The 2021 League1 Ontario season was the sixth season of play (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) for the Women's Division of

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

, a Division 3 women's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The league announced a projected start date of July 2, 2021, also announcing a 'drop-dead date' of June 7, 2021 that will confirm the start of the season on that date depending on restrictions in the province, otherwise the season would be cancelled.

Format

The league will be played in a single table of 7 teams, playing a total of 12 matches, with the top four clubs advancing to the playoffs. Because the season began three months later than normal and with very short notice, some clubs have opted to delay their return to Premier Division competition until the 2022 season. As a large portion of the L1O player pool consisted of university and college student athletes, some sides would have limited squads after Labour Day. To combat these challenges, the league created a short-season ‘Summer Championship Series’ for 2021, which will conclude by Labour Day. In addition, the Reserve Division will begin for the first time (after the inaugural women's reserve division was cancelled along with the rest of the league in 2020, following a similar format to the Premier Division, featuring 10 teams playing 12 matches, with the top teams advancing to the playoffs and featuring Championship Finals weekend on November 6-7.

Clubs

The women's division consists of 15 teams, an increase from 13 teams in 2020.

Guelph Union Guelph United F.C. is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Guelph, Ontario. The club includes men's and women's teams that play in League1 Ontario. Both teams initially played at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium, but moved ...

Tecumseh SC Tecumseh United Football Club is a Canadian association football, soccer club based in Tecumseh, Ontario, just east of Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, that competes in the women's division of League1 Ontario (women), League1 Ontario. The club rebrand ...

, and Waterloo United are new addition, while Aurora FC did not return.

North Toronto Nitros North Toronto Nitros is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Toronto, Ontario. The club was founded in 1980 as a youth soccer club and added its men's semi-professional club in League1 Ontario ...

will also be making their official debut, after their inaugural season was cancelled due to the pandemic. The following clubs are set to participate in the league: The following clubs, while not formally part of the League1 Ontario women's division are operating teams in the Reserve Division (both clubs operate teams in the men's division):

Main Division

Playoffs

Semi-finals Final

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Source

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Top goalkeepers

Minimum 270 minutes played. Source

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Honours

The following awards and nominations were awarded for the 2021 season.

Awards

League All-Stars

First Team Second Team

Summer Championship Division

The league is operating a short-season division called the Summer Championship in 2021.

Reserve Division

The league is set to operate a Reserve division this season as well.

Playoffs

Semi-finals Final

References

External links

* {{2021 in Canadian soccer 2021 in Canadian women's soccer, League1 Ontario League1 Ontario W League1 Ontario (women) seasons