2023 League1 Ontario season (women)

The 2023 League1 Ontario season is the eighth season of play for Women's Division of League1 Ontario, a Division 3 women's soccer league in the Canadian soccer league system and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

League1 Ontario
Women's Division
Season2023
DatesApril 21 – July 28 (regular season)
ChampionsAlliance United FC
Regular season championsNDC Ontario
2022
2024

Format

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The league will run in a single table format with 19 clubs each playing each other once, with teams playing reverse fixtures from the 2022 season (if a team faced an opponent at home in 2022, they will face them on the road in 2023). With the league set to split into a multi-division format with promotion-relegation beginning in 2024, the points obtained in this season will contribute to the original placement of clubs in 2024, with the points from the 2022 season (weighted at 75%) being added to the points teams obtain in the 2023 season (weighted at 100%) to determine the placements.[1]

The top-six teams in the regular season will qualify for the playoffs with the top-two teams receiving first round byes.

Clubs

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With the exception of Pickering FC, 19 of the 20 clubs that took part in the 2022 season will participate in 2023.[2] Because of the format changes planned for the following year, the league imposed a one-year moratorium on any new teams joining the league.[1][3]

Women's division
Team City Principal stadium
Alliance United FC Markham / Scarborough Birchmount Stadium / Varsity Stadium / Ontario Soccer Centre
Blue Devils FC Oakville Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium
Burlington SC Burlington Corpus Christi CSS
BVB IA Waterloo Waterloo RIM Park
Darby FC Whitby South Courtice Field
Electric City FC Peterborough Fleming College
Guelph Union Guelph Centennial Bowl
Hamilton United Hamilton Ron Joyce Stadium (McMaster University)
FC London London Tricar Field
NDC Ontario Vaughan Ontario Soccer Centre
North Mississauga SC Mississauga Churchill Meadows (Mattamy Sports Park)
North Toronto Nitros Toronto Downsview Park
ProStars FC Brampton Ontario Soccer Centre / Victoria Park Stadium / Terry Fox Stadium
Simcoe County Rovers FC Barrie J.C Massie Field, Georgian College
St. Catharines Roma Wolves St. Catharines Roma Park – Under Armour Field
Tecumseh SC Tecumseh Académie Ste. Cécile International School
Unionville Milliken SC Unionville (Markham) Ontario Soccer Centre
Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan North Maple Regional Park
Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge (Vaughan) Vaughan Grove

Premier Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 NDC Ontario 18 14 3 1 44 7 +37 45 Playoff semifinals
2 Vaughan Azzurri 18 14 2 2 49 14 +35 44
3 North Toronto Nitros 18 12 2 4 47 14 +33 38 Playoff quarterfinals
4 Alliance United FC (C) 18 10 5 3 34 13 +21 35
5 Woodbridge Strikers 18 10 4 4 43 22 +21 34
6 FC London 18 9 5 4 34 21 +13 32
7 Simcoe County Rovers FC 18 8 4 6 32 21 +11 28
8 Electric City FC 18 8 3 7 29 19 +10 27
9 North Mississauga SC 18 7 6 5 26 24 +2 27
10 BVB IA Waterloo 18 7 3 8 34 29 +5 24
11 Blue Devils FC 18 7 3 8 23 29 −6 24
12 Guelph Union 18 7 3 8 25 33 −8 24
13 Unionville Milliken SC 18 7 0 11 27 35 −8 21
14 St. Catharines Roma Wolves 18 6 3 9 28 33 −5 21
15 Hamilton United 18 5 3 10 23 42 −19 18
16 Darby FC 18 4 4 10 16 40 −24 16
17 Tecumseh SC 18 4 2 12 22 43 −21 14
18 Burlington SC 18 3 2 13 14 45 −31 11
19 ProStars FC 18 0 1 17 15 81 −66 1
Source: League1 Ontario
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) goal differential; 4) goals for; 5) away goals differential; 6) away goals for; 7) home goals differential; 8) home goals for; 9) head-to-head record; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.[4]
(C) Champions

Playoffs

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The top two seeds will earn a bye directly to the second round. After the first round, the teams will be re-seeded with NDC Ontario (the regular season champion) playing the lowest ranked remaining seed.

