Blue Devils FC

Last updated

Blue Devils FC
Oakville Blue Devils.png
Full nameBlue Devils Football Club
Founded2015;9 years ago (2015)
Stadium Sheridan Trafalgar Stadium
President Steven Caldwell [1]
Head coach Duncan Wilde (men)
Carli Tingstad (women)
League League1 Ontario
2023 League, 4th; Playoffs, SF (men)
League, 11th; Playoffs, DNQ (women)
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Blue Devils Football Club (formerly known as Oakville Blue Devils FC) is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakville, Ontario. The senior men's and women's teams currently compete in League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Past teams of same name

logo of the original Oakville Blue Devils Oakville BD original.gif
logo of the original Oakville Blue Devils

The original Oakville Blue Devils was a member team of the Oakville Soccer Club. The team was built, coached and developed by Phil Iafrati (1947–2013), [4] where they won the U19 provincial and national championships in 1998. [5] As the Devils reached the end of the youth soccer circuit that season, Iafrati restarted the program with the a U9 program Oakville Blue Stars in 1999. [6]

In 2005, the second edition of the Blue Devils were formed when the Scarborough-based Metro Lions of the Canadian Professional Soccer League relocated to Oakville and adopted the Blue Devils name, [5] coached by Duncan Wilde. [7] They won the 2005 season defeating Vaughan Shooters in the final. [8] In 2006, Wilde left to manage the Toronto Lynx, which resulted in a mass exodus of players not returning. [9] The club was relocated in 2007 and became Brampton United, bringing to an end the period of the Oakville Blue Devils history. [4]

Revival

Club logo from 2015 to 2020 Oakville Blue Devils FC logo.png
Club logo from 2015 to 2020

In 2015, the club was founded to play in the semi-professional League1 Ontario, named after the original team from prior years. [4] The Toronto Lynx men's senior team was incorporated into the Oakville team [10] and in late 2017, the teams merged completely under Oakville's umbrella. [11] In their inaugural L1O season, they were crowned league champions and qualified for the Inter-Provincial Cup against the champion of the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec to determine the Canadian Division III champion, where they defeated CS Mont-Royal Outremont to win the title. [12] In 2017, they won their second title, defeating Woodbridge Strikers in the Championship final on penalty kicks. [13]

In 2018, the team played in the Canadian Championship for the first time where they lost in the first qualifying round against 2017 PLSQ champion AS Blainville. [14] [15] [16] [17] Later, during the 2018 season, they played a friendly against Italian professional Serie A club Frosinone Calcio, losing by a score of 2–0. [18] [19] [20]

Also in 2018, the club added a team in the women's division of League1 Ontario, beginning in the 2018 season. [21] [22] In their second season, the women advanced to the Championship Final, where they were defeated by FC London. [23] In 2021, the women once again finished as runner-ups after being defeated in the finals by the Woodbridge Strikers. [23]

In 2020, the club merged with GPS Academy and was renamed to Blue Devils FC. [24] The men finished as runner-ups in both 2021 and 2022, being defeated in the Championship Finals by Guelph United FC and Vaughan Azzurri, respectively. [23]

Front office and technical Staff

As of July 18, 2018 [25]
NamePosition
Flag of England.svg Duncan Wilde League1 head coach
Flag of England.svg Billy SteeleU21 head coach and senior assistant coach
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Glenn McNamaraGoalkeeper coach
Flag of Scotland.svg Steven Caldwell President
Flag of England.svg Brett Mosen Technical staff
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Kim AshtonOperations manager

Squad

As of 16 April 2023 [26]

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
— GK Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Lucas Birnstingl
— GK Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Samuel Diltz
— DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Adam Czerkawski
— DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Matthew Laic
— DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Andra Neptune
— DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN David Newman
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Riel Edwards-Carol
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Gianluca Del Priore
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Brandon Duarte
— MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Keani Fairbanks
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Samer Hamade
No.Pos.NationPlayer
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Abraham Jones
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Noah MacIntyre
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Mathew Santos
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Antonio Sereno
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Gianluca Spadafora
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Kion Stewart
— MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN David Velastegui
— FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Prince David-Amanda
— FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Matthew McGrouther
—Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Kevin Sinclair

Seasons

Men
SeasonLeagueTeamsRecordRankPlayoffsLeague CupCanadian ChampionshipRef
2015 League1 Ontario 1217–2–3Champions–Group stage– [27]
2016 168–4–106th, Western (10th overall)did not qualifyFirst round– [27]
2017 1618–2–21st, Western (1st overall)ChampionsFirst round– [27]
2018 1710–5–13rdGroup stageSemifinals First qualifying round [27]
2019 1612–2–11stSemifinals–Did not qualify [27]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [28]
2021 159–2–12nd, West (3rd overall)Finalists–Did not qualify [27]
2022 2214–5–22ndFinalists–Did not qualify
2023 2112–3–54thSemi-finals–Did not qualify
Women
SeasonLeagueTeamsRecordRankPlayoffsLeague CupRef
2018 League1 Ontario 137–1–45thdid not qualifyRound of 16 [29]
2019 1411–0–21stFinalists– [29]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [28]
2021 76–1–54thFinalists–
2022 205–4–1015thDid not qualify–
2023 197–3–811thDid not qualify–

Honours

Notable 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

Related Research Articles

The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), which oversees the system and domestic cups but does not operate any of its component leagues. In addition, some Canadian teams compete in leagues that are based in the United States.

Jose "Joey" Alberto Oliveira Melo is a former Canadian professional soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marko Bedenikovic</span> Canadian soccer player

Marko Bedenikovic is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a midfielder and defender.

Adrian Butters is a professional footballer who plays as a defender. Born in Canada, he represents Guyana at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">League1 Ontario</span> Semi-pro soccer league in Ontario, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Wilde</span> English soccer manager

Duncan Wilde is an English soccer manager who is currently the manager of Blue Devils FC in League1 Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio De Luca</span> Canadian association football player

Sergio De Luca is a Canadian professional soccer coach and former player.

The 2015 Men's League1 Ontario season was the second season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The 2015 Première ligue de soccer du Québec season is the fourth season of play for the Première ligue de soccer du Québec; the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Québec and one of two Division 3 semi-professional soccer leagues in the Canadian soccer pyramid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.S. Blainville</span> Football club

Association de Soccer de Blainville, commonly referred to as A.S. Blainville, is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in the Montreal suburb of Blainville, Quebec, that plays in Ligue1 Québec. They are the only club to have participated in every season of the PLSQ.

The 2016 Men's League1 Ontario season was the third season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CS Mont-Royal Outremont</span> Football club

Club Soccer Mont-Royal Outremont is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in the Montreal boroughs of Mount Royal and Outremont. Since 2013, the club has competed in Ligue1 Québec. Their women's team has competed in the women's division of the PLSQ since 2019.

Victor Gallo is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Scrosoppi FC in League1 Ontario.

The 2017 Men's League1 Ontario season was the fourth season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 semi-professional soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodbridge Strikers</span> Canadian soccer team

Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays home games at Vaughan Grove Park.

The 2018 Men's League1 Ontario season was the fifth season of play for League1 Ontario, a Division 3 men's soccer league in the Canadian soccer pyramid and the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaughan Azzurri</span> Canadian soccer team

Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which is a youth soccer club as part of their High Performance Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Novak</span> Canadian soccer player

Anthony Joseph Novak is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward.

Rahim Thorpe is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Simcoe County Rovers in League1 Ontario.

Jade Kovacevic is a Canadian soccer