| Season | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Vancouver 86ers |
| Division Leaders | Toronto Blizzard (East) Vancouver 86ers (West) |
| Matches | 130 |
| Goals | 418 (3.22 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ted Eck (21) |
| Best goalkeeper | Paolo Ceccarelli (0.58 GAA) |
←1988 1990 → | |
The1989 Canadian Soccer League season was the third season of play for theCanadian Soccer League, a Division 1 men's soccer league in theCanadian soccer pyramid.
TheVictoria Vistas joined theCanadian Soccer League as an expansion team for the 1990 season, joining the West Division.[1][2] The divisions were now even with five teams each.
TheCalgary Kickers folded following the 1988 season, but the club was replaced by a community-owned team called theCalgary Strikers.[3][4]
Similar to the previous season, the teams played an unbalanced schedule with two-thirds of a team's matches coming against teams in their own division(4 matches each) and one-third against the opposite division (2 matches each) for a total of 26 matches. Following the season, the top three teams in each division would advance to the playoffs, with the division leaders earning a first round bye, to designate a national champion club.[5] This season would see the first two rounds of the playoffs being played in two-legged times determined by aggregate score, while the final would remain a single match championship final.
Vancouver repeated as West Division champions, while Toronto won their first East Division title. Hamilton reached the final despite for the third consecutive year, where they faced Vancouver for the second year in a row, with the 86ers repeating as champions.
Vancouver was dominant again, losing but two regular-season matchesen route to a second straight victory over Hamilton in the championship game. The 86ers went 46 consecutive games from the previous season into this one without losing, which is a record for a professional sports team in Canada.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Blizzard | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 48 | 27 | +21 | 38 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Hamilton Steelers | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 37 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | North York Rockets | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 33 | |
| 4 | Ottawa Intrepid | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 22 | |
| 5 | Montreal Supra | 26 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 15 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers | 26 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 33 | +32 | 42 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Edmonton Brick Men | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 21 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 3 | Calgary Strikers | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 19 | |
| 4 | Winnipeg Fury | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 19 | |
| 5 | Victoria Vistas | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 14 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers(C) | 26 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 33 | +32 | 42 | Playoff semifinals |
| 2 | Toronto Blizzard | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 48 | 27 | +21 | 38 | |
| 3 | Hamilton Steelers | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 56 | 28 | +28 | 37 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 4 | North York Rockets | 26 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 33 | |
| 5 | Ottawa Intrepid | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 22 | |
| 6 | Edmonton Brick Men | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 21 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 7 | Calgary Strikers | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 19 | |
| 8 | Winnipeg Fury | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 19 | |
| 9 | Montreal Supra | 26 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 15 | |
| 10 | Victoria Vistas | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 14 |
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 5 | 4 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| 2W | Edmonton Brick Men | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2W | Edmonton Brick Men | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||
| 3W | Calgary Strikers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1W | Vancouver 86ers | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2E | Hamilton Steelers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1E | Toronto Blizzard | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 2E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2E | Hamilton Steelers | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| 3E | North York Rockets | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| September 13, 1989 | Calgary Strikers | 1–3 | Edmonton Brick Men | Calgary, Alberta |
| Smith | [[7] Report] | Fashanu Rob Reed Jorge Rodriguez | Stadium:Mewata Stadium Attendance: 600 |
| September 17, 1989 | Edmonton Brick Men | 0–0 | Calgary Strikers | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 16:00 | [[8] Report] | Stadium:Clarke Stadium Attendance: 878 |
Edmonton Brick Men won 3–1 on aggregate.
| September 13, 1989 | North York Rockets | 1–1 | Hamilton Steelers | North York, Ontario |
| Berdusco | [[9] Report] | Marinaro | Stadium:Esther Shiner Stadium |
| September 17, 1989 | Hamilton Steelers | 1–0 | North York Rockets | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 19:30 | Hector Chazaretta | [[10] Report] | Stadium:Brian Timmis Stadium |
Hamilton Steelers won 2–1 on aggregate.
| September 20, 1989 | Edmonton Brick Men | 3–5 | Vancouver 86ers | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 18:00 | Fashanu Jorge Rodriguez | [[11][12] Report] | Catliff Mitchell Mobilio Easton Jr. | Stadium:Clarke Stadium Attendance: 1000 |
| September 24, 1989 | Vancouver 86ers | 4–0 | Edmonton Brick Men | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 19:30 | Mitchell Easton Jr. Evans | [[13] Report] | Stadium:Swangard Stadium Attendance: 5772 |
Vancouver 86ers won 9–3 on aggregate.
| September 20, 1989 | Hamilton Steelers | 1–1 | Toronto Blizzard | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 21:00 | Gary Morrow | [[14] Report] | Fletcher | Stadium:Brian Timmis Stadium Attendance: 2200 Referee: Brian Smith |
| September 24, 1989 | Toronto Blizzard | 1–2 | Hamilton Steelers | Etobicoke, Ontario |
| Fletcher | [[15] Report] | Bunbury Gasparini | Stadium:Centennial Park Stadium Attendance: 4500 |
Hamilton Steelers won 3–2 on aggregate.
| October 1, 1989 | Vancouver 86ers | 3–2 | Hamilton Steelers | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 19:30 | Muirhead Valentine Mobilio | [[16][17] Report] | Gray Hector Chazaretta | Stadium:Swangard Stadium Attendance: 7942 Referee: Derek Douglas |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Intrepid | 21 | |
| 2 | Edmonton Brick Men | 17 | |
| 3 | Hamilton Steelers | 15 | |
| 4 | North York Rockets | 14 | |
| 5 | Hamilton Steelers | 13 | |
| 6 | Calgary Strikers | 11 | |
| Reference:[18] | |||
| Rank | Player | Club | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North York Rockets | 0.58 | |
| 2 | Hamilton Steelers | 1.00 | |
| 3 | Toronto Blizzard | 1.04 | |
| 4 | Winnipeg Fury | 1.20 | |
| 5 | North York Rockets | 1.23 | |
| Reference:[18] | |||
The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 1989 season.[18][19]
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Edmonton Brick Men | |
| Rookie of the Year | Toronto Blizzard |
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | |
| Defender | |
| Defender | |
| Defender | |
| Defender | |
| Midfielder | |
| Midfielder | |
| Midfielder | |
| Forward | |
| Forward | |
| Forward |
Reserves
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | |
| Defender | |
| Midfielder | |
| Forward |
Front office
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | |
| Assistant Coach | |
| General Manager |
| Pos. | Team | GP | Average Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver 86ers | 26 | 4,951 |
| 2 | Winnipeg Fury | 26 | 4,404 |
| 3 | Edmonton Brick Men | 26 | 2,273 |
| 4 | Toronto Blizzard | 26 | 2,173 |
| 5 | Victoria Vistas | 26 | 2,039 |
| 6 | North York Rockets | 26 | 1,937 |
| 7 | Montreal Supra | 26 | 1,841 |
| 8 | Hamilton Steelers | 26 | 1,819 |
| 9 | Ottawa Intrepid | 26 | 1,357 |
| 10 | Calgary Strikers | 26 | 1,233 |
| Total Attendance | 260 | 2,403 | |
| Reference:[17] | |||