PSL Canada Men’s Review: Week 17

The Premier Soccer Leagues Canada action continued last week as titles, promotions, and relegations are still to be decided. Many of the teams left still have something to play for, making for an exciting final month of the season.

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Northern Tribune has you covered with everything that took place over the last week at the country’s pro-am level. This is the men’s recap, while you can find the women’s review here.

Alberta Premier League: Title To Go Down To the Wire

The Alberta Premier League had only three matches last week as BTB Academy’s clash with Callies United was postponed. Cavalry II completed their year with a 3-1 success over Callies on Tuesday, while St. Albert Impact defeated Calgary Foothills 2-0.

As for the Calgary Blizzard, they kept their title hopes alive with a 4-0 victory over Calgary Villains. Marco Pleznik’s brace sent the home side on their way.

With the victory – coupled with BTB’s postponement – the Blizzard is ahead going into the final full week of the regular season. Of course, the Edmonton-based side has the game in hand, and will win the title if they come out on top in their final two matches.

The Calgary Rangers and Calgary Villains square off next Tuesday as part of a three-match night. BTB hosts St. Albert, while the Blizzard and Foothills square off.

Ontario Premier League: Title Races Intense

The Ontario Premier League had a busy week as both the OPL1 and OPL2 had double gameweeks while the OPL3 playoff began. There was certainly no shortage of drama across the matches as the pressure intensifies.

Here is what transpired in the province over the last week.

Ontario Premier League 1: Woodbridge, Scrosoppi Go Further Clear

The OPL1 had a total of 12 matches with some significant results at both ends of the table.

Wednesday saw all 12 teams play, where North Toronto Nitros scored seven times in a 7-2 success against International FC. Burlington SC edged St. Catherines Roma Wolves 2-1, a scoreline that Scrosoppi copied against Unionville Milliken. Vaughan Azzurri got past Oakville SC 3-1, Sudbury Cyclones defeated Simcoe County Rovers 1-0, and Woodbridge Strikers topped Sigma 3-1.

Saturday’s two games ended in a 3-2 Oakville success over Simcoe, and a 2-2 draw between Unionville and Burlington. Woodbridge and Scrosoppi made it two wins for the week after beating St. Catherines 3-0 and Burlington 2-1, respectively. Sigma got the better of Sudbury 2-1, and North Toronto held Vaughan to a 2-2 draw.

Vaughan’s draw put them six points back of Woodbridge and five on Scrosoppi, though they still have a game in hand. Simcoe’s two defeats, especially the one against Sudbury, increased the likelihood of their relegation.

Next week begins with a Wednesday night clash between Burlington and Woodbridge. St. Catherines welcomes Unionville on Friday night, while Scrosoppi faces North Toronto. On Sunday, International has Oakville, Burlington battles Sigma, Woodbridge takes on Simcoe, and Vaughan meets Sudbury.

Ontario Premier League 2: Master’s Takes Lead

Both ends of the OPL2 table saw its fair share of the drama last week where 11 matches took place. Master’s FA got past The Borough 2-1 on Tuesday in what was a huge win. Inter Toronto II won the other game, edging Cambridge United 3-2.

On Wednesday, Waterloo United defeated North Mississauga 2-0, Pickering FC took down Hamilton United Elite 2-1, and Guelph United drew 1-1 with Whitby FC.

Master’s added another win to their week, beating Inter Toronto II 3-0 on Saturday. Cambridge defeated Windsor City 5-2, Waterloo got the better of The Borough 3-2, and Pickering drew 1-1 against Whitby. Guelph United and Hamilton enjoyed vital wins on Sunday, getting past North Mississauga 3-1 and FC London 2-0 respectively.

Master’s now leads the division after claiming six points last week. The Borough falls to second after suffering two defeats, but Waterloo, Windsor and even Whitby are still in the hunt. At the opposite end, Guelph and Hamilton jumped into ninth and 10th, with North Mississauga now sitting bottom of the pack.

Windsor and Whitby square off on Friday in a big match for the pair. Hamilton also has a huge clash of their own, hosting North Miss. Cambridge meets Master’s in their game that night. London hosts Waterloo on Saturday, before The Borough takes on Pickering and Guelph tackles Inter Toronto II on Sunday.

Ontario Premier League 3: Railway Collapses In Playoff Semi

The OPL3 regular season concluded last week, while the playoffs also began. In the Northeast Conference, Whitby B edged Pickering B 1-0.

Rush Canada ended their season with a 1-1 draw with Sigma B in the Central Conference. That was also the score between Inter Toronto III and Simcoe B. Scrosoppi B topped North Mississauga B 1-0, and Sudbury B got the better of Vaughan B 4-3.

In the Southwest Conference, Railway City secured the final playoff berth with a 1-0 defeat of Hamilton B, though they did lose 2-0 to Oakville B. Waterloo B topped Burlington B 4-3, Cambridge B got past Windsor B 4-1 and Guelph B 5-1.

Windsor B and London B are still to complete their regular season, while Guelph B also has to take on Waterloo B. The former will occur on Thursday, with the latter yet to be confirmed.

