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Montreal Gazette
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
York United defeats Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval 5-0 in Canadian Championship play
TORONTO — Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval learned a painful lesson Tuesday in its second-ever trip to the Telus Canadian Championship. 'The learnings are simple,' said Laval coach Amro Radwan. 'At the top level, you can't take a break for half a second, even if you think the ball is far away from you and it's not dangerous. That's the difference between being a pro and an amateur player. 'We have to learn from this that, no matter what, we have to be disciplined for 90 minutes in everything that we do. If not we get punished.' York United FC administered the punishment, cruising to a 5-0 win in preliminary-round play. Julian Altobelli, Max Ferrari, Adonijah Reid, Bryan Rosa and Massimo Ferrin scored for the Canadian Premier League team at York Lions Stadium. The well-drilled Quebec Ligue1 champions defended well until York struck twice on the eve of halftime. Things went downhill from there. 'When you (give up) two goals so late (in the half), it changes everything,' Radwan lamented. 'And then you have to open up. And when you open up against opposition like this, they don't need big chances to score. It's heartbreaking. It's tough. I don't think the boys deserved that score line.' Altobelli opened the scoring in the 45th minute after captain Oswaldo Leon found him in the penalty box with a gorgeous left-footed feed from distance. The ball floated over the head of a defender to Altobelli, who pivoted and knocked the ball home. Altobelli, a former Toronto FC 2 player, has had a dream start to life in the CPL with five goals in five games before Tuesday. Three minutes later, Ferrari headed home Orlando Botello's cross to make it 2-0. Laval's French-born goalkeeper Martin Cantona, the nephew of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona, got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. York outshot Laval 11-3 (6-1 in shots on target) and had 59 per cent possession in the first half. Reid upped the lead to 3-0 in the 52nd minute on a pretty goal. Ferrari started it on the right flank, beating a defender before sending in an accurate cross to the far post that Ferrin chested down for an unmarked Reid to poke home. Rosa, bursting past two Laval defenders, beat Cantona with a low shot for a 4-0 lead in the 64th minute. Ferrin then scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute. York will face CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa in the quarterfinals. The win was welcome to York coach Mauro Eustaquio, whose 1-3-1 team currently stands sixth in the eight-team CPL and is winless in four league outings (0-3-1) since a season-opening 2-0 victory at Vancouver FC on April 6. 'We knew that the goals were coming,' said Eustaquio. 'I think the players needed this win. The club needed this win. And I'm happy to be part of it.' In the late cup game Tuesday, visiting Vancouver FC defeated Pacific FC in a penalty shootout (4-2) after the game finished tied at 1-1 in regulation time. On Wednesday, it's Halifax Wanderers at Forge in another CPL showdown in Hamilton, and League1 B.C.'s TSS Rovers visit Winnipeg's Valour FC. Four teams had already made it to the two-legged quarterfinals, including the MLS-leading Vancouver Whitecaps who received a bye into the final eight as defending champion. CF Montreal dispatched Toronto FC in a penalty shootout, CPL champion Cavalry FC blanked League1 Alberta's Edmonton Scottish 6-0, and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa downed League1 Ontario's Scrosoppi FC 2-0. Laval lost 3-0 at Forge FC in preliminary-round play in 2023 in its only other trip to the cup competition. Laval, which topped Ligue1 Quebec last year with a 12-5-3 record, has had just one league outing to date this season — a 3-1 win at CS St-Hubert on April 25. But Radwan says the team has been training since January. Laval, which only has a couple of holdovers from the 2023 squad that played in the cup competition, gets together three or four times a week in advance of matches. The young talent on the Laval squad includes forward Ibrahim Conde, the lone Canadian invited to the MLS College Showcase in San Diego in December. Conde is a good friend and former college teammate of Canadian international defender Moise Bombito at Iowa Western Community College and the University of New Hampshire. Laval was captained by midfielder Quentin Paumier, who won the U Sports men's soccer championship with the Montreal Carabins in 2021 and was runner-up to UBC last November. Eustaquio made four changes to the starting 11 that lost 2-1 to visiting Cavalry on Friday with Botello, Ferrin, Rosa and Frank Sturing slotting in. York exited in the preliminary round of the cup last year, beaten 3-1 at Forge. York made the semifinals in 2022, winning penalty shootouts at Atletico Ottawa and Pacific FC before losing 2-1 at the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Canadian Championship winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup and wins $50,000 and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the elite club competition in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
