# 2010 Canadian Soccer League season

The 2010 Canadian Soccer League season (known as the Givova Canadian Soccer League for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th since its establishment where a total of 24 teams from Ontario and Quebec took part in the league. The season began on Saturday May 8, 2010, and ended on October 31. Brantford Galaxy SC won their first championship in their inaugural season with a 3–0 win over Hamilton Croatia in the CSL Championship Final at the Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto on October 31, 2010. The CSL administration restructured the league by combining both the International & National divisions to form the CSL First Division with a single table structure. The regular season title was claimed by the York Region Shooters, while the Serbian White Eagles Res. won their first reserve league championship.
The league was granted full membership in the Canadian Soccer Association allowing the CSL to work closely with the CSA in order to continue creating the developmental system required in the development of Canadian players, referees, coaches, and administrators . The season also witnessed the appointment of Domenic Di Gironimo as the new Commissioner after the resignation of Cary Kaplan at the conclusion of the 2009 season. The commissioner was appointed to the CSA Professional Soccer Committee to further continue the planned expansion of the league to a fully national league with regional divisions under the CSL banner. The league expanded throughout Ontario to include the Brant County, Hamilton, and Halton Region territories. The Montreal Impact ended their affiliation with Trois-Rivières Attak, but entered the Montreal Impact Academy as their academy team becoming the second professional academy club to join the league. The Reserve Division also expanded for the first time beyond the Greater Toronto Area to include 11 reserve teams, and an entry-level club Ottawa FC.
The CSL reached a sponsorship agreement with Givova which granted the company the naming rights to the league, and to the CSL Championship. Other major sponsorship's included Days Inns – Canada, and a record broadcasting agreement with Rogers TV, which provided coverage of 45 matches including all playoff games to the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland through the Rogers Super Sports Pack.

## Changes from 2009 season

* Single table structure.
* Four new expansion clubs: Montreal Impact Academy, Milltown FC, Brantford Galaxy SC and Hamilton Croatia.
* Trois-Rivières Attak ended cooperation with Montreal Impact; they announced that they would take a sabbatical year in 2010 and return for the 2011 season.
* Ottawa FC played as a guest team in the Reserve Division.
* Teams played a balanced schedule of 24 games.

## Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
| Brampton Lions | Brampton, Ontario (Bramalea) | Victoria Park Stadium | Armando Costa |
| Brantford Galaxy | Brantford, Ontario | Steve Brown Sports Complex | Lazo Džepina |
| Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton, Ontario | Brian Timmis Stadium | Ron Davidson |
| London City | London, Ontario (Westmount) | Cove Road Stadium | Luka Shaqiri |
| Milltown F.C. | Milton, Ontario (Clarke) | Bishop Reding SS | Rafael Carbajal |
| Montreal Impact Academy | Montreal, Quebec | Saputo Stadium | Philippe Eullaffroy |
| North York Astros | Toronto, Ontario (North York) | Esther Shiner Stadium | Gerardo Lezcano |
| Portugal FC | Toronto, Ontario (Liberty Village) | Lamport Stadium | Carmine Isacco |
| Serbian White Eagles | Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) | Centennial Park Stadium | Niki Budalić |
| St. Catharines Wolves | St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) | Club Roma Stadium | James McGillivray |
| TFC Academy | Toronto, Ontario (Exhibition Place) | BMO Field | Jason Bent |
| Toronto Croatia | Toronto, Ontario (Etobicoke) | Centennial Park Stadium | Alen Vukobrad |
| York Region Shooters | Vaughan, Ontario (Maple) | St. Joan Of Arc Turf Field | Filipe Bento |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Brampton Lions | Goran Rapaic | Replaced | June 27, 2010 | 13th in June | Armando Costa | June 27, 2010 |
| North York Astros | Michael Ridout | Resigned | July 4, 2010 | 6th in July | Gerardo Lezcano | July 10, 2010 |
| London City | Andrew Loague | Resigned | July 15, 2010 | 12th in July | Luka Shaqiri | July 15, 2010 |
| Toronto Croatia | Kreso Grnjto | Replaced | August 7, 2010 | 9th in August | Daniel Leko | August 17, 2010 |
| Toronto Croatia | Daniel Leko | End of interim spell | September 15, 2010 | 10th in September | Alen Vukobrad | September 15, 2010 |
| Serbian White Eagles | Duško Prijić | Sacked | September14, 2010 | 3rd in September | Niki Budalić | September15, 2010 |

