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League1 Canada: Final Day Scenarios
By The League1 Canada women’s regular season/provincial playoffs wrap up this weekend, and three of the four provinces still have things going on heading into the final week of play. It is also the end of the men’s League1 Alberta season this weekend, plus playoffs for promotion in Ontario and Quebec. It is safe to say there is much to look forward to across the country.
The weekend after this one will see the League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship take place, with three of the four sides still to be determined. After the action from over the next few days, the quartet will be confirmed.
Here is a preview of what is to come, and some final day scenarios:
League1 Alberta: Blizzard Looking for Double
Both the men’s and women’s divisions in League1 Alberta are going down to the wire. In both leagues’ case, there are two sides fighting for the title.
Starting with the men’s league, Calgary Blizzard heads into the final round in pole position. Two points behind them sits St. Albert Impact, who is the only other team that can pip them. BTB Academy currently is top, but they have already played their games. Due to the Blizzard and Impact facing each other, they cannot win the division.
Both the Blizzard and St. Albert have two games left. On Friday, the former former takes on the Calgary Villains, while the latter hosts Callies United. The title will be wrapped up that day should the Blizzard win and the Impact draw or lose. Any other scenario will see the league be decided on Sunday, where the pair face off at the CSC Dome. If that does transpire, the Impact would have to win the match.
On the women’s side, there are just two games to go, both of which are on Friday. The one of importance, however, sees the Blizzard face the Villains. Things could not be any simpler for the former: beat their fellow Calgarians, and they defend their title. Any other result will see the Calgary Foothills win the league title and represent the province in the Interprovincial Championship.
The Blizzard did win the reverse fixture 4-1 back in May, and will certainly be favourites in this clash. Whether they manage to be victorious is another matter.
League1 Ontario Premier: Titles, Promotion, and Relegation Highlight Chaotic Final Weekend
There is much drama in store in League1 Ontario’s women’s leagues heading into the last full weekend of play. Save for the relegation/promotion playoff, everything else will be decided between now and Sunday.
We start with the Premier Division, where no team’s final position is known. Six of the 10 have something of significance to fight for going into the last round.
Simcoe County Rovers’ midweek success means they go into the weekend with the lead. They know that a win on Saturday over Vaughan Azzurri will give them their first title and a spot in the Interprovincial Championship. Drop points, however, and that opens the door to NDC Ontario, who meets FC London that same day. Should the Rovers lose, an NDC win will see them top the league for the second year running.
NDC could also finish on top if they draw and Simcoe loses. However, there is another team who has a say in that: North Toronto Nitros. Fresh off their L1 Cup success, North Toronto can make it a double. For that to happen, they require a win on Friday over Alliance United, the team they just beat in Wednesday’s cup final. On top of that, they need the Rovers to lose, and NDC to not win.
If NDC draws, the Rovers lose, and North Toronto does not win, then the league crown remains in NDC’s hands.
Top honour is not the only thing on the line this weekend in the Premier Division. There is also the concern of relegation for three teams: North Mississauga, FC London, and Alliance United. Two points separate the trio, as the pressure mounts.
Alliance heads into the final weekend under the most pressure, since they sit last. A defeat will see them get relegated to the Championship Division. They will also go down if FC London wins and North Mississauga avoids defeat. If they draw, they would need FC London to lose in order to avoid direct relegation. Instead, they would play in a playoff versus the second tier’s runner up to determine their fate.
A win, coupled with a North Mississauga loss and an FC London draw or loss, is the only way Alliance will guarantee their spot in the league next year.
FC London currently sits second from bottom. They know that a win, and/or an Alliance loss will assure them ninth spot as the worst case scenario. If they want to avoid the playoff, however, they require a win plus a North Miss draw/loss. The only way they go down is if Alliance wins more points than them this weekend.
As for North Miss, they are on the cusp of maintaining their Premier Division status. Victory on Saturday over the Woodbridge Strikers will see them finish eighth. Should FC London and Alliance both fail to win, then they will be safe, regardless of the result. The only way they finish last is with a loss, and the aforementioned duo both win. A loss, coupled with one of the two winning, or a draw and an FC London victory, will force them into the playoff.
