one game (2011)

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html * 1997: 1,538 * 1998: 1,800 * 1999: 2,744 * 2000: 2,620 * 2001: 2,795 * 2002: 1,730 * 2003: 2,652 * 2004: 2,444 * 2005: 2,462 * 2006: 1,551 (USL First Division) * 2007: 1,198 (4th in PDL) * 2008: 1,018 * 2009: 500 * 2010: 427 * 2011: 194 * 2012: 106 * 2013: 143 * 2014: 225

References

External links

Official Site
{{commons category, Toronto Lynx USL League Two teams Association football clubs established in 1996 Soccer clubs in Toronto Etobicoke United Soccer League teams based in Canada USL First Division teams A-League (1995–2004) teams 1996 establishments in Ontario 2017 disestablishments in Ontario Association football clubs disestablished in 2017