League1 Canada Men’s Review: Week 4

A new month has started, with many of the League1 Canada teams starting to establish themselves in their 2025 season. There were a few several close games across the country this past week, with many results likely to be pivotal later on in the year.

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As always, Northern Tribune has you covered with weekly recaps of everything that happens across the country. Here is the fourth week of the women’s League1 Canada review. You can find the women’s recap here.

League1 BC: Unity, Evolution Prevail in Close Contests

Saturday’s two League1 BC matches provided a combined 15 goals, with all four sides scoring at least thrice. Things kicked off in Langley, where Unity found the back of the net five times to defeat Langley United 5-3. The guests were spearheaded by a Kieran Eve hattrick, which played a key role in grabbing all three points.

Later on, Frixos Petsas also scored a trio of goals for Evolution, as they topped Vancouver Whitecaps Academy 4-3. The hosts came from 2-0 down against the 10 men to prevail. Sunday saw Kamloops United leave it until the final quarter of the game to convert their chances in a 4-0 defeat of Nanaimo United. Altitude and Burnaby FC finished goalless as neither team could get on the scoreboard.

Kamloops and Burnaby are the two unbeaten teams so far, although the latter has played a game less. They are the top two, with TSS Rovers and Evolution also in the mix. Overall, it is a rather tight mix at the top after four rounds of play.

Next Saturday has a trio of games. Burnaby will host TSS Rovers, while Nanaimo battles Langley. Vancouver Rise Academy ends the day with a home match versus Kamloops. Sunday’s lone fixture will see Altitude look for their first win of 2025 as they face Evolution. Unity is off for the weekend.

League1 Alberta: Away Wins the Theme in Opening Weekend

The first full week of League1 Alberta play occurred last Friday, with four games to open the season. Things got underway with last year’s champions Calgary Blizzard, who drew 1-1 away to the Edmonton Scottish. Philip Masri’s early goal for the home side was cancelled out by Jacob Hunter just past the half hour mark.

Cavalry U-21 scored once in each half as they got the better of St. Albert 2-0 in their clash. Owen Antoniuk got what proved to be the winner for the young Cavs. The only all-Calgary affair for the night ended 4-1 in Calgary Foothills’ favour against Callies United. Amadou Bayo’s double proved crucial for last year’s runner ups as they start things off with a convincing victory.

Friday’s last game involved eight goals, as BTB Academy got the better of Calgary Villains 5-3 in a back-and-forth first half. Twice did the guests take the lead in the opening 45, but twice did their opponents respond. Nevertheless, BTB found two more in five minutes later on in the second period to claim all three points.

Monday’s final game of the round ended in a dominant 6-1 Blizzard win over the Villains. The home team was already up 2-0 less than five minutes in. Leading 5-0 by halftime, they were able to cruise to a big win.

The Blizzard and BTB are the two teams in front early on, the latter having drawn with Calgary Rangers a couple weeks back. Only Cavalry U21 has not conceded so far.

There are three ties on Friday. Edmonton Scottish faces off against the Calgary Rangers, while the Blizzard looks for a second win, at home to the Foothills. As for St. Albert, they will return home to meet BTB Academy.

Been catching up on some L1O action from this past weekend, and this Jacob Spizzirri stunner against his old club needs to be talked about.

Ab-so-lute cinema.

🎥: @L1OMens pic.twitter.com/JAzwLSCxEC

— Greg Paziuk (@gregpaziuk) May 6, 2025

League1 Ontario: Draws Proving Common

There were nine draws across the three League1 Ontario divisions this past week. Only one game saw a team win by more than three goals, proving that the games were largely close. A look back at everything that transpired in Ontario.

League1 Ontario Premier: Burlington, Vaughan With Road Wins

Five games occurred in Ontario’s Premier Division, including one Saturday game. In that clash, two former CPL players in Ryan Robinson and Andy Baquero got the goals for Vaughan Azzurri in their 2-0 victory at FC London. Another former CPLer, Ethan Beckford, failed to convert from the spot, which would have given the guests a more comfortable win.

Sunday had the remaining four matches. Oakville SC managed three goals in the first 50 minutes in their 3-1 success over St. Catharines Roma Wolves. Meanwhile, at Vaughan Grove, the Woodbridge Strikers needed a 96th minute penalty from Anthony Aromatario to earn a 1-1 draw versus Simcoe County Rovers.

Burlington SC waited until the second half to prevail 4-0 at Siga FC. Four different players were part of the scoring for the side. The round concluded with another 1-1 stalemate. This time, it was North Toronto Nitros who levelled deep in stoppage time via a penalty to pick up a point against Alliance United.

Despite being off so they could focus on their Canadian Championship match, Scrosoppi is still in front. They have two teams joining them this time though, in Vaughan and Oakville. Alliance and Woodbridge are also undefeated early on.

On Friday, Sigma faces FC London to open round four. Saturday’s pair of matches see Scrosoppi face Alliance, while North Toronto has Oakvillle at home. To wrap things up, Sunday has two more games, as Burlington hosts St. Catharines, and Simcoe County Rovers battles Vaughan Azzurri in an interesting contest.

League1 Championship: Whitby Impresses Once More

There were only two teams to pick up victories in the Championship Division last week. One of those teams was Whitby FC, who beat Waterloo United 4-1. Two goals in either half did the trick for the home side as they continued their impressive start to the campaign. Fridays’ other matches ended 1-1, between North Mississauga and Master’s FA, and Pickering and Hamilton United Elite.

