League1 Canada Women's: Week 13 Review - Northern Tribune (2024)

We are nearing the end of the League1 Canada women’s football season. In fact, the regular seasons for League1 BC, League1 Alberta, and Ligue 1 Quebec just wrapped up this past week. There are still a couple of weeks to go in Ontario, but things are going down to the wire.

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Another two teams booked their place in the League1 Canada Interprovincial Championship for next month, with one spot left to be decided. Here is a look back at what happened across the country in League1 women’s football this past week. You can find the men’s recap here.

League1 BC: Whitecaps Finally Held

It was a rather anticlimactic conclusion to the League1 BC season, as everything was already decided before the weekend’s final round of play. On Saturday, Harbourside pulled off a 2-1 win over TSS Rovers. Meghan Linegar and Ruby Nicholas got the goals for the hosts as they earned another three points.

Saturday’s other game ended goalless between Rivers and Whitecaps Academy Girls Elite. It was just the second time all season that the Whitecaps failed to collect all three points. Moreover, they were kept off the scoresheet for the first time as well. It will be a busy month for the side, who will now partake in the League1 BC playoffs, the League1 Canada Interprovincial Championship, and the new CONCACAF Women’s Champions League, too.

Harbourside was back at it on Sunday, but this time they fell 1-0 to Unity. A Payton Izsak goal nine minutes from time proved to be enough as her side picked up all three points.

The regular season ends with Whitecaps on top, nine points ahead of Unity in second. The former meets TSS Rovers in their semifinal, while the latter welcomes Burnaby FC, who qualifies for the playoffs in their first season in the league. Altitude, Harbourside, and Rivers’ seasons are all complete.

The semifinals are set to take place next week. Friday will see the Whitecaps battle TSS Rovers, with the other game being on Sunday between Unity and Burnaby.

League1 Alberta: Blizzard Reigns Supreme

The League1 Alberta regular season also came to a close this past weekend. Friday was the last full round of play, and it started off with a 2-0 win for BTB Academy over Calgary Foothills. Both goals came within the first 20 minutes of the second half for BTB, who pulled off a shock result over a Foothills side who was still in need of points.

St. Albert Impact and Calgary Blizzard drew 0-0 in their match on Friday, as neither side could find the back of the net in this one. Fortunately for the Blizzard, the Edmonton Scottish lost 3-0 at home to Callies United. An impressive first half from the visitors, where they scored all three goals, proved to be most crucial in a convincing win.

This meant that going into Sunday’s final game, the Blizzard already won the league. That still did not stop them from defeating the Tartans 2-0 at home. Alyssa d’Agnone and Mykena Walker scored the goals a few minutes apart to seal the deal for the Blizzard.

The finals standing sees the Blizzard finish on top with 23 points. As a result, they will be the province’s first-ever representatives in the League1 Canada Interprovincial Championship. Before that game they will play in the League1 Alberta final against the runner-ups Callies United, who pipped ASA High Performance for second on head-to-head.

BTB finished fourth, one point ahead of the Foothills, and two over Edmonton Scottish. St. Albert ended up in last place on 14 points. The date of the league final is unknown at the time of writing, but will be by 5 August, at the very latest.

League1 Ontario: Cup Final Known

The semifinals of the L1 Cup in Ontario took place last week. On Tuesday, North Toronto Nitros put nine past Darby in a 9-1 result. Jade Kovacevic’s first half hattrick contributed to her side’s demolition over the Championship Division team.

The other semifinal was on Wednesday, where FC London got the better of Simcoe County Rovers 2-0. Julia Benati scored what would be the winner just seven minutes in, with teammate Ally Rowe adding a second half an hour in.

That sets up a final between North Toronto and FC London, which will take place on 31 July at the Ontario Soccer Centre.

League1 Ontario Premier: NDC Ontario Champions Again

The League1 Ontario Premier Division had six games last week, starting on Thursday. Alliance picked up a 3-2 win over the Blue Devils, who is already confirmed to be relegated to the Championship Division for next season. The hosts raced to a 2-0 lead via Mikayla Morton, only for the Blue Devils to level the score shortly after the hour. However, the home side held firm, scoring a winner 14 minutes from time to get the victory.

Friday saw NDC Ontario beat North Toronto 2-0 at home. Goals on either side of the half was enough for NDC to grab all three points as they defeated their nearest challengers.

Saturday had an entertaining game between Alliance and Simcoe County, which ended 2-2. Both teams held the lead at some point in this one, but neither could grab all three points in the end.

Sunday completed the round with three games. The Blue Devils finally managed to get a result in a 1-1 draw at Woodbridge Strikers. As for FC London, their week got even better with a 5-2 win over North Mississauga. Guelph United and Vaughan Azzurri played to a 0-0 stalemate in their clash.

