PSL Canada Review: Week 2

The second week of the Premier Soccer Leagues Canada season came and went last week, with Ontario kicking off its campaign, joining British Columbia and Quebec in getting their season underway.

With more games, it meant more to follow for fans across the country. Here is a look back at everything that took place in Canada’s semipro game. For last week’s recap, you can view that here.

BC Premier League: Goals Galore Across the Board

The BC Premier League completed its second week of the year, with all six games across the men’s and women’s divisions seeing multiple goals. Here is how things turned out.

BC Premier League Men’s: Langley Dominates Again

On the men’s side, the only team to come out on top was Langley United. The defending champions topped Kamloops United 5-0 on Friday. Vancouver FC striker Lys Mousset was among the goals for the home side, who got a brace later on from Vitor Lucas.

Both of Saturday’s matches ended in 2-2 draws. Burnaby FC and Nanaimo United had the lead once each in their contest, but neither could come out on top at Burnaby Lake West. Meanwhile, TSS Rovers raced to a 2-0 lead in the first half, only to be pegged back by Unity FC, who responded with a pair of late goals to get a share of the spoils.

With neither the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy nor Altitude in action, it leaves Langley as the only team to collect two wins from as many games so far. Kamloops, on the other hand, has yet to get off the ground.

Next week will see four games on the docket. Nanaimo will commence the week at home to the Whitecaps on Tuesday, and then will return to the field on Saturday to take on Kamloops. On Sunday, Altitude will face TSS Rovers, and Burnaby meets Unity.

BC Premier League Women’s: Burnaby Holds Nanaimo

The women’s BCPL also had three matches, starting with a Friday night win for Langley United. They defeated Kamloops 3-1, getting the job done in the first half. Unity was the other winner of the week, topping TSS Rovers 2-0 at home on Saturday.

However, the match with the most drama came in Burnaby, where Burnaby FC played to a 2-2 draw against Nanaimo United. The visitors struck first through Erin Jensen, only for Dariella Johnson to respond shortly after the break. Nanaimo retook the lead with less than 20 minutes to go, but Salina Ali found the equalizer seven minutes from time to claim a point for Burnaby.

Both the men’s and women’s divisions have Langley on top after two rounds. The only difference here is that no team has six points thus far. Of course, Altitude can reach that mark next weekend.

As the games are doubleheaders, the only difference from the men’s matches is that Vancouver Rise Academy – not the Whitecaps Academy – will face Nanaimo on the road on Tuesday. The weekend matches are Nanaimo against Kamloops (Saturday), Altitude versus TSS Rovers, and Burnaby facing Unity (both Sunday).

Ontario Premier League: New Teams Make Debut

Cup action kicked off the Ontario Premier League season, with first round play producing some intriguing results. Cupsets were already part of the theme as well, providing further chaos in the province’s opening week of play.

Here is what happened in the OPL Cup.

OPL Cup Men’s: Top Tier Sides Stunned

There were three cupsets in the men’s OPL Cup, starting with the very first game on Tuesday. In Hamilton, Sigma fell 3-1 to North Mississauga. Despite taking the lead, the hosts could not hold on against their local rivals, who overturned the deficit through Cristiano Candelaresi’s double. Christian Krzyanowski added a third towards the end to complete the shock result.

Two days later, Waterloo United also completed an impressive scalp, topping Simcoe County Rovers 3-2. They had to do it a man down in the final 20 minutes, but John Noubissi bagged the winner in the 89th minute for them to advance.

One of the new sides, International FC, played their first OPL match on Saturday, falling 3-2 to Master’s FA. A red card moments after going up costed them dearly, as the Saints turned things around in the second half to make it through.

The other two debutants in the league, Kingston Sentinels and Richmond Hill, were beaten as well. The former was thumped 6-1 at Unionville Milliken, while the latter took a 4-1 beating away to St. Catharines Roma Wolves.

Penalties were required at 1Password Park, where Guelph United held off the other OPL3 side Railway City after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes. David Cubillos levelled for the home side in the 97th minute, only for them to lose 7-6 in the shootout.

In other results for the round, The Borough topped Whitby FC 4-0 away, Pickering FC edge Windsor City 1-0, Sudbury Cyclones found their way past Hamilton United 1-0, North Toronto Nitros got the better of Rush Canada 3-0, Cambridge United defeated Inter Toronto II 1-0, and Oakville SC got past FC London 3-2.