Quarter-finals
July 26–27
Semi-finals
July 30
Final
August 5
1 NDC Ontario 4
3 North Toronto Nitros 0(3) 6 FC London 0
6 FC London 0(4) 1 NDC Ontario 1
4 Alliance United FC (a.e.t.) 2
2 Vaughan Azzurri 1
4 Alliance United FC 1(5) 4 Alliance United FC 2
5 Woodbridge Strikers 1(3)


Quarter-finals

July 26, 2023 Alliance United FC 1–1
(5–3 p)
Woodbridge Strikers Vaughan, Ontario
9:00 PM Windebank   67' Report Rogers   52' Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre
Penalties
Chown  
Gosse  
Whelan  
Cheung  
 
Rogers  
Lisi  
Yaacoub  
Dennehy  

Semi-finals

July 30, 2022 Vaughan Azzurri 1–2 Alliance United FC Vaughan, Ontario
4:00 PM Fleming-Thompson   62' Report Gosse   41'
Parkes   89'
Stadium: North Maple Regional Park
Referee: Roain Satarzadeh

Final

August 5, 2023 NDC Ontario 1–2 (a.e.t.) Alliance United FC Vaughan, Ontario
7:00 PM Greco   52' Report Chan   90+5'
Chown   101'
Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre
Referee: Amanda Kwan

Statistics

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League honours

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Awards

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Award Player Team Ref
Most Valuable Player Gurleen Toor Alliance United FC [5]
Young Player of the Year (U20) Gurleen Toor Alliance United FC
Coach of the Year Angelo Cavalluzzo Alliance United FC
Goalkeeper of the Year Gurleen Toor Alliance United FC
Defender of the Year Zoe Markesini NDC Ontario
Midfielder of the Year Cloey Uddenberg Simcoe County Rovers FC
Forward of the Year Jayda Thompson Woodbridge Strikers
Golden Boot (Top Scorer) Jayda Thompson Woodbridge Strikers

League All-Stars

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The following players were named League1 Ontario Premier Division All-Stars for the 2023 season:[6]

Future format and changes

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Starting in 2024, the league will split into a multi-division format with promotion and relegation between them. Ten teams will take part in the first-tier League1 Premier, ten teams in the second-tier League1 Championship, and all new expansion teams as well as reserve sides in a third-tier League2 Ontario.

The initial assignment of teams in the 2024 season is done by using the points obtained in the previous two years. The points from the 2022 season (weighted at 75%) will be added to the points teams obtain in the 2023 season (weighted at 100%) to determine the placements.[1]

Pos Team GP 2022 2023 Total Qualification
1 Vaughan Azzurri 37 36 44 80 Qualification to
2024 League1 Premier
2 NDC Ontario 37 34.5 45 79.5
3 Woodbridge Strikers 37 31.5 34 65.5
4 North Toronto Nitros 37 27 38 65
5 Alliance United FC 37 27.75 35 62.75
6 FC London 37 30.75 32 62.75
7 Simcoe County Rovers FC 37 30.75 28 58.75
8 Electric City FC 37 24 27 51 Folded after season
9 North Mississauga SC 37 21 27 48 Qualification to
2024 League1 Premier
10 Guelph Union 37 18 24 42
11 St. Catharines Roma Wolves[a] 37 18.75 21 39.75 Self-relegated to
2024 League2 Ontario
12 Blue Devils FC[b] 37 14.25 24 38.25 Qualification to
2024 League1 Premier
13 Unionville Milliken SC[c] 36 16.5 21 37.5 Qualification to
2024 League1 Championship
14 Darby FC[c] 36 20.25 16 36.25
15 BVB IA Waterloo 37 11.25 24 35.25
16 Tecumseh SC 37 18.75 14 32.75
17 Hamilton United 37 7.5 18 25.5
18 Burlington SC 37 2.25 11 13.25
19 ProStars FC 37 4.5 1 5.5
20 Pickering FC[d] (Z) 19 9 9 Ineligible for Qualification
Source: [citation needed]
(Z) L1O license for 2024 revoked
Notes:
  1. ^ St. Catharines Roma Wolves initially qualified for the League1 Championship. However, they were later promoted to the Premier Division to replace Electric City, upon their folding. However, they later chose to self-relegate to League2 Ontario
  2. ^ Blue Devils FC initially qualified for the League1 Championship. However, they were later promoted to the Premier Division to replace St. Catherines Roma, upon their decision to self-relegate to League2 Ontario.
  3. ^ a b Darby and Unionville-Milliken did not play their match against each other in 2022.
  4. ^ Pickering FC did not compete in the 2023 season. Their L1O license for 2024 was revoked. However, they later purchased a new license to enter the L1O-C for 2024.

Reserve Division

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The Open Age Reserve Division will return with each Premier Division club fielding one or more teams, as well as some other OPDL clubs that do not operate a League1 Ontario team.

