The 1988 Canadian Soccer League season was the second season of play for the Canadian Soccer League, a Division 1 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid.
| Season | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Vancouver 86ers |
| Division Leaders | Hamilton Steelers (East) Vancouver 86ers (West) |
| Matches played | 126 |
| Goals scored | 405 (3.21 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | John Catliff (22) |
← 1987 1989 → | |
Format and changes from previous season edit
Montreal Supra joined the league as an expansion franchise, entering the East Division.[1]
The National Capitals Pioneers went bankrupt in their inaugural season, but the club was re-structured and renamed as the Ottawa Intrepid.[2] They also moved their home stadium to Ottawa, after playing the previous year in Aylmer, Quebec[3]
Similar to the previous season, the teams played an unbalanced schedule with two-thirds of a team's matches coming against teams in their own division. Following the season, the top three teams in each division would advance to the playoffs, with the division leaders earning a first round bye, to designate a national champion club.[4]
Regular season edit
East Division edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Steelers | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 28 | +36 | 42 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Toronto Blizzard | 28 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 29 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | North York Rockets | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 28 | |
| 4 | Ottawa Intrepid | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 43 | −11 | 25 | |
| 5 | Montreal Supra | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 24 |
West Division edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers (O) | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 84 | 30 | +54 | 48 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Winnipeg Fury | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 25 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | Calgary Kickers | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 39 | 70 | −31 | 18 | |
| 4 | Edmonton Brick Men | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 33 | 74 | −41 | 13 |
Playoffs edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| 2W | Winnipeg Fury | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2W | Winnipeg Fury (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3W | Calgary Kickers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||
| 3E | Toronto Blizzard | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2E | Toronto Blizzard | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3E | North York Rockets | 1 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinal edit
| September 14, 1988 | Toronto Blizzard | 2–1 | North York Rockets | Toronto, Ontario |
Gilbert  78' Šegota 86' |
[[5] Report] | John Coyle |
Stadium: Varsity Stadium Attendance: 3179 |
| September 15, 1988 | Winnipeg Fury | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Calgary Kickers | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 19:30 | Cambridge 17' Wade Gibson 119' |
[[6] Report] | Phillips 44' |
Stadium: Winnipeg Stadium Attendance: 3606 |
Semifinal edit
| September 17, 1988 | Hamilton Steelers | 1–0 | Toronto Blizzard | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 13:00 | Bunbury 13' |
[[7] Report] | Stadium: Brian Timmis Stadium Attendance: 2102 |
| September 18, 1988 | Vancouver 86ers | 3–1 | Winnipeg Fury | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 16:00 | Mobilio 10', 59' Mitchell 86' |
[[8] Report] | Doug Leeis 29' |
Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 4226 |
Final edit
| September 25, 1988 | Vancouver 86ers | 4–1 | Hamilton Steelers | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 13:00 | Valentine 9' Ion 18' Catliff 21' Mitchell 76' |
[[9][10] Report] | Gasparini 52' |
Stadium: Swangard Stadium Attendance: 6443 Referee: Gord Arrowsmith |
Statistics edit
Top scorers edit
Honours edit
The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 1988 season.[11]
Most Valuable Player edit
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
 John Catliff |
Vancouver 86ers |
League All-Stars edit
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Paul Dolan (Vancouver 86ers) |
Goalkeeper |
 Diego Castello (Toronto Blizzard) |
Defender |
| Burke Kaiser (Calgary Strikers) |
Defender |
| Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver 86ers) |
Defender |
| Paul James (Hamilton Steelers) |
Defender |
| Gerry Gray (Ottawa Intrepid) |
Midfielder |
| Lyndon Hooper (Montreal Supra) |
Midfielder |
| Mike Sweeney (Toronto Blizzard) |
Midfielder |
| John Catliff (Vancouver 86ers) |
Forward |
| Amadeo Gasparini (Hamilton Steelers) |
Forward |
| Domenic Mobilio (Vancouver 86ers) |
Forward |
Reserves
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Pat Harrington (Toronto Blizzard) |
Goalkeeper |
| Peter Sarantopoulos (North York Rockets) |
Defender |
 Željko Adžić (Winnipeg Fury) |
Midfielder |
| Alex Bunbury (Hamilton Steelers) |
Forward |
Front office
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Bob Lenarduzzi (Vancouver 86ers) |
Head Coach |
| Alan Errington (Vancouver 86ers) |
Assistant Coach |
| John McGrane (Hamilton Steelers) |
General Manager |
Average home attendances edit
| Pos. | Team | GP | Average Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers | 28 | 4,919 |
| 2 | Winnipeg Fury | 28 | 3,207 |
| 3 | Montreal Supra | 28 | 2,993 |
| 4 | Toronto Blizzard | 28 | 2,757 |
| 5 | Hamilton Steelers | 28 | 2,750 |
| 6 | Edmonton Brick Men | 28 | 2,638 |
| 7 | Calgary Kickers | 28 | 2,387 |
| 8 | North York Rockets | 28 | 1,655 |
| 9 | Ottawa Intrepid | 28 | 1,546 |
| Total Attendance | 252 | 2,761 | |
| Reference:[10] | |||
References edit
- ^ Litterer, Dave. "The Year in American Soccer - 1988". Sover. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009.
- ^ "National Capital Pioneers/Ottawa Intrepid (1987-90)". CSL Memories.
- ^ Crossley, Andrew (August 29, 2015). "1988-1989 Ottawa Intrepid". Fun While it Lasted.
- ^ MacDonald, Archie (February 26, 1987). "Soccer rebirth". The Vancouver Sun. p. F3.
- ^ "Blizzard grounds Rockets". Calgary Herald. September 15, 1988. p. 49.
- ^ "September 16, 1988". Times Colonist. September 16, 1988. p. 20.
- ^ Campbell, Neil A. (September 19, 1988). "Rebuilt Steelers follow same old script". The Globe and Mail. p. D8.
- ^ "86ers win CSL West". Nanaimo Daily News. September 19, 1988. p. 7.
- ^ Stinson, Dan (September 26, 1988). "86ers cap magical season with victory over Steelers". Vancouver Sun. p. 29.
- ^ a b Jose, Colin (2001). On-Side - 125 Years of Soccer in Ontario. Vaughan, Ontario: Ontario Soccer Association and Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. pp. 130, 131.
- ^ a b "1988 CSL Stats" (PDF). Canadian Soccer League.