## Results table

All stats as of games played October 9, 2010:
| Home \ Away | BMP | BNF | HAM | LON | MIL | MTL | NYA | POR | SER | STC | TFCA | TOR | YRS |
| Brampton Lions | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Brantford Galaxy | 1–1 | | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 5–2 |
| Hamilton Croatia | 3–1 | 2–2 | | 6–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| London City | 1–5 | 2–2 | 3–4 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–7 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Milltown FC | 2–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Montreal Impact Academy | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| North York Astros | 3–2 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 0–7 | 2–4 | 1–1 | | 3–4 | 0–5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–4 |
| Portugal FC | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 2–3 |
| Serbian White Eagles | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| St. Catharines Wolves | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 |
| TFC Academy | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Toronto Croatia | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 |
| York Region Shooters | 2–3 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | York Region Shooters (A, C) | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 46 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 2 | Serbian White Eagles (A) | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 45 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 3 | Hamilton Croatia (A) | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 44 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 4 | Milltown FC (A) | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 43 | 22 | +21 | 43 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 5 | Portugal FC (A) | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 38 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 6 | TFC Academy (A) | 24 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 38 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 7 | Brantford Galaxy (A, O) | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 32 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 8 | Toronto Croatia (A) | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 30 | Qualified for the Givova CSL Cup play-offs |
| 9 | Montreal Impact Academy | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 31 | +3 | 28 | |
| 10 | Brampton Lions | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 28 | |
| 11 | London City | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 61 | −23 | 20 | |
| 12 | North York Astros | 24 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 32 | 62 | −30 | 18 | |
| 13 | St. Catharines Wolves | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 19 | 54 | −35 | 16 | |

## Playoffs

The postseason format began with a two-leg quarterfinal home and away series, followed by a one-game semifinal for the four surviving teams and a one-game final on Sunday, October 31.
The top four teams had the option to play their first quarterfinal game at home or away and the home venue was awarded to the top seeded teams that advanced to the semifinals. The CSL Championship Final was played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke on October 31 and received coverage from Rogers TV.
In the event teams were tied on points in the final league standings, CSL rules provided for the following tiebreakers in the order listed:
* Total wins in regular season games.
* Head-to-head record based on total points in league games.
* Goal difference in regular season games.
* Goals scored in regular season games.
In the unlikely event teams were still tied, the rules provided for the lowest number of disciplinary points during regular season games and if necessary, by the luck of the draw.
In the quarterfinals, the two-game home and away series was decided by total points and if tied on points, it was to be total goals over the two games. There was to be a two 15-minute periods of extra time and FIFA penalty kicks in each game, if necessary. The semifinal and CSL Championship Final was one game, with two 15-minute periods of extra time and FIFA penalty kicks, if necessary.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | York Region Shooters | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Toronto Croatia | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Toronto Croatia | 2 | 1 | 3 | Toronto Croatia | Toronto Croatia | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton Croatia | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Hamilton Croatia | 2 | 1 | 3 | Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton Croatia | 2 | | | |
| 5 | TFC Academy | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | TFC Academy | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | Hamilton Croatia | Hamilton Croatia | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | Brantford Galaxy SC | Brantford Galaxy SC | 3 |
| 2 | Milltown FC | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | Brantford Galaxy SC | Brantford Galaxy SC | 3 |
| 7 | Portugal FC | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Portugal FC | 1 | 2 | 3 | Portugal FC | Portugal FC | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | Brantford Galaxy SC | Brantford Galaxy SC | 5 | | | |
| 3 | Serbian White Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brantford Galaxy SC | Brantford Galaxy SC | 5 | | | |
| 6 | Brantford Galaxy SC (a.e.t.) | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

Toronto won the series on goals on aggregate, 3–1.
Brantford won the series on goals on aggregate, 1–0.
Portugal FC won the series on goals on aggregate, 3–2.
Hamilton won the series on goals on aggregate, 3–1.