York United defeats Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval 5-0 in Canadian Championship play
TORONTO - York United FC cruised to a 5-0 win over Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval in Telus Canadian Championship preliminary-round play Tuesday. Julian Altobelli, Max Ferrari, Adonijah Reid, Bryan Rosa and Massimo Ferrin scored for the Canadian Premier League team at York Lions Stadium. The well-drilled Quebec Ligue1 champions, making their second-ever appearance in the Voyageurs Cup competition, defended well until York struck twice on the eve of halftime. Things went downhill from there. Altobelli opened the scoring in the 45th minute after captain Oswaldo Leon found him in the penalty box with a gorgeous left-footed feed from distance. The ball floated over the head of a defender to Altobelli, who pivoted and knocked the ball home. Altobelli, a former Toronto FC 2 player, has had a dream start to life in the CPL with five goals in five games before Tuesday. Three minutes later, Ferrari headed home Orlando Botello's cross to make it 2-0. Laval's French-born goalkeeper Martin Cantona, the nephew of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona, got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. York outshot Laval 11-3 (6-1 in shots on target) and had 59 per cent possession in the first half. Reid upped the lead to 3-0 in the 52nd minute on a pretty goal. Ferrari started it on the right flank, beating a defender before sending in an accurate cross to the far post that Ferrin chested down for an unmarked Reid to poke home. Rosa, bursting past two Laval defenders, beat Cantona with a low shot for a 4-0 lead in the 64th minute. Ferrin then scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute. York will face CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa in the quarterfinals. In the late cup game Tuesday, Pacific FC hosted Vancouver FC in an all-CPL matchup. On Wednesday, it's Halifax Wanderers at Forge in another CPL showdown in Hamilton, and League1 B.C.'s TSS Rovers visit Winnipeg's Valour FC. Four teams had already made it to the two-legged quarterfinals, including the MLS-leading Vancouver Whitecaps who received a bye into the final eight as defending champion. CF Montreal dispatched Toronto FC in a penalty shootout, CPL champion Cavalry FC blanked League1 Alberta's Edmonton Scottish 6-0, and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa downed League1 Ontario's Scrosoppi FC 2-0. Laval lost 3-0 at Forge FC in preliminary-round play in 2023 in its only other trip to the cup competition. Laval, which topped Ligue1 Quebec last year with a 12-5-3 record, has had just one league outing to date this season — a 3-1 win at CS St-Hubert on April 25. But coach Amro Radwan says the team has been training since January. The team, which only has a couple of holdovers from the 2023 squad that played in the cup competition, gets together three or four times a week in advance of matches. The young talent on the Laval squad includes forward Ibrahim Conde, the lone Canadian invited to the MLS College Showcase in San Diego in December. Conde is a good friend and former college teammate of Canadian international defender Moise Bombito at Iowa Western Community College and the University of New Hampshire. Laval was captained by midfielder Quentin Paumier, who won the U Sports men's soccer championship with the Montreal Carabins in 2021 and was runner-up to UBC last November. York (1-3-1) currently stands sixth in the eight-team CPL and is winless in four games (0-3-1) since the season-opening 2-0 victory at Vancouver FC on April 6. York coach Mauro Eustaquio made four changes to the starting 11 that lost 2-1 to visiting Cavalry on Friday with Botello, Ferrin, Rosa and Frank Sturing slotting in. Laval's commitment to the cause was shown in the 11th minute when six-foot-four forward Ludwig Amra, a former Halifax Wanderer, ran over York goalkeeper Diego Urtiaga. Referee Ben Hoskins showed the yellow card to three Laval players in the first half. York exited in the preliminary round of the cup last year, beaten 3-1 at Forge. York made the semifinals in 2022, winning penalty shootouts at Atletico Ottawa and Pacific FC before losing 2-1 at the Vancouver Whitecaps. York's only other cup fixture with a League1 club was in 2021 when it blanked Master's FA 5-0 in preliminary-round play. CS St-Laurent, the Ligue1 Quebec representative last year, upset Halifax in a penalty shootout before being thumped 11-1 in the two-legged quarterfinal by Toronto FC. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
York United defeats Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval 5-0 in Canadian Championship play