North East Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Alliance United FC B 14 12 2 0 52 10 +42 38 Advance to playoffs
2 Simcoe County Rovers FC B1 14 10 3 1 41 12 +29 33
3 Electric City FC B 14 10 1 3 34 16 +18 31
4 Pickering FC 14 6 1 7 24 25 −1 19
5 Aurora FC 13 5 0 8 19 22 −3 15
6 Unionville Milliken SC B 14 3 0 11 13 41 −28 9
7 Master's FA 14 2 2 10 9 36 −27 8
8 Darby FC B 13 2 1 10 12 42 −30 7
Updated to match(es) played on July 25, 2023. Source: League1 Ontario

Central Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 North Toronto Nitros B (C) 13 13 0 0 60 8 +52 39 Advance to playoffs
2 Woodbridge Strikers B 14 8 1 5 30 18 +12 25
3 Vaughan Azzurri B 13 6 2 5 19 15 +4 20
4 North Mississauga SC B 13 5 2 6 18 27 −9 17
5 Blue Devils FC B 13 5 2 6 10 31 −21 17
6 Simcoe County Rovers FC B2 13 4 1 8 15 28 −13 13
7 ProStars FC B 13 3 2 8 13 21 −8 11
8 Rush Canada 12 2 2 8 11 28 −17 8
Updated to match(es) played on July 25, 2023. Source: League1 Ontario
(C) Champions

South West Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 BVB IA Waterloo B 14 12 1 1 55 9 +46 37 Advance to playoffs
2 Whitecaps London 14 11 0 3 39 18 +21 33
3 Cambridge United 14 9 1 4 36 18 +18 28
4 FC London B 14 7 0 7 31 31 0 21
5 Hamilton United B 14 4 5 5 22 32 −10 17
6 Burlington SC B 14 4 2 8 13 29 −16 14
7 St. Catharines Roma Wolves B 14 3 1 10 20 31 −11 10
8 Scrosoppi FC 14 1 0 13 17 65 −48 3
Updated to match(es) played on July 25, 2023. Source: League1 Ontario

Playoffs

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Semifinals
July 23-27
Championship Game
August 3
      
C1 North Toronto Nitros B 3
WC Whitecaps London 2
C1 North Toronto Nitros B 5
NE1 Alliance United FC B 0
NE1 Alliance United FC B 3
SW1 BVB IA Waterloo B 0

U19 Reserve Division

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Summer Division

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East Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Pickering FC U19 (C) 12 10 1 1 27 5 +22 31 Advance to playoffs
2 North Toronto Nitros U19 12 8 2 2 42 7 +35 26
3 Vaughan Azzurri U19 12 5 1 6 23 15 +8 16
4 FC Durham U19 12 4 4 4 16 14 +2 16
5 Unionville Milliken SC U19 12 4 3 5 19 22 −3 15
6 Woodbridge Strikers U19 12 4 2 6 29 21 +8 14
7 Darby FC U19 12 0 1 11 2 74 −72 1
Source: League1 Ontario
(C) Champions

West Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tecumseh SC U19 12 8 3 1 41 17 +24 27 Advance to playoffs
2 Rush Canada U19 12 8 1 3 35 17 +18 25
3 North Mississauga SC U19 12 8 1 3 34 17 +17 25
4 Oakville SC U19 12 4 2 6 18 23 −5 14
5 Hamilton United U19 12 4 2 6 17 25 −8 14
6 Windsor City FC U19 12 4 1 7 25 27 −2 13
7 St. Catharines Roma Wolves U19 12 1 0 11 14 58 −44 3

Playoffs

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Semifinals
August 1-2
Championship Game
August 7
      
E1 Pickering FC U19 0(4)
W2 Rush Canada U19 0(2)
E1 Pickering FC U19 1(6)
E2 North Toronto Nitros U19 1(5)
W1 Tecumseh SC U19 0
E2 North Toronto Nitros U19 2

Fall Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 North Toronto Nitros U19 12 11 1 0 42 10 +32 34 Advance to playoffs
2 Rush Canada U19 (C) 12 6 3 3 33 17 +16 21
3 Unionville Milliken SC U19 11 4 2 5 28 31 −3 14
4 North Mississauga SC U19 11 3 2 6 18 23 −5 11
5 Hamilton United U19 10 0 0 10 6 46 −40 0
Source: League1 Ontario
(C) Champions

Playoffs

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Championship Game
November 18
   
1 North Toronto Nitros U19 2
2 Rush Canada U19 4

References

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  1. ^ a b c Jacques, John (January 25, 2022). "Promotion And Relegation Comes To League1 Ontario". Northern Tribune.
  2. ^ "Women's Premier Division kicks off on April 21". League1 Ontario. March 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "L1O opens 2024 expansion application process". League1 Ontario. January 17, 2023.
  4. ^ "League Operations and Game Day Manual Version 12.1" (PDF). League1 Ontario. January 25, 2022. p. 56. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "Women's Premier Division 2023: Award Winners". League1 Ontario. November 20, 2023.
  6. ^ "Triple award-winning goalkeeper Gurleen Toor selected in talented XI". League1 Ontario. November 28, 2023.
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