### Givova CSL Championship

| GK | 22 | Melford James Jr. | |
| RB | 3 | Alvin Hudson | |
| CB | 9 | Tom Bilic | |
| CB | 18 | Ivan Razumović | 64' |
| LB | 17 | Péter Tereánszki-Tóth | |
| RM | 12 | Daniel Niksic | 35' |
| CM | 20 | Jamie Dodds (c) | |
| CM | 14 | Aidan O'Keeffe | 75' |
| LM | 19 | Adam Leggett | 84' |
| ST | 23 | Jason Shannon | 56' |
| ST | 6 | Preston Corporal | |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 1 | Ante Culina | |
| DF | 5 | Martin Mamic | |
| DF | 50 | Andrew Leggett | 84' |
| MF | 7 | Boris Vurdelja | 35' |
| MF | 11 | Danny Jirta | 64' |
| FW | 2 | Domagoj Bešlić | 56' |
| FW | 10 | Jerko Grubisic | 75' |
| Manager: ||
| Ron Davidson ||
| GK | 1 | Ante Domjanovic (c) | |
| RB | 4 | Zach Tait | 86' |
| CB | 10 | Zvonko Bakula | |
| CB | 3 | Stanko Karačić | |
| LB | 6 | Dragan Oluic | |
| RM | 2 | Kyle Grootenboer | |
| CM | 25 | Patrick Gerhardt | |
| CM | 9 | Miodrag Anđelković | 88' |
| LM | 15 | Nenad Begović | 75' |
| FW | 8 | Haris Fazlagić | 89' |
| FW | 11 | Ranko Golijanin | 83' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 0 | Jeff Martins | |
| DF | 12 | Bob Turnbull | 86' |
| MF | 13 | Patryk Misik | 88' |
| MF | 14 | Austin White | 75' |
| MF | 7 | Ben Turnbull | |
| MF | 27 | Stefan Dancetovic | 83' |
| FW | 16 | Jake Simmons | 89' |
| Manager: ||
| Lazo Džepina ||
* Assistant referees:
* Steve Senderovich
* Richard Oliveira
* Fourth official:
* David Barrie

## Goal scorers

2010 Goal Scorers :
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Tihomir Maletić | Toronto Croatia | 17 |
| 2 | Miloš Šćepanović | Serbian White Eagles | 14 |
| 3 | Aidan O'Keeffe | Hamilton Croatia | 12 |
| 3 | Kadian Lecky | York Region Shooters | 12 |
| 5 | Ranko Golijanin | Brantford Galaxy | 11 |
| 6 | Mahyar Khobad | North York Astros | 10 |
| 6 | Lesly St. Fleur | Milltown FC | 10 |
| 6 | Miodrag Anđelković | Brantford Galaxy | 10 |
| 9 | Blazej Skoczylas | Brampton Lions | 9 |
| 9 | Andrea Lombardo | Portugal FC | 9 |

## CSL Executive Committee and Staff

The 2010 CSL Executive Committee.

