page_title: London City Soccer Club
section_title: Open Canada Cup & hard times (2002–09)
hierarchical_section_title: London City Soccer Club / History / Open Canada Cup & hard times (2002–09)
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of football coach Paul Munster
context_page_description: London City Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team founded in 1973. The team is currently a member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League. The team plays their home games at the Milton Community Sports Park in the town of Milton, Ontario. The team's colours are red, black and white. Formed on Valentine's Day of 1973 by Markus Gauss in order to field a London entry for the National Soccer League after the departure of German Canadian FC. The Gauss family ran and provided the city of London a professional team for 38 years. Under their tutelage the club was most notable for providing an opportunity for young players to develop in a professional environment.
  In 1998, London became a charter member for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. In the initial stages of the new league City managed to compete several times for a postseason berth. Shortly after the club went through a difficult rebuilding stage as a result missed the playoffs for twelve consecutive seasons. Their biggest success came in 2003 when they captured the Open Canada Cup. After the loss of Harry Gauss to cancer and the higher playing standards placed by the league the Gauss family decided to sell the club.
context_section_description: In 2002, London was selected for the first time to host the Canada Cup, which granted them a wildcard berth. Their opposition in the wildcard match was against Ottawa Wizards, but were defeated 3–0. The 2003 season was a notable one with Harry Gauss once again adding coaching to his list of responsibilities, and appointed Paul Hillman the team captain. Gauss brought in Albanian imports Gentian Buzali, Albi Mile, Isa Bulku, Ervin Ryta, and former veteran Andrew Loague. While the regular season was a disappointment by finishing last in the Western Conference. London on the other hand had a remarkable Open Canada Cup tournament. Though London was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament as the host club they received a wildcard match to the next round. In the wildcard match City faced the Durham Flames, and with goals from Murataj, Loague, and Eris Tafaj the team advanced to the semifinals in a 4–1 victory. In the semifinals London faced amateur club Kanata, and won the match 2–0 with Erik Elmauer and Phil McDonald contributing the goals. Their opponents in the finals were the Metro Lions during the match London took the lead with Eris Tafaj providing the goal, while Lions equalized in the 84' minute to send the game to a penalty shootout with London winning the tournament 4–2 in penalties. The victory was a historic achievement for London as it marked their first piece of silverware and a $10,000 prize.
  Gauss managed to improve his team's performance for the 2004 season, but still fell short of a playoff berth by two points. They also failed to defend their Open Canada Cup title, after a 2–1 loss by last year's finalist the Metro Lions in the wildcard match. One notable achievement for City was accomplished by rookie Paul Munster who finished as the league\s top goalscorer, and was recognized by the league as the Rookie of the Year. As a result, Munster was signed by Slavia Prague of the Czech First League. On November 12, 2004 North London Soccer Club merged with London City in order to create a pipeline for young local players to move up to the professional level with Martin Painter as the technical director.
  Their postseason drought continued in 2005 as London missed the final playoff berth by six points. In the Open Canada Cup tournament London successfully challenged for the title by reaching the finals without the use of wildcard match. Their opponents were defending champions Windsor Border Stars, who successfully defended their title by a score of 3–0. Haidar Al-Shaïbani was awarded the Goalkeeper of the Year and Dennis Peeters received the Rookie of the Year. Founder Markus Gauss was inducted into the London Sports Hall of the Fame as their first soccer inductee. London didn't fare better in the 2006 season finishing at the bottom.
  The club suffered a major setback in 2007 as general manager/head coach Harry Gauss was diagnosed with cancer. In order to fully recover he relieved his administrative and managerial duties to son Ryan Gauss and family friend Josie Storto, while his older son Sean Gauss handled the coaching responsibilities. City's on field performance continued its decline as it finished last in its division for the second consecutive season. In honor of Harry Gauss' continual contributions to the league's growth and development since the creation of London City the CSL administration paid tribute by creating the Harry Paul Gauss Award to individuals who have shown allegiance, commitment and support to the league and its member clubs. The Ontario Soccer Association awarded Harry with the Individual Meritorious Service Award for providing special services to the sport for over 20 years.
  After a successful surgery Harry returned to the fold in 2008, but only in the capacity of director-at-large with former player Eddie Edgar appointed as head coach. After a series of poor performances Edgar was released from his position with Sean Gauss replacing him on an interim basis. Though Sean managed to record two draws the season was still a disaster as London finished the season without a single win bec
caption: Paul Munster began his career with London before going overseas to Europe.
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