Both our men’s and women’s League1 Ontario teams have been working hard to prepare for the 2023 season, and there are many positives for us to take into the new campaign.
Reflecting on last year, the season began with a lightning start in the Men’s Premier Division, collecting seven wins from the first 10 games and keeping pace with the league leaders. It was a similarly impressive start in the Women’s Premier Division with 12 goals from the first 180 minutes, and beating last season’s points tally before the end of May.
Both teams were in the playoff conversation until the final round of fixtures; our women’s side were unlucky to miss out by a single point, and the men were narrowly beaten by Simcoe County Rovers in the playoff quarterfinals.
Having experienced the playoffs last season, the players are as determined as ever to be in the mix once again. The first game for the men this season is against reigning champions Vaughan Azzurri (Wednesday, April 12th), before the women’s team opens their campaign against Burlington (Sunday, April 23rd).
The following week brings the first North Toronto match at Downsview for 2023 as we host Electric City in the Women’s Premier Division (Saturday, April 29th), and FC London are our first visitors in the Men’s Premier Division seven days later (Saturday, May 6th).
Both North Toronto teams were strong defensively last season, conceding fewer than a goal per game in the regular season, and the women’s team managed the league’s second-highest goal record.
In the L1O Reserve Divisions, North Toronto finished the season with the Women’s Reserve Fall Division title after topping the regular-season table and beating Tecumseh in the final on penalties. The Men’s U21 team won the North East conference last season and reached the playoffs, with the U19 squad finishing second in the Central conference.
We look forward to seeing our players take to the field at home and on the road this season and continue their development as footballers and as people.
