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League1 Ontario and PLSQ All-Stars showcase the future of Canada soccer
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Wednesday night in front of a sold out Ontario Soccer Stadium crowd the League1 Ontario All Star team took on the PLSQ All Star team. It was at the home stadium to Toronto FC II, who regularly get half the attendance, the question that came to me watching the game is why are these players not playing professional soccer compared to the players on Toronto FC II? This will hopefully change soon with the start of the CanPL, and the fact that many of the players on display Wednesday night are not in at least the USL shows us further proof why the CanPL is needed.
Since Toronto FC II was established, I've watched video of most of their games and it's not as if all players involved with Toronto FC II are poor or worse than the top players in League1 Ontario or PLSQ. There has been the success stories of Raheem Edwards and Alex Bono playing with TFC II before becoming regulars with the first team. TFC II have also seen exciting prospects play for them, the greatest example is Ayo Akinola, although are no longer with the club.
This might also be TFC II's best season with players like Luca Uccello establishing himself at least as a consistent USL player and the team has become harder to break down than in the past. That being said, they are still 28th overall in a 30 team league, and scoring is still an issue with only 10 goals in 17 games and a recent victory over Ottawa was only their third of the season.
I bring up Toronto FC II not only because the All-Star game was played in the same stadium but also I would put the League1 Ontario team I saw on Wednesday as favorites against the current TFC II in a one-off game. League1 Ontario all-stars dominated the night against PLSQ, who did have a few talented players, although the Ontario side did not only have talent but also experience.
As with my League1 Ontario prospect list I wrote earlier the season, players such as former TFC prospects Chris Manella and Quillan Roberts showed both their experience and class. The same could be said with Joesph Di Chara, Dylan Carrerio, as well as few names I didn't mention in the prospect list but have talked about as decent prospects previously in Jarek Whiteman and Cristian Cavallini. Although the two players with the greatest impact on the game were both Sigma players in Jonathan Grant, who before leaving early in the game, was the most impressive player on the pitch and Giuliano Frano who scored the only goal, finishing within the 18 yard box after a number of minutes of controlled attacking pressure by the League1 Ontario All-Stars.
Beyond the offensive pressure, my guess is League1 Ontario also had at least 60% possession and the control they had on the game got me thinking on how these players would do as a club against perceived tougher competition, and again brought a direct comparison with Toronto FC II, a team who I have never seen control an opponent in any game I've seen them play in. Toronto FC III, who play in League1 Ontario, only had one player on the All-Star team. It was goalkeeper Gianluca Catalano, who did not play, and the fact their players Julian Dunn, Ethan Beckford, Kota Sakurai or Steven Furlano were not part of the team took something away from the game in terms of scouting, as these are the names people are mentioning as potential Toronto FC first team players for the future.
In the second half, League1 Ontario All-Stars did bring on some younger players with North Toronto Nitros Kembo Kibato being the most impressive in his short amount of time on the field. Meanwhile, PLSQ had a couple of interesting prospects as well with Mitchell Syla the most exciting and Dex Kaniki and Jean-Gilles Berlin both players to keep an eye on. It should be said the PLSQ, in my opinion, did not bring their strongest line-up possible and it would be interesting what roster they would have included if the game was in Quebec.
In the end, League1 Ontario won the game quite handily 1-0, where a more fair result based on control of the game and chances created should have been 3-0 or 4-0. Again, League1 Ontario should be congratulated on the event itself and the quality of soccer the league has showcased in the province the past few years. The event itself was a celebration of the quality in League1 Ontario which is bittersweet as most of the players who were playing should be professional players at much higher level of the game and as spectator event, a younger All-Star game like the Ontario U18 Girls Team competing in the Women's League1 Ontario All-Star game would have been more interesting in terms of a scouting/future perspective.
That being said, the game was further proof to me that transition in terms of players from League1 Ontario to Canadian Premier League is less of a jump than most people might think. The experience was also another example of Toronto FC, who played the same night yet were not mentioned once, does not have the control or influence on the game in the city and in Ontario as it likes to think it has. I feel they also know this, and would have more trepidation of playing a League1 Ontario All-Star team than the League1 Ontario players, who are identified by most at playing at a lower level. It was a positive showing once again from the league, and an indication that the landscape of the sport in Canada is on the ascent.
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