With two full rounds to go, most of the details are already decided, as NDC Ontario has clinched the league title. They will be in Hamilton for the Interprovincial Championship. At the bottom, the Blue Devils are already confirmed to be relegated. North Mississauga currently sits in the playoff spot, though Guelph, Alliance and Simcoe could still be in that position if they are not careful.

Vaughan Azzurri meets NDC Ontario on Wednesday in a makeup match, while the penultimate full round is next weekend. The match to watch will be on Saturday, as Simcoe County Rovers welcomes North Mississauga, with the visitors needing all three points to remain with a fighting chance at avoiding the playoffs.

League1 Ontario Championship: Hamilton Staying Alive

There were five games in the League1 Ontario Championship Division this week. Thursday saw Hamilton United Elite defeat Tec*mseh 2-0 away. Miranda Badovinac got the goal that sent the visitors home with victory. Andrea Petrina added a second eight minutes from the end to assure her side all three points.

Hamilton United would be back in action two days later, as they topped Rush Canada 5-0 in Oakville. Captain Brynn Jurus the team’s first two goals en route to the win. Three more goals in the second half completed the job as Hamilton earned a second victory in less than 48 hours.

Saturday’s other two games both ended 1-1. Scrosoppi and Burlington could not find a winner in the second half as both goals were scored before the break. At St. Clair College, the goals came within three minutes of each other between Tec*mseh and Pickering. By the eighth minute, both teams had their goals. But, no one else would score after that.

The last game of the round on Sunday provided great drama. Prostars got the better of Darby 3-2. Teagan Handley scored just before the break and immediately after to get her side two goals to the good. By the 75th minute, Christine Exeter got her brace to draw the game level. But, the hosts were not to be denied, finding a winner in the 94th minute through Kaitlynn Russell.

With three full rounds to go, there is much going on at both ends of the ranking. The top five are separated by six points, as BVB IA Waterloo is ahead on head-to-head over Hamilton United. Yet, Scrosoppi is just a point back, while Pickering and Unionville Milliken are not out of it yet either.

A double gameweek is coming up next week as midweek action will also take place. Of the five games between Wednesday and Thursday, Unionville and Hamilton will be the game to watch. As for the weekend action, the biggest match will be on Sunday, as Burlington and Rush face off in a relegation six-pointer.

League2 Ontario: Alliance at the Double

League2 Ontario had 10 games over the last week. The Northeast Conference had two games on Tuesday, as Vaughan Azzurri topped Unionville 1-0, while Simcoe County defeated Woodbridge 5-2. Wednesday’s lone match saw Pickering beat Darby 1-0.

Sunday completed the round with a pair of big wins. North Toronto defeated North Mississauga 6-0, while Alliance got the better of Master’s FA 5-0. In the latter match, Alliance had four different goalscorers in what turned out to be a comfortable win in the end. Alliance also won a crossover game on Monday, defeating Scrosoppi 3-1.

The Southwest Conference had four games across the week. Rush Canada beat FC London 3-0 at home on Tuesday. That was followed by two more home wins on Wednesday as Waterloo beat Burlington 3-1 and Scrosoppi defeat Hamilton United 2-1. Friday’s curtain closer saw the Blue Devils grab a 3-0 win at Prostars.

One full round of action is left for each conference, though several teams still have extra matches to play. Currently, Hamilton United, Waterloo, Alliance, and Vaughan would make the playoffs. Neither of the ‘A’ teams will be involved, with Master’s rooted to the bottom of their conference.

Ligue1 Quebec: FC Laval Does Double, Yet Still Misses Out

The regular season of Ligue1 Quebec came to its conclusion this past week with eight games. Wednesday had two matches as Chaudiere-Ouest and St-Hubert played to a 0-0 draw. The other match saw FC Laval beat Royal Select Beauport 2-1 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive going into the weekend.

On Saturday, Longueuil fell 2-0 home to Celtix du Haut Richelieu. Beauport also got a win, 3-1 over AS Laval. AS Blainville grabbed a dramatic 3-2 win over Chaudiere-Ouest. As for the last match, CS Mont-Royal Outremont and St-Hubert played to a 0-0 draw.

Sunday’s final two games of the regular season ended with a 2-0 win for AS Pierrefonds over CF Montreal, while FC Laval topped Ottawa South United 3-1.

In Group A, CF Montreal finished on top on 31 points, just two more than CSMRO, who pipped FC Laval for second by a point. Despite their two wins in the week, FCL will just miss out. OSU and AS Pierrefonds finished on 24 and 23 points respectively, while St-Hubert ended up in last on four points.

AS Blainville won Group B with 34 points, the most of the 12 teams in the league. Beauport grabbed second spot with 29 points, three more than Celtix du Haut-Richelieu. Longueuil and AS Laval grabbed 19 and 17 points respectively, while Chaudiere-Ouest finished on eight points.

The sem-ifinals for the league are next weekend. AS Blainville welcomes CSMRO on Saturday, before CF Montreal takes on Beauport on Sunday. The final is the first weekend of August.