The playoffs also began on Monday, with Railway City facing Woodbridge B. The Central Conference winners found a way to come from behind in the final 20 minutes, scoring twice in a matter of moments to win 3-2.

The other semifinal between The Borough B and the Kingston Sentinels ended 2-2 after 90 minutes with a stoppage time goal from the hosts levelling the game. However, the match ended up being postponed due to averse weather.

Saturday will be the OPL3 final, as Woodbridge B will take on the winner of the other semifinal. That semi will conclude with a penalty shootout with the winning side heading to Vaughan for the final.

LS PRO Quebec: Knockout Round to Commence

After a week off from Coupe du Quebec play, the province’s cup competition will begin the knockout stages with the round of 32.

Next Wednesday will have the first two matches of the round, with CS St-Laurent to meet interregional club US Montreal, while AS Chaudiere-Ouest takes on Celtix du Haut-Richelieu.

As for last week’s action, here is what took place.

Ligue 1 Quebec: LaSalle Earns Vital Point At the Death

Ligue 1 Quebec’s 12 teams took to the pitch on Saturday in a day filled with drama. St-Laurent began the action with a comfortable 4-1 defeat of AS Gatineau away. CS St-Hubert then drew 2-2 with Royal Beauport as the visitors failed to hold onto their lead twice.

Ottawa South United edged Celtix du Haut-Richelieu 2-1, something FC Laval also managed to achieve versus AS Blainville. AS Laval got past CS Longueuil 1-0 in their game, while CS LaSalle scored a stoppage time leveller against CS Mont Royal Outremont – despite being down to 10 men – to earn a huge 2-2 draw in a relegation six-pointer.

St-Laurent continues to lead the league with a one-point gap over Ottawa, who has played a game more. That bottom four sides are split by six points, with CSMRO’s late concession costing them two key points.

Les Griffons will have a second chance at LaSalle when the two square off on Wednesday at TMR Rec. On Saturday, Ottawa faces Longueuil, AS Laval has AS Gatineau, and FC Laval meets LaSalle. St-Laurent welcomes Beauport as part of Sunday’s play which will also see Blainville take on Celtix and CSMRO host St-Hubert in another huge clash.

Ligue 2 Quebec: St-Lazare Hudson With Massive Win

There was only one match in Ligue 2 Quebec last week, but it had huge consequences in the relegation battle in Group B. CS St-Lazare Hudson scored a 94th minute winner via Benjamin Haynes to top CF L’International de Quebec 1-0 away.

The result means that St-Lazare is now four points ahead of CS Montreal Centre, who still has a game in hand. For L’International, the defeat meant nothing for them as they already clinched promotion to Ligue 1.

The last full round of the regular season is next weekend. CS Roussillon takes on Mistral de Sherbrooke on Friday in a vital match for both teams as they look to avoid the drop. Montreal Centre takes on L’International de Quebec also needing a win, as anything less will send them down.

Panellinios St-Michel hosts Revolution FC, while St-Lazare Hudson is at Union Lanaudiere Sud knowing victory will seal their spot in the league next term.

The other promoted team will be decided on Saturday at 19:00 ET, where Lakeshore SC takes on AS Chaudiere-Ouest while CS Trident battles CSRDP. Trident is just a point away from winning the group, but Lakeshore can still snatch it from them.

Ligue 3 Quebec: St-Jerome Clinches Playoff Berth

There were games aplenty in Ligue 3 Quebec last week, with the majority of the teams taking the pitch at least once. The first match was on Tuesday, where AS St-Leonard drew 1-1 with FS Salaberry.

On Wednesday, Cosmos de Granby impressed 5-0 over Chevaliers NDMC, Boreal FC defeated Dollard des Ormaux 3-0, CS Titans pulled off a huge 3-2 win over Ambassadeurs St-Jerome, and St-Leonard got the better of Notre-Dame-de-Grace 2-0.

Saturday’s four games saw Phenix des Rivieres draw 1-1 with CS Fury de Rimouski, Soccer Pointe Claire triumph 2-0 at Vallee Blizz’Or, Venturi de Saguenay edge AS Montis 2-1, and CS Boucherville prevail 5-0 against Mondial de Riviere-du-Loup.

Seven more matches took place on Sunday, where CS Trois-Rivieres beat Venturi 3-0, St-Jerome recovered to get past Boreal FC 4-1, CS Haute-St-Charles finally won with a 6-4 defeat of Montis. CS Levis-Est topped Fury de Rimouski 3-2, Chevaliers exacted revenge on Cosmos with a 4-1 win, West Ottawa SC prevailed 7-1 at AS Brossard, and St-Leonard won 2-0 away to Dollard.

Despite their loss on Wednesday, St-Jerome became the second team to clinch their playoff spot. West Ottawa is very close to becoming the third team to secure their spot in the playoffs, with Cosmos also in a good spot to do so.

Another 13 games are set to occur next week as Phenix will look to solidify their East division lead at Chevaliers. West Ottawa hosts AS Saint-Lambert in their match, while Levis-Est welcomes Montis.