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Men's East Teams Enter Crucial Division Crossover Stage Of Competition

By League1 Ontario staff, 06/16/17, 6:30PM EDT

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With the advent of Matchweek Eight, League1 men's teams have reached an important milestone of the season - the first round of competition played exclusively within their own division has concluded, and the beginning of an eight match crossover period played against opponents from their counterpart division will begin.

With only the champion of each respective men's division moving on to play a one-match season final for the League1 Ontario Championship at the end of the season, the performance of teams in the first two phases of the season is crucial to determining title contenders. 

Several teams in both the east and west divisions have shown strong form in the early going, and a quick look at the top five is warranted. 


Woodbridge Strikers (Photo: Martin Bazyl)

East Division:

At the top of the men's east division sits the Woodbridge Strikers.

With a record of 6 wins - 1 loss - 0 draws, the Strikers' run of form was unblemished until a loss in Matchweek Seven to second-place side Vaughan Azzurri.

The Strikers began the season with five narrow one-goal wins over Masters, Durham, North Toronto, Toronto Skillz and Aurora, before hammering OSU Force 4-1.

Four of these matches required Woodbridge to seal the wins with comeback goals, while the team's signature defensive solidity was tested and held out. 2017 additions of former TFC professional Quillan Roberts in net and defenders Michael Fayehun, Joshua Parades-Procter and defensive midfielder Joel Anderson have been key to the team's success.

Woodbridge starts their crossover campaign with roadtrip to Windsor TFC before meeting 2016 West Division champs FC London (home on June 25). Other key crossover battles will be Oakville Blue Devils (away on July 16), and TFC III (home on July 30).

Can the Strikers improve in the goals for column and rebound from a tough loss in Matchweek Seven to Vaughan Azzurri?


Vaughan Azzurri (Photo: Martin Bazyl)

2016 League1 Ontario Champions' Vaughan Azzurri come off a patchy start to the 2017 season, during which time they had a scoreless opening day draw with Durham United FA, a narrow 3-2 win over Toronto Skillz and a difficult away loss to North Toronto Nitros.

The Azzurri have shown the ability to score in bunches with respective 5-0 and 4-2 away wins over OSU and Aurora, and their stingy defensive record of only six goals against in seven matches earned them the clean sheet and win in the Matchweek Seven derby with Woodbridge.

As well, with talisman midfielder Joseph Di Chiarra recently ratcheting up the goals - four in his last four outings - the Azzurri is showing signs of reaching form.

The team will be hoping this is sustainable, as the crossover matches begin with a tough road-trip to London (June 17) before meeting Windsor TFC (June 25) and Sigma FC (July 2) at home. Further crossover dates to watch will be the away fixture with TFC III (July 8) and a home date with Oakville Blue Devils (July 23). 


North Toronto Nitros (Photo: Martin Bazyl Photography)

North Toronto Nitros have steadily improved their strike rate over the first matches of 2017, and combined with their usual well-organized defensive abilities the inner-city club has cemented themselves as east division title contenders. 

Only a draw away at Aurora and a heartbreaking late loss to Woodbridge Strikers has blemished the North Toronto win record, but with the team only giving up more than one goal on two occasions - and scoring multiple goals in every match but two - the club is well set up to secure a consistent run of wins and keep their divisional counterparts on their toes.

Crucial home fixtures against Oakville Blue Devils (June 25), Windsor TFC (July 9) and Sigma FC (July 23) could provide a very nice foundation for the Nitros if they can come away with home wins, but road trips to FC London (July 28) and TFC III (Aug 13) will need to be carefully managed. 

Forward Kyle Laborde has shown consistency along the way with five goals in seven matches, while other players with goalscoring threat include Mirza Custovic (4 goals in 6 appearances) and Koosha Nazemi (3 goals in 7 appearances).


Durham United FA (Photo: Martin Bazyl)

Durham United FA currently sit fourth in the east division with eleven points and a record of  3 wins - 2 losses and 2 draws.

The team's season thus far has been a story of the beginning and the end of the seven match stretch, with an initial draw and loss to Vaughan and Woodbridge to begin the campaign, and a loss and draw with North Toronto Nitros and Masters to finish up.

Durham's three matches in between have been emphatic 4-1, 4-0 and 5-0 wins over Aurora, OSU Force and Toronto Skillz, but with all three sides showing difficulty with getting results - questions must be asked of Durham's state of mind going into big matches.

The big matches will come in bunches to start the crossover period with North Mississauga (June 16), TFC III (June 23) and Oakville Blue Devils (July 2) first on the list and then FC London (July 15), Windsor (July 23) and Sigma (July 29) in the not too distant future.

Durham's +10 goal difference has shown a good ability to manage attack and defence, with University of Vermont forward Stefan Lamanna leading the way (5 goals in 4 appearances), and head coach Sanford Carabin will be hoping his balance continues through the team's difficult month of July.