The other team to come out victorious was The Borough, as the promoted side defeated Windsor City 2-1. Hazem Elmarakby bagged a brace for the home side, with his second coming just before the break. Saturday’s other fixture ended in a 2-2 draw as Sudbury Cyclones twice came from behind to earn a result against Guelph United.

It also ended 2-2 between Unionville Milliken and York United Academy on Sunday, as the latter threw away a two-goal lead. They also finished with 10 men, but they at least managed a point. Monday ended the week with another stalemate, as Hamilton United and Master’s were involved in a second 1-1 draw in a matter of days. Hamilton played a man down for virtually the whole match, but still managed a goal and a point in the end.

We could be in for a very fun season in the Championship Division, as three sides are level on points at the top. In fact, the top eight teams are separated by just three points. This makes things a lot more intriguing early on.

There are just five games next week in the division. Friday sees Waterloo face North Mississauga, while York hosts The Borough. The remaining clashes are on Saturday: Hamilton United meets Sudbury Cyclones; Master’s hosts Pickering; and Windsor City takes on Whitby.

League2 Ontario: Railway and Cambridge Win Again

There were only 10 matches in League2 Ontario this past week, with many tight scores. The Northeast Conference saw Vaughan Azzurri B top Unionville Milliken B 3-1, while the other game in the conference resulted in another away win. An Adrian Panaite hattrick lifted Alliance B past Sudbury Cyclones B 3-0.

In the Central Conference, North Toronto B earned a 2-0 victory over Scrosoppi B. There were a pair of 3-0 wins for North Toronto B and Sigma B, over North Missisauga B and Woodbridge B, respectively. In the all-Oakville clash, Rush Canada and Oakville SC played to a 0-0 draw.

The Southwest Conference had another win for Railway City as Jonathan Kam’s late strike saw them past Hamilton United B. St. Catharines B and Guelph B settled for a 2-2 draw, while Waterloo B edged FC London B 1-0. As for Cambridge United, they came from a goal down to beat Windsor City B 2-0 at home.

League2 Ontario will be busier next week with 15 matches across the three divisions, with all three senior teams in action. Railway City has Windsor City B, Cambridge will be at FC London B, and Rush Canada is at Scrosoppi B.

Ligue1 Quebec: Goals Aplenty in League

Just two of the 28 clubs involved in Ligue1 and Ligue2 Quebec failed to score this past week, as there were some dramatic games. With Ligue3 Quebec starting next week, here is what happened in La Belle Provence.

Ligue1 Quebec: AS Laval Wins Big

There were just four games in the top division in Quebec this week, as FC Laval had their match against CS Longueuil postponed. In the meantime, AS Laval came away with a 5-2 success at Ottawa South United. Three goals in 15 second half minutes did the trick for the away side as they earned a key result.

Saturday’s other match ended honours even, as Celtix du Haut-Richelieu drew 1-1 with CS St-Laurent. That was also the final score on Sunday as AS Blainville and Royal Select Beauport claimed a goal and a point each. Bonano Buegre Gnenago’s 93rd minute leveller denied Blainville all three points in the end. As for CS Mont-Royal Outremont, they edged CS St-Hubert 2-1 in their match.

AS Laval and CSMRO lead the way after two rounds, as they grabbed a pair of wins. Longueuil and St-Hubert are the only teams without a point early on.

Next Saturday will have four games, as Beauport faces Ottawa South United, St-Hubert meets Blainville, Longueuil welcomes CSMRO, and AS Laval takes on Celtix. Sunday will have the blockbuster game, as St-Laurent and FC Laval, who between the two have won the last three league titles, face off.

Ligue2 Quebec: Lakeshore Still Perfect

All 24 sides were involved in Ligue2 Quebec play this past weekend, as only one side remains with a perfect report. That team is Lakeshore SC, who beat Union Lanaudiere-Sud 3-2 on Friday. They had to do it the hard way, scoring their winner in the 95th minute by Pedro Gulli.

The rest of the week’s action took place on Saturday, which started off with a 1-1 draw between Chaudiere-Ouest and AS Gatineau. St. Lazare-Hudson held on for a 3-1 victory over CS Trois-Rivieres with a late flurry of goals. Revolution finally dropped points, as they were held 1-1 against CS Montreal-Centre in an early top clash.

CS Trident won 1-0 at CS Roussillon, while CS LaSalle dominated AS St-Leonard 5-1 as Loic Kwemy and Prince-Ivan Nginyu both bagged braces. Levis-Est claimed their first win of the year with a 3-2 result at Panellinios St-Michel. A pair of stoppage time goals did the trick for the guests as they turned things around at the death.

Mistral de Sherbrooke also earned a good result, topping AS Montis 4-1 at home. while L’International de Quebec defeated AS Brossard 5-2 in a high-scoring affair. Phenix des Rivieres came out on top for the second time, beating CSRDP 2-1. As for CS Braves Ahuntsic, they topped St-Jerome 3-2 thanks to a Juan Pablo Munoz hattrick. Boucherville ended the round with a convincing display in their 5-0 defeat of Boreal FC on the road.

Lakeshore is now alone at the top with 12 points, while L’International de Quebec, Trident, and Revolution are on 10. LaSalle and Montreal-Centre are the only other sides unbeaten so far, both on eight points.

There is one midweek match, taking place on Wednesday between Trois-Rivieres and Braves Ahuntsic. The lone Friday match this week pits together Montreal-Centre and Panellinios, before Saturday has the other 11 games. The match of the week will undoubtedly be between Lakeshore and L’International de Quebec, the current top two sides.

Header Image Photo Credit: Lathanuel Filliol