TORONTO – York United FC cruised to a 5-0 win over Quebec semi-pro side FC Laval in Telus Canadian Championship preliminary-round play Tuesday. Julian Altobelli, Max Ferrari, Adonijah Reid, Bryan Rosa and Massimo Ferrin scored for the Canadian Premier League team at York Lions Stadium. The well-drilled Quebec Ligue1 champions, making their second-ever appearance in the Voyageurs Cup competition, defended well until York struck twice on the eve of halftime. Things went downhill from there. A game ball for the Canadian Premier League is seen during a match between York United FC and Forge Hamilton FC in CPL soccer action at York Lions Stadium in Toronto on Friday, July 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin Altobelli opened the scoring in the 45th minute after captain Oswaldo Leon found him in the penalty box with a gorgeous left-footed feed from distance. The ball floated over the head of a defender to Altobelli, who pivoted and knocked the ball home. Altobelli, a former Toronto FC 2 player, has had a dream start to life in the CPL with five goals in five games before Tuesday. Three minutes later, Ferrari headed home Orlando Botello's cross to make it 2-0. Laval's French-born goalkeeper Martin Cantona, the nephew of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona, got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. York outshot Laval 11-3 (6-1 in shots on target) and had 59 per cent possession in the first half. Reid upped the lead to 3-0 in the 52nd minute on a pretty goal. Ferrari started it on the right flank, beating a defender before sending in an accurate cross to the far post that Ferrin chested down for an unmarked Reid to poke home. Rosa, bursting past two Laval defenders, beat Cantona with a low shot for a 4-0 lead in the 64th minute. Ferrin then scored from the penalty spot in the 79th minute. York will face CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa in the quarterfinals. In the late cup game Tuesday, Pacific FC hosted Vancouver FC in an all-CPL matchup. On Wednesday, it's Halifax Wanderers at Forge in another CPL showdown in Hamilton, and League1 B.C.'s TSS Rovers visit Winnipeg's Valour FC. Four teams had already made it to the two-legged quarterfinals, including the MLS-leading Vancouver Whitecaps who received a bye into the final eight as defending champion. CF Montreal dispatched Toronto FC in a penalty shootout, CPL champion Cavalry FC blanked League1 Alberta's Edmonton Scottish 6-0, and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa downed League1 Ontario's Scrosoppi FC 2-0. Laval lost 3-0 at Forge FC in preliminary-round play in 2023 in its only other trip to the cup competition. Laval, which topped Ligue1 Quebec last year with a 12-5-3 record, has had just one league outing to date this season — a 3-1 win at CS St-Hubert on April 25. But coach Amro Radwan says the team has been training since January. The team, which only has a couple of holdovers from the 2023 squad that played in the cup competition, gets together three or four times a week in advance of matches. The young talent on the Laval squad includes forward Ibrahim Conde, the lone Canadian invited to the MLS College Showcase in San Diego in December. Conde is a good friend and former college teammate of Canadian international defender Moise Bombito at Iowa Western Community College and the University of New Hampshire. Laval was captained by midfielder Quentin Paumier, who won the U Sports men's soccer championship with the Montreal Carabins in 2021 and was runner-up to UBC last November. York (1-3-1) currently stands sixth in the eight-team CPL and is winless in four games (0-3-1) since the season-opening 2-0 victory at Vancouver FC on April 6. York coach Mauro Eustaquio made four changes to the starting 11 that lost 2-1 to visiting Cavalry on Friday with Botello, Ferrin, Rosa and Frank Sturing slotting in. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Laval's commitment to the cause was shown in the 11th minute when six-foot-four forward Ludwig Amra, a former Halifax Wanderer, ran over York goalkeeper Diego Urtiaga. Referee Ben Hoskins showed the yellow card to three Laval players in the first half. York exited in the preliminary round of the cup last year, beaten 3-1 at Forge. York made the semifinals in 2022, winning penalty shootouts at Atletico Ottawa and Pacific FC before losing 2-1 at the Vancouver Whitecaps. York's only other cup fixture with a League1 club was in 2021 when it blanked Master's FA 5-0 in preliminary-round play. CS St-Laurent, the Ligue1 Quebec representative last year, upset Halifax in a penalty shootout before being thumped 11-1 in the two-legged quarterfinal by Toronto FC. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Semi-pro TSS Rovers look to make more Canadian Championship history
