North Toronto Nitros

North Toronto Nitros
Full nameNorth Toronto Soccer Club
Nickname(s)Nitros
Founded1980
StadiumDownsview Turf
Head CoachMarko Milanović (men)
Billy Wilson (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2024L1O-P, 4th (men)
L1O-P, 3rd (women)
Websitehttps://northtorontosoccer.com/
Current season

North Toronto Nitros is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club was founded in 1980 as a youth soccer club and added its men's semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2016 and its women's team in the League1 Ontario women's division in 2021.

History

The club was founded in 1980 as a youth soccer club.[1] They updated the club logo in 2019, combining the club logo and Nitros team logo.[2]

Club and team logo until 2019

Originally a youth soccer club, the team added a men's semi-professional team in League1 Ontario in 2016,[3] playing their home games at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium.[4] They played their inaugural match on April 30, 2016, on the road against Vaughan Azzurri, which they lost by a score of 2–1.[5] They defeated Aurora United by a score of 5–0 in their home debut.[6]

In 2018, the club departed the league, going on hiatus.[7] Two years later, they were set to return to the league for the 2020 season and also added a women's team to the League1 Ontario women's division for the first time, providing a full senior high-performance pathway for players based in downtown Toronto,[8] however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled, delaying their return (and the women's team's debut) to 2021.[9][10] They moved their home field to the Downsview Park turf fields.[11]

Squad

As of 16 April 2023[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Canada CAN Ali Ghazanfari Moghadam
— GK Canada CAN Alexandre Lin
— GK Canada CAN Quinn Stahmer
— DF Canada CAN Brandon Barone
— DF Canada CAN Daniel Casa
— DF Canada CAN Kaostubh Bolla
— DF Canada CAN Thomas Maccarone
— DF Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VIN Tristan Marshall
— DF Canada CAN Kai Martin
— DF Canada CAN Alex Meczarski
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Canada CAN Gabriel Mikina
— DF Canada CAN Emmanuel Obiefuna
— DF Canada CAN Christian Westlaken
— MF Canada CAN Jacob Carlos
— MF Canada CAN Juan Pablo Delgadillo
— MF Canada CAN Pablo Hempelmann-Perez
— MF Canada CAN Bilal Reslan
— MF Canada CAN Justin Santos
— MF Canada CAN Akeim Villous
— MF Canada CAN Tadija Vukas
— FW Canada CAN Zakaria Abdi
— FW Canada CAN Asher Barnes
— FW Canada CAN Luca Di Marco

Seasons

Men

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2016 League1 Ontario 16 14–3–5 3rd, East (4th overall) did not qualify Semi-finals [13]
2017 16 11–3–8 3rd, East (7th overall) did not qualify Round of 16 [13]
2018 on hiatus
2019
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[14]
2021 League1 Ontario 15 1–1–10 7th, East (14th) did not qualify –
2022 22 13–5–3 4th Quarter Finals – [13]
2023 21 9–4–7 10th did not qualify – [13]
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 12 10–4–8 4th – Semi-Finals

Women

North Toronto Nitros starters in 2024
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2021 League1 Ontario 7 4–0–8 6th Did not qualify Not held [15]
2022 20 10–6–3 7th Did not qualify Not held
2023 19 12–2–4 3rd Quarter-finals Not held
2024 League1 Ontario Premier 10 11–3–4 3rd Not held Finalists

Notable former players

The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:

Men

Women

References

  1. ^ "North Toronto Soccer Club". The Voyageurs. November 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "A History of NTSC". North Toronto SC.
  3. ^ "League1 Ontario Growing Again In 2016". League1 Ontario. February 1, 2016.
  4. ^ Nelson, Norm (May 4, 2016). "Catch Toronto Rush, North Toronto Nitros this season at Varsity Stadium". City Centre Mirror.
  5. ^ Glover, Robin (May 3, 2016). "April 30, 2016 League 1 Ontario–Vaughan Azzurri vs North Toronto Nitros". Northern Starting XI.
  6. ^ Cudmore, John (May 17, 2016). "Durham spoils League1 Ontario soccer home opener for Aurora United women". Aurora Banner.
  7. ^ "2018 League1 Ontario Season To Feature New Format, Divisional Configuration And Several Exciting New Additions". League1 Ontario. March 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Three new teams join 2020 League1 Ontario Men's And Women's divisions". Canadian Premier League. November 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to North Toronto Nitros". League1 Ontario. October 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "North Toronto Nitos". League1 Ontario.
  12. ^ "North Toronto Nitros". League 1 Ontario.
  13. ^ a b c d "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  14. ^ "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.