## Individual awards

The annual CSL awards were presented before the CSL Championship final on October 31, 2010. Toronto Croatia and York Region Shooters accumulated the most awards with 2 wins each. The MVP and Golden Boot was presented to Tihomir Maletic, a veteran striker for Toronto Croatia. The Serbian White Eagles established the best defensive record throughout the season, and as a result Milos Kocic, a Toronto FC player on loan was given the Goalkeeper of the Year. The league chose Trinidadian international Rick Titus with the Defender of the Year, after contributing to York Region's regular season title. Tony De Thomasis was awarded the Harry Paul Gauss award for his commitment and allegiance to the league.
London City produced another Rookie of the Year with Thomas Beattie, who later advanced to the S.League. After leading Hamilton Croatia to the CSL Championship final Ron Davidson was named the Coach of the Year. The CSL Referee Committee voted Geoff Gamble for the Referee of the Year., and TFC Academy received their second Fair Play and Respect award.
| Award | Player (Club) |
| CSL Most Valuable Player | Tihomir Maletic (Toronto Croatia) |
| CSL Golden Boot | Tihomir Maletic (Toronto Croatia) |
| CSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | Milos Kocic (Serbian White Eagles) |
| CSL Defender of the Year Award | Rick Titus (York Region Shooters) |
| CSL Rookie of the Year Award | Thomas Beattie (London City) |
| CSL Coach of the Year Award | Ron Davidson (Hamilton Croatia) |
| Harry Paul Gauss Award | Tony De Thomasis (York Region Shooters) |
| CSL Referee of the Year Award | Geoff Gamble |
| CSL Fair Play Award | TFC Academy |

## CSL Reserve League

The reserve league expanded for the first time beyond the Greater Toronto Area border to include 11 teams. While the division operated as feeder and youth developmental system it also began to serve as entry-level division to the First Division for clubs with a limited amount of financial resources. All first division clubs operated a reserve team with the except of Toronto Croatia, London City, and the Montreal Impact Academy. Throughout the regular season Brampton Lions won the regular season title, while the Serbian White Eagles claimed the championship.

### Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Manager |
| Brampton City United B | Brampton, Ontario | Victoria Park Stadium | |
| Brantford Inter-City SC | Brantford, Ontario | Steve Brown Sports Complex | Peter Pollilo Carmine Romano |
| Hamilton Croatia Res | Hamilton, Ontario | Brian Timmis Stadium | Anthony Giaitzis |
| Milltown FC Res | Mississauga, Ontario | Hershey Centre | Vladimir Klinovsky |
| North York Astros B | Toronto, Ontario | Esther Shiner Stadium | |
| Portugal FC Res | Toronto, Ontario | Lamport Stadium | |
| Ottawa FC | Ottawa, Ontario | St. Joan Of Arc Turf Field | |
| Serbian White Eagles B | Toronto, Ontario | Centennial Park Stadium | |
| St. Catharines Wolves B | St. Catharines, Ontario | Club Roma Stadium | Clayton Rosario |
| TFC Academy II | Liberty Village, Toronto | Lamport Stadium | Stuart Neely |
| York Region Shooters B | Vaughan, Ontario | St. Joan Of Arc Turf Field | |

### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Brampton Lions Reserves | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 17 | +25 | 34 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 2 | Brantford Galaxy Res. | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 13 | +21 | 32 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 3 | TFC Academy II | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 14 | +22 | 30 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 4 | York Region Shooters Res. | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 20 | +9 | 27 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 5 | Portugal Res. | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 21 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 6 | Ottawa FC | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 29 | −18 | 20 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 7 | Milltown FC Res. | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 19 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 8 | Serbian White Eagles Res. | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 21 | 42 | −21 | 17 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 9 | Hamilton Croatia Res. | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 22 | 38 | −16 | 14 | |
| 10 | St. Catharines Wolves Res. | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 13 | |
| 11 | North York Astros Res. | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 40 | −30 | 8 | |

### Final
## Individual awards

| Award | Player (Club) |
| CSL Most Valuable Player | Sergio Camargo (TFC Academy II) |
| CSL Golden Boot | Wesley Cain (Portugal FC Res.) Jonathan Singh (Brampton Lions Res.) |
| CSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award | Jesse Castillo (Brantford Galaxy Res.) |
| CSL Defender of the Year Award | David Ferreira (Brampton Lions Res.) |
| CSL Rookie of the Year Award | Sergio Camargo (TFC Academy II) |
| CSL Coach of the Year Award | Alex Di Matteo (Brampton Lions Res.) |