League1 Ontario Championship: Six Teams Dreaming of Promotion
Things are arguably crazier in the Championship Division, where six of the nine teams can still finish in the top two. Three of those sides can even capture the title.
Top honours will go to one of Scrosoppi, Hamilton United, or Pickering FC. The Milton-based Scrosoppi owns their destiny, as they know a victory over Pickering on Sunday will land them the league title. Defeat would see them finish second so long as neither Hamilton or Whitby win.
Hamilton, who lost on Wednesday, surrendered the advantage, but can still achieve automatic promotion. A Saturday win over Unionville Milliken, coupled with a Scrosoppi draw/loss the next day, will give them the title.
They will finish second if they and Scrosoppi win, or if both games are drawn, while Whitby and Tecumseh do not prevails. Second place could remain theirs even with a loss. In that case they need none of Pickering, Whitby, Tecumseh, or Oakville to win.
Pickering is the only other team who can win the title. That would happen should they top Scrosoppi, and Hamilton does not win. The only way they would finish second is if both them and Hamilton prevail in their respective matches.
Three more teams head into the weekend hoping for a shot at second place. It should be noted right off the bat that a Hamilton win on Saturday would eliminate all three from contention.
For Whitby to snatch the playoff spot, a win at Burlington would be required. A Hamilton draw or loss would see them clinch second place, regardless of what happens between Scrosoppi and Pickering. Due to them having less wins, they would lose out on second if they do not win.
Oakville and Tecumseh have it much more difficult heading into their clash. They can knock each other out of contention by beating the other, or if the game ends level. For the winner to grab second spot, they need Hamilton to lose, and Whitby and Pickering to drop points.
In Tecumseh’s case, a Hamilton draw could still see them claim the runner up berth, providing they have a better goal difference. Currently, they would need a five-goal swing in that regard.
Playoff Finals: Inter-Provincial Championship and Promotion on the Line
There are four finals to take place between Friday and Sunday. Two are in Quebec, the other two in Ontario.
The highest-profile match will come from Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne in Laval, as CS Mont-Royal Outremont and FC Laval square off in the Ligue1 Quebec final. It is the third meeting between the pair, with FC Laval prevailing 2-1 in the more recent outing earlier this month. The first match ended scoreless.
CSMRO, who won the league last year, took out Academie CF Montreal in the semifinals. They reached the final of last year’s Interprovincial Championship before falling to Vancouver Whitecaps Academy – now the Rise Academy – on penalties.
For FC Laval, they are looking to become the fifth different Quebec-based team to reach the national tournament. They won their group, then defeated Royal Select Beauport in their semifinal. In what was their fifth season in the league, this is their best performance.
Also on Sunday is the Ligue2 Quebec final. AS Brossard is already involved in the game, and will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between CS Trident and CS St-Laurent. Whoever comes out on top will be the final team in Ligue1 Quebec next year.
Brossard got the better of CS Trois-Rivieres on penalties in their Tuesday semifinal. They finished third in the regular season behind Trident and division winners Lakeshore SC.
The other two finals will come from League2 Ontario. Friday will feature the men’s final, between Cambridge United and St. Catharines Roma Wolves B. The former edged Burlington B in their semifinal, while the latter got past Vaughan B on penalties.
Cambridge, playing in their maiden campaign in the league, will be promoted with a win. Should they lose, and St. Catharines B refuses promotion, then they will have a playoff game against Rush Canada for the last spot in the League1 Ontario Championship Division in 2026.
On the women’s side, Waterloo United B and Woodbridge Strikers B meet in the showpiece. The winners of their respective conferences, Waterloo B beat Alliance B 4-0 in their semi. As for Woodbridge B, they knocked off Railway City 2-1.
It is worth noting that should the winning side reject promotion, Railway will battle Cambridge United in a one-off match to determine the side going up.
Header Image Photo Credit: Martin Bazyl