There's a lot on the line Wednesday for TSS Rovers when the semi-pro League1 B.C. team takes on Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League in Telus Canadian Championship preliminary-round play With the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps awaiting the winner, moving on could mean a $200,000-plus boost for TSS Rovers in gate revenue — and other sources such as increased sponsorship — from the home half of the two-legged quarterfinal, according to a club spokesman. But first things first. Pacific FC players and fans celebrate their victory over the TSS Rovers in Canadian Championship quarterfinal soccer action in Langford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito TSS Rovers and Valour, who meet at Winnipeg's Princess Auto Stadium, have history. TSS Rovers knocked Valour out of the 2023 cup competition with a 3-1 victory at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, becoming the first non-professional team in the history of the competition to defeat a fully professional opponent. 'We're just very privileged to be in it again,' said Rovers coach Brendan Teeling. 'Again, we're underdogs. The pressure's more on Valour than us,' he added. 'They're a professional outfit, we're amateur semi-pro professionals. We're just here to try and have a cup upset and continue that legacy that we've set in terms of having those runs.' In other preliminary-round play Wednesday, Forge FC hosts Halifax Wanderers in an all-CPL matchup. In Tuesday cup action, FC Laval played at York United and Vancouver FC visited Pacific FC. Previous preliminary-round play saw CF Montreal dispatch Toronto FC in a penalty shootout, CPL champion Cavalry FC blank League1 Alberta's Edmonton Scottish 6-0 and CPL-leading Atletico Ottawa down League1 Ontario's Scrosoppi FC 2-0. After ousting Valour in '23, TSS Rovers lost 2-0 to Pacific in the quarterfinal. Last year TSS Rovers lost to Pacific in a preliminary-round penalty shootout, with the CPL side needing a 98th-minute goal by Reon Moore to avoid defeat in regulation time. The 2024 trip to the cup competition came on short notice with TSS Rovers replacing the Victoria Highlanders, who withdrew from the B.C. league for financial reasons. TSS Rovers (2-1-1) are currently third in the nine-team B.C. league. Teeling says his team is younger this year and has been a little inconsistent. But he still has some veterans with cup experience. 'They're comfortable being uncomfortable, if that makes sense,' he said. 'But it's still a big-scale game, in that sense. It's some of these players' biggest game in their lives. So we're just hoping that they stand up and be kind of like what they've done in previous years.' Valour has had a rough start to the season, sitting last in the eight-team CPL at 0-3-1. 'I would expect a big response against us, and I think they're going to treat us pretty seriously,' said Teeling. 'We've definitely got to respect them. They're still a professional outfit,' he added. 'They've got good players, they're well-coached. It's a matter of we've just got to make sure we're ready for whatever they throw at us.' Valour forward Kris Twardek expects a challenge from Rovers. 'You obviously have to expect desire, commitment, passion,' he said. 'Just like us, they want to advance to the next round. They want to play Vancouver Whitecaps, who at the moment is the best team in CONCACAF. It's a cup final for them. It's a cup final for us. On the day we have to show more desire and more passion than they do.' Valour coach and GM Phillip Dos Santos says the switch to cup play may 'good be good for us.' 'But again ask me the question in 24 hours,' he said. 'But it's not just talking about results,' he added. 'It's about performance, too. We want to see indicators that lead us to believe that we're the team we want to be.' Valour, which lost 3-1 to visiting Vancouver FC, plays at league-leading Atletico Ottawa on Saturday. Halifax Wanderers at Forge FC Four days after playing a scoreless draw in Halifax, the two teams meet again in cup play this time at Hamilton Stadium. Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis liked what he saw on the weekend at Wanderers Ground. 'I thought we were excellent, especially in the first two-thirds of the field on the ball. It was quite good,' he said. 'It's now about just being a little bit more lethal in the final third and take advantage of all the space that we found in different places.' Halifax (3-0-2) currently sits second in the CPL standings, two points above third-place Forge (2-0-3). Halifax coach Patrice Gheisar says there are few secrets between CPL teams, given the fact they play each other four times per season in league play. 'I'm sure they left a couple of bullets in their chamber,' he said of Forge. 'We left a couple of things. They're going to rotate some guys, we're going to rotate guys.' Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Forge made the cup final in the pandemic-delayed 2020 edition, losing to Toronto FC in a tournament reduced to a championship game. The Hamilton side made the semifinals in 2021, 2023 and 2024, losing to CF Montreal the first two years (via penalty shootout in 2021) and Toronto FC in '24 (on the way goals rule after winning the first leg 2-1). Halifax has never made it past the quarterfinals and was upset in the first round last year by Ligue1 Quebec's CS St-Laurent in a penalty shootout. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025
