League1 Ontario News

MVP

Massimo Ferrin – Vaughan Azzurri Ferrin was a critical piece of the Vaughan Azzurri puzzle in 2022, helping lead the team to an undefeated season and the club's third Men’s Premier Division title. His ability to impose himself on matches caught the eye of coaches and opponents, as did his unique quality from dead ball situations. The 23-year-old forward scored 24 goals en route to the final, while providing steady leadership to his talented side. He has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Runners-up: Miles Green – Hamilton United & Ethan Beckford – Simcoe County Rovers Young Player of the Year Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy – ProStars FC The tall ProStars FC midfielder was a commanding presence this season, both in attack and defence, with neat footwork on the ball and a nose for goal. He was the team's 2nd leading scorer, find the back of the goal 10 times in 2022. Despite his youth (he celebrates his 19th birthday in few days), Voytsekhovskyy also led his team by appearing in all 21 regular season matches. Runners-up: Christian Calabro – Vaughan Azzurri & Anthony Stolar – Scrosoppi FC Coach of the Year Patrice Gheisar – Vaughan Azzurri The Azzurri coach has not tasted defeat in the Men’s Premier Division regular season since 2019. He led his side to a record of 18 wins and only 3 draws in 2022 and capped off that incredible season with a championship title. A well-deserved back-to-back winner of the Coach of the Year award.

Runners-up: Marko Milanovic – North Toronto Nitros & John Yacou – ProStars FC

Goalkeeper of the Year Praveen Ahilan – Alliance United

In 2022, Ahilan continued to build on his reputation as one of the better goalkeepers to feature in L1O over the years. He conceded just 14 goals in 19 regular-season games – the best ratio in the Men’s Premier Division. His outstanding play was a big reason Alliance United finished in 3rd place in the regular season table and advanced all the way to the Semi-Final round in the playoffs. Runners-up: Ali Ghazanfari-Moghaddan – North Toronto Nitros & Quillan Roberts – Electric City FC Defender of the Year Amardo Oakley – Guelph United Oakley adds more well-deserved hardware to his trophy case, after being named the L1O West Division Defender of the Year in 2021. A fan favorite in Guelph, this talented and reliable fullback has earned the respect of coaches and opponents league-wide. He played every minute in the 2022 regular season, even slotting in as a central defender at times when injuries ravaged his side's roster. He also made his Canadian Championship debut in 2022, putting in an excellent shift against HFX Wanderers in the first round of the tournament in May. Runners-up: Nirun Sivananthan – Alliance United & Kenny Lioutas – Alliance United

Stakic has been key to Alliance United's success since their inaugural L1O season in 2018. This marks the second time that Stakic takes home this award, having taken home this trophy for the first time in 2019. Stakic is highly respected across the league for his strong defensive play, excellent vision and precise passing. He produced plenty of memorable performances for the men in orange in 2022.

Runners-up: Andron Kagramanyan – Vaughan Azzurri & Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy – ProStars FC Forward of the Year Miles Green – Hamilton United

Green scored nearly half of Hamilton United’s 50 goals this season, including a remarkable five goal performance against a normally stingy St. Catharines Roma Wolves. He definitely made a name for himself in 2022 and will be one to watch in the future. Runners-up: Massimo Ferrin – Vaughan Azzurri & Taha Ilyass – Blue Devils Golden Boot Winner

Massimo Ferrin – Vaughan Azzurri Ferrin scored 23 goals in 15 regular-season games and one playoff goal. Runners-up: Miles Green – Hamilton United (23 goals in 20 regular-season games) Taha Ilyass – Blue Devils (19 goals in 19 regular-season games)

MVP Julia Benati – FC London

As well as scoring 12 goals in 17 regular-season games, Benati had a talismanic influence for FC London, who entered the season without the prolific Jade Kovacevic for the first time since entering the league in 2016. Thanks to Benati's outstanding play and leadership, FCL barely skipped a beat, finishing in 4th place during the regular season after sitting at the top of the table for most of the first half of the campaign. It was no surprise that this midfield maestro made a move to play professionally in Norway for Medkila IL at the conclusion of the L1O season in August, where she recorded 2 goals and 2 assists in 8 matches. Runners-up: Olivia Smith – North Toronto Nitros & Nadya Gill – North Mississauga Young Player of the Year Olivia Smith – North Toronto Nitros

At just 18 years old, Smith was the top scorer in L1O this season, netting 18 goals in just 11 games. Smith, who has two senior caps for CANWNT under belt already, received wide praise throughout the 2022 campaign and has made a strong case for a future at the professional and international level. Runners-up: Amanda Allen – NDC Ontario & Nia Fleming-Thompson – Vaughan Azzurri Coach of the Year Joey Lombardi – NDC Ontario Lombardi led a very young group of NDC Ontario players to a Premier Division title in their inaugural League1 Ontario season. His side lost just once in the regular season and were invincible under the pressure of the playoffs. Lombardi, who also serves as Canada Soccer's Women's U20 Director, holds a National A License and has served on the staff of Canada's Men's and Women's Youth and Senior National Teams on several occasions during his career. Runners–up: Angelo Cavalluzzo – Alliance United & Jorden Feliciano – Vaughan Azzurri Goalkeeper of the Year Jadyn Steinhauer – FC London Steinhauer conceded just 19 goals in 17 games in the 2022 regular season and made a memorable impression on many of the teams she faced, regularly stepping up with big saves when her team needed her. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was also chosen for the Team of the Month for June.

Runners-up: Mykaela Volpe – Electric City & Yazmeen Jamieson – Simcoe County Rovers Defender of the Year Zoe Markesini – NDC Ontario

Markesini was an important leader in the youthful back line of the Premier Division champions and earned the respect of players and coaches around the league through 2022. In addition to her strong defensive qualities, she added two goals in her 16 regularseason appearances and was one of seven L1O players called up to the Canadian U17 National Team that participated in the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in India. Runners up: Renee Watson – NDC Ontario & Sonia Walk – North Toronto Nitros

In addition to earning 2022 MVP honours, Benati is once again selected the Midfielder of the Year, having also received this accolade in 2019. She featured in Team of the Week four times during the 2022 campaign and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the history of League1 Ontario. Runners–up: April Syme – Woodbridge Strikers & Cloey Uddenberg – Simcoe County Rovers Forward of the Year Olivia Smith – North Toronto Nitros

It’s hard to look past a record of 1.63 goals per game across the Women’s Premier Division, and although the Nitros missed out on the playoffs, Smith deservedly comes away with multiple trophies as one of Canada’s rising stars. Runners–up: Nadya Gill – North Mississauga & Jessica Lisi – Woodbridge Strikers Golden Boot Winner Olivia Smith – North Toronto Nitros

Smith scored 18 goals in 11 regular-season games. Runners up: Nadya Gill – North Mississauga (17 goals in 17 regular-season games) Jessica Lisi – Woodbridge Strikers (14 goals in 16 regular-season games)