First round byes were given to Woodbridge Strikers, Scrosoppi, Burlington SC, and Vaughan Azzurri. All four sides will commence their seasons next week, when the domestic leagues get underway. All three divisions in the OPL will start next week, with plenty of action to come.

OPL Cup Women’s: International, Kingston Prevail In First Matches

The OPL Cup women’s competition also kicked off on Tuesday, where FC London started the season with a 5-1 defeat of new side Richmond Hill. Leading after an early own goal, the OPL1 team added two shortly after the restart on their way to a comfortable win.

Saturday’s action featured the major upset of the round, where Unionville Milliken lost 3-2 to Kingston Sentinels. The visitors, playing their first-ever OPL match, twice took the lead in the first half through Mattson Strickler, only for the home team to find a leveller both times. Lily Goss claimed the winner though, scoring 11 minutes after halftime as Kingston held on for the cupset.

International FC was also a winner, needing penalties to get past Master’s FA. An 81st minute goal from Soledad Vazquez forced spot kicks as the match ended 2-2. The new side held their nerve though, winning 4-3 from the spot.

Saturday’s other games saw North Mississauga get past Railway City in a shootout after a 2-2 draw, Hamilton United got past Whitby 1-0, Tecumseh edged St. Catharines 2-1, Sudbury topped Rush Canada 1-0, and Scrosoppi took out Burlington 3-1 on the road.

Sunday had one more match go the distance, as Oakville SC found a 90th minute equalizer from Sienna Dodgson, making it 2-2 against Pickering. That proved to be decisive, as Oakville went on to win 3-0 in the shootout. Woodbridge Strikers won 2-1 over Camridge United in the other game.

First round byes were awarded to Waterloo United, NDC Ontario, North Toronto, Simcoe County, Vaughan, and Guelph United. All six teams start their OPL campaigns next week in what will be a full week of football in the province.

LS PRO Quebec: New Sides Face Contrasting Results

After a festival of football in the first tiers to kick off the LS PRO QC season, the second and third divisions had their first week of play in Quebec. It meant all six divisions saw action in La Belle Provence in a week where there was no shortage of drama.

Here is how things went across Quebec in the first full week of play.

Ligue 1 Quebec Men’s: Celtix Win It Late as Ottawa Impresses

There were only four games in the men’s top tier due to two matches being postponed. Saturday was the busier day, and it started with a 3-2 Celtix du Haut-Richelieu win over Royal Beauport. Renaud Bellemare-Massicotte played hero with a 96th minute winner for the hosts.

Ottawa South United got the biggest win of the week, beating AS Laval 3-0. Abdulazeez Hammood Lazam netted twice for the hosts in a commanding victory for them.

Saturday was the day for goals, as CS LaSalle and CS Longueuil played to a 2-2 stalemate, where last year’s Ligue 2 champs were unable to hold onto their leads twice. Sunday completed the week with FC Laval losing 2-1 to CS St-Hubert at home.

Early pacesetter Longueuil, who has four points from two games, welcomes AS Gatineau next week as part of a three-game Saturday. CS St-Laurent will also be in action that day when they face AS Blainville, while Ottawa will hope to make it two wins in a row on Sunday versus CS Mont Royal Outremont.

Ligue 1 Quebec Women’s: Beauport, Ottawa Score Twice in Wins

The women’s top division in Quebec also had two postponements this weekend, leaving four matches. Saturday had one game, with Beauport getting the better of AS Chaudiere-Ouest 2-0. Goals in either half helped the home team to their second win in as many matches.

Ottawa South United followed suit by beating Lakeshore SC 2-0 at George Nelms Sports Park to open Sunday’s action. Mia Ugarte put the team from the national capital ahead early on, before Emily Copeland doubled the advantage early in the second half.

The other games of the week, also on Sunday, saw Academie CF Montreal draw against CS Longueuil in a goalless clash, while CSMRO topped St-Laurent 1-0 thanks to a Leia Khairy winner just before halftime.

There are seven games in week three of the top division. AS Laval and Celtix kick things off on Tuesday, before the latter sees the field again on Friday against Lakeshore. The match of the week, however, will pit the top two teams together on Saturday as CSMRO welcomes Beauport.

Ligue 2 Quebec Men’s: Lakeshore Stunned As Chaudiere-Ouset Starts Strong

A full round of Ligue 2 Quebec play occurred on the men’s side, where the biggest result saw last year’s finalist Lakeshore SC being beaten 4-1 at Chaudiere-Ouest. Etienne Bertrand netted twice for the home side in what was a statement win to begin their season.

