Halton United

Full nameHalton United
Founded2013 (as Burlington S.C.)
StadiumMilton Community Sports Park
Milton, Ontario
LeagueCanadian Academy of Soccer League

Halton United are a Canadian soccer club based in Milton, Ontario, and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League. The club was formed in 2013 and became a member of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) under the name Burlington SC. They played their home matches at Nelson Stadium in Burlington, Ontario.[1] After three seasons in the CSL the club disbanded their CSL senior team in order to become one of the founding members of the CAF Supergroup Open Division. After a brief sabbatical from the CSL, Burlington returned for the 2017 season to play in the Second Division.

In 2018, the club was renamed Halton United, and in 2019 became a founding member of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League (CASL).

History

Original logo

Burlington SC was formed and joined the Canadian Soccer League on May 2, 2013.[2][3] The announcement made history as Burlington SC became the city's first professional soccer club.[4] The club's inaugural head coach was William Etchu Tabi.[5][6] Tabi constructed a roster mostly with international signings and a few domestic players. Notable acquisitions were Nicholas Lindsay, Judah Hernandez, Nikola Stanojevic, Obrad Dragosavac, Vladimir Vujasinović, Miroslav Bjelos, and Nenad Nikolić.[7][8]

The team made its debut on May 19, 2013, in a match against Kingston FC, where Lindsay recorded the club's historic first goal in a 2–1 defeat.[9] Throughout the season Burlington struggled to maintain a postseason berth, thus failing to secure a playoff berth by finishing tenth in the overall standings. For the 2014 season the club signed more European imports by bringing in Vladimir Vujović, Nenad Simic, and Bojan Stepanović. Burlington improved from their previous season by finishing fifth in the overall standings. Their opponents in the quarterfinals were North York Astros, but they were eliminated from the playoffs by a score of 4–0.[10] At the conclusion of the season Vujasinovic was awarded the CSL Goalkeeper of the Year award.[11]

In 2015, the club for the second year in a row qualified for the playoffs by finishing sixth in the overall standings. In the first round of the postseason Burlington faced the York Region Shooters, but suffered a 4–2 defeat.[12][13] At the CSL awards banquet Burlington went home with three awards: CSL Goalkeeper of the Year to Andrew Stinger, Stanojevic received the Defender of the Year, and the club received the Fair Play and Respect Award.[14][15]

In 2016, the league announced that Burlington were not returning for the 2016 season.[16] In 2016, Burlington became one of the founding member of the CAF LIKA Supergroup Open Division.[17] After a one-year absence from the CSL the team returned to the league for the 2017 season in order to compete in the Second Division.[18][19] In 2018, the club was renamed Halton United, and for the second consecutive season reached the CSL Championship final but were defeated by FC Vorkuta B.[20] In 2019, Halton along with Comet FC, Galaxy SC, London City SC, Milton SC, and Star FC became charter members of the Canadian Academy of Soccer League (CASL).[21]

Head coaches

Years Name Nation
2013–2015 William Etchu Tabi  Cameroon
2017 Bruno Giannotti

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season (Position, W-L-D, Pts) Playoffs
2013[22] First CSL 10th did not qualify
2014[23] First CSL 5th Quarter-finals
2015[24] First CSL 6th Quarter-finals
2017[25] Second CSL 2nd Finals
2018[26] Second CSL 2nd Finals
2019[27] First CASL 3rd
2021[28] First CASL 3rd

References

  1. ^ Nagel, Kevin (May 17, 2013). "Burlington's new CSL team still waiting to play first game". Burlington Post.
  2. ^ "May 2, 2013 CSL--Burlington an Addition While Astros Strengthen for Upcoming Seasons in the Canadian Soccer League (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  3. ^ Colpitts, Iain (April 18, 2013). "Mississauga Eagles withdraw from CSL". Mississauga News.
  4. ^ "April 15, 2013 CSL--CSL Will Kickoff [sic] May 3rd (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  5. ^ "About Burlington SC | Burlington SC". September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  6. ^ "Burlington's new CSL team still waiting to play first game". www.insidehalton.com. May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Glover, Robin. "June 9, 2013 CSL--Brampton City United vs Burlington SC (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  8. ^ "Player Profiles | Burlington SC". September 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  9. ^ "May 19, 2013 CSL--details of Sunday game (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  10. ^ "YORK REGION, ASTROS THROUGH TO SEMIS……Shooters still unbeaten | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. October 13, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  11. ^ "Awards | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "TOP FOUR ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS FOR CSL CHAMPIONSHIP…..2nd Division quarterfinals also decided | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. October 12, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. ^ "League-leading scorer leads York Region Shooters to victory". Vaughan Citizen. October 12, 2015.
  14. ^ "2015 First Division Awards | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "Croatia loses CSL Championship game in a shootout". Mississauga News. October 27, 2014.
  16. ^ "CSL SET FOR MAY KICKOFF | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. April 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  17. ^ "CAF Announces LIKA Supergroup Open Division at Next Gen Presentation | CAF - Canada's Premier Soccer Development Academy League". www.cafsoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  18. ^ Adamson, Stan (April 29, 2017). "CSL EXPANSION TEAMS VORKUTA AND ROYAL TORONTO GIVE NEW LOOK……End of May kickoff | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  19. ^ scttmos (August 8, 2017), CAF TV Episode #10 August 4, 2017, retrieved May 4, 2019
  20. ^ Adamson, Stan (October 14, 2018). "VORKUTA, VORKUTA, VORKUTA SPELLS THREE CSL TITLES – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  21. ^ "aofs". aofs. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  22. ^ "2013 CSL First Division Standings | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  23. ^ "First Division 2014 Standings | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  24. ^ "First Division Standings 2015 | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  25. ^ "2017 Second Division Standings | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  26. ^ "2018 Second Division Standings – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  27. ^ "HOME". aofs. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  28. ^ "AOFS SOCCER LEAGUE". aofs. Retrieved September 15, 2021.