The 2003 Canadian Professional Soccer League season was the sixth season for the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The season began on May 24, 2003 and concluded on October 5, 2003 with the Brampton Hitmen defeating Vaughan Sun Devils 1-0 to capture the CPSL Championship (known as the Rogers CPSL Cup for sponsorship reasons). The victory marked Brampton's first championship title, and the final was played at Cove Road Stadium in London, Ontario. During the regular season the Ottawa Wizards and the Hamilton Thunder won their respective conferences. Ottawa became the second CPSL franchise to go undefeated throughout the regular season.
Unfortunately the season was plagued with controversy as the Wizards withdrew from the playoff competition, due to a dispute with the CPSL Executive Committee. Another controversy stemmed from a quarterfinal match between Brampton and Toronto Croatia, where Toronto won the match on penalties, but was reversed by the league due to Toronto using an ineligible coach and general manager. On a positive note the league's television program the CPSL Soccer Show recorded the highest ratings of any other Sunday program shown on Rogers TV.
Changes from 2002 season The 2003 season saw the league decrease by one team due to the fact that the York Region Shooters merged with the Vaughan Sun Devils to unite the York Region territory. The Montreal Dynamites moved to the Montreal suburb of Laval and changed their team name accordingly.
Teams Team City Stadium Manager Brampton Hitmen Brampton, Ontario (Bramalea) Victoria Park Stadium Steve Nijjar Durham Flames Oshawa, Ontario (Vanier) Oshawa Civic Stadium Steve Hamill London City London, Ontario (Westmount) Cove Road Stadium Harry Gauss Hamilton Thunder Hamilton, Ontario Brian Timmis Stadium Manuel Gomes Metro Lions Toronto, Ontario (Scarborough) Birchmount Stadium Aldwyn McGill Mississauga Olympians Mississauga, Ontario (Erin Mills) Erin Mills Twin Arenas Darren Tilley Tony Laferrara Laval Dynamites Laval, Quebec Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne Jawad El Andaloussi North York Astros Toronto, Ontario (North York) Esther Shiner Stadium Pavel Zaslavski Ottawa Wizards Ottawa, Ontario (Carp) OZ Optics Stadium Klaus Linnenbruegger St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines, Ontario (Vansickle) Club Roma Stadium Lucio Ianiero Toronto Croatia Mississauga, Ontario (Streetsville) Memorial Park Velimir Crljen Toronto Supra Toronto, Ontario (Brockton) Centennial Park Stadium José Testas Vaughan Sun Devils Vaughan, Ontario (Thornhill) Dufferin District Field Dave Benning
Coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointment Hamilton Thunder Duncan Wilde resigned 1st, Western Conference Ivan Marković Hamilton Thunder Ivan Marković resigned 2nd, Western Conference Manuel Gomes August 7, 2003Ottawa WizardsHubert Busby Jr.resigned September 10, 20031st, Eastern ConferenceKlaus LinnenbrueggerSeptember 11, 2003
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Rogers CPSL Championship playoffs
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Rogers CPSL Championship
GK 1Rob Tilley RB 22 Angelo Pollastrone CB 4 Jorge Molina LB 25Danny Sanna RM 11 Cameron Medwin CM 5 Tony Marshall CM 6Chris Turner CM 10 Willy Giummarra LM 7 Aundrea RollinsST 24 Matthew Palleschi ST 18 Joey Todaro Substitutes:DF 16Wilson Hugo DF 17 Fitzroy Powell MF 9 Jason De Thomasis MF 23Ricardo Forno FW 13 Paul Sinisi FW 14Eke Chibueze FW 20 Lorenzo Sibio Manager: Tony De Thomasis
GK 1 Roy BlancheRB 19 Sean Roberts (c)CB 11 Alvaro Vaquez LB 5 Milodrag AkmadzicRM 18 Lovemore Ncube CM 6 Robert Fran CM 12 Jonathan Bustamante LM 2Maximiliano Andrada FW 10 Adolfo Mella FW 3 Hugo Herrera FW 17 Kurt Mella Substitutes:GK 0Ricardo Esgro DF 7Diego Da Silva DF 9 Sean Holmes MF 15Scott Houston FW 20Yusif Deem Jamamdo FW 13 Phil Ionadi FW 14 Ruben Flores Manager: Pernell Mason
Assistant referees: Amato De Luca Joe Fletcher Fourth official: Silviu Petrescu
2003 scoring leaders Full article: CSL Golden Boot Position Player's name Nationality Club Goals 1 Carlo Arghittu Canada St. Catharines Wolves 182 Danny Amaral Canada Toronto Supra17 Michael Diluca Canada Toronto Supra 3 Jahmo Welch Canada Durham Flames 13 4 Phil Ionadi Canada Brampton Hitmen 125 Charles Gbeke Canada Ottawa Wizards10 Hugo Herrera Argentina Brampton Hitmen Joey Todaro Canada Vaughan Sun Devils6 Darryl Gomez Saint Kitts and Nevis Metro Lions9 Alen Marcina Canada Ottawa Wizards Kevin Nelson Trinidad and Tobago Ottawa Wizards
CPSL Executive Committee A list of the 2003 CPSL Executive Committee. PositionNameNationalityPresident & Chairman: Vincent Ursini CanadianLeague Administrator/Director of Media: Stan Adamson EnglishDirector at Large: Walter Kirchner Romanian Director of Discipline: Clifford Dell CanadianDirector of Officials: Tony Camacho PortugueseAdministrative Co-ordinator: Josie Storto CanadianCommunity Services: Peter Li Preti CanadianLegal Counsel: Ira Greenspoon CanadianMarketing: Cary Kaplan Canadian
Individual awards
The annual CPSL awards ceremony was held at German-Canadian Club on October 5, 2003 in London, Ontario. The Ottawa Wizards finished on top with the most wins with two awards. The undefeated Eastern Conference champions produced the Rookie of the Year with McDonald Yobe, a former Malawian international. After conceding the lowest number of goals the league voted New Zealand journeyman Simon Eaddy with the Goalkeeper of the Year award. Phil Ionadi a former CNSL and USL A-League veteran captained the Brampton Hitmen to a CPSL Championship, and in returned was named the MVP.
Carlo Arghittu of St. Catharines Wolves another former CNSL and USL A-League veteran was given the Golden Boot for finishing as the league's top goalscorer. Domagoj Sain was given his second consecutive Defender of the Year award. After a disastrous 2002 season Toronto Supra brought in Jose Testas a former Primeira Liga, and Segunda Divisão player to manage the club. Testas immediately changed the club into a championship contender by finishing second in their division, and for his achievement was granted the Coach of the Year award. The Durham Flames received their second Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team. While Michael Lambert who officiated the championship final was given his second Referee of the Year award. Award Player (Club) CPSL Most Valuable Player Phil Ionadi (Brampton Hitmen) CPSL Golden Boot Carlo Arghittu (St. Catharines Wolves) CPSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award Simon Eaddy (Ottawa Wizards) CPSL Defender of the Year Award Domagoj Sain (Toronto Croatia) CPSL Rookie of the Year Award McDonald Yobe (Ottawa Wizards) CPSL Coach of the Year Award José Testas (Toronto Supra) CPSL Referee of the Year Award Michael Lambert CPSL Fair Play Award Durham Flames
References
External links Rocket Robin's Home Page of the 2003 CPSL Season