CS St-Lazare Hudson also commenced the season with a huge 3-2 victory over Union Lanaudiere Sud. Thomas Trempe got the winner after teammate Christopher Calin’s double was cancelled out by Elie Zafoe’s brace.

In the other matches of the week – all six games being on Saturday – Revolution FC edged Panellinios St-Michel 1-0, Mistral de Sherbrooke drew 1-1 with CS Roussillon, CS Trident topped CSRDP 4-2 in a comeback, and CF L’International de Quebec drew 2-2 with CS Montreal Centre.

Among next week’s games, L’Internaional de Quebec will look for another decent result at home to Revolution FC. As for Chaudiere-Ouest, they will aim to maintain their strong start at Roussillon.

Ligue 2 Quebec Women’s: LaSalle Sends Statement

It was a weekend for home teams in Ligue 2 Quebec Women’s, where all but one of the six games saw the home teams prevail. Saturday had two matches, where CS St-Hubert defeated CS Fury de Rimouski 1-0. Leamaude Pepin grabbed the winner for the hosts. CS Levis-Est was the other winner, beating AS Gatineau 2-1 thanks to two early goals.

Fury and AS Gatineau returned to the pitch the next day to contrasting results. The former earned their first point with a goalless draw at Revolution FC, while the latter fell 2-0 to CS Trident. Second half goals from Ann-Laurence Beaulieu and Florence Delisle did the damage for Trident, who finished second in the regular season in 2025.

Sunday’s other two games saw CS Boucherville beat AS Brossard 1-0, while CS LaSalle took down CS Trois-Riveres 3-0. Kayle Coulombe got two of her team’s three goals in an impressive victory.

All four of next week’s clashes are on Sunday. CS St-Hubert takes on Trois-Rivieres, AS Gatineau hosts Revolution FC, LaSalle and Boucherville meet to try and go 2-0-0, and Levis-Est and Trident also hope to do the same in their meeting.

Ligue 3 Quebec Men’s: New Sides Start With Wins

There were just four games in Ligue 3 Quebec, with seven different sides taking the pitch. On Wednesday, Cosmos de Granby started life in LS PRO with a 2-1 success at CS Boucherville. Mike Djonkam grabbed the winner 20 minutes from the end. AS Montis was the other winner that night, comfortably defeating CS Trois-Rivieres 4-0. A three-goal first half from the hosts did the damage.

Mondial Riviere-du-Loup played in the two other games. Saturday saw them beat Chevaliers NDMC 2-1 on the road, before they lost 4-1 to Optimum Victoriaville on Sunday. The latter match was Victoriaville’s maiden game in the league, scoring twice near the end to complete the win after they took a 2-1 lead by the 20th minute.

There will be a total of 13 games next season, with most of the other teams getting involved in the action. Among the games, the other four new teams will get their first taste of LS PRO football.

Dollard gets underway on Wednesday at home to Boreal FC. Soccer Pointe-Claire also plays that night, taking on AS St-Leonard. West Ottawa faces Notre-Dame-de-Grace SA on Sunday, while last year’s finalist Fury de Rimouski heads to CS Haute-St-Charles.

Ligue 3 Quebec Women’s: L’International Dominates on the Road

A full week of action occurred in Ligue 3 Quebec Women’s in what was the division’s first-ever week of play. All four games took place on Sunday, where CF L’International Quebec scored often in a 6-0 defeat of new side Cosmos de Granby. Five different players found the back of the net for the visitors as they scored thrice in each half in the victory.

The two other new teams in LS PRO, Victoriaville and West Ottawa, drew 1-1 in their opener at CEGEP Victoriaville. Kim O’Rourke put WOSC in front 13 minutes in, only for Catherine St-Jean to tie things up five minutes before the interval.

CS Roussillon kicked off their campaign with a convincing 4-0 success on the road at CS Du Bas Richelieu, while Mistral de Sherbrooke defeated Phenix des Rivieres 3-1 on their travels. Union Lanaudiere Sud was not in action for week one.

Next Sunday will see Union get their opener was they head to Victoriaville. Roussillon faces L’International de Quebec, Phenix des Rivieres welcomes CS Du Bas Richelieu, and Mistral de Sherbrooke faces off against Granby. That leaves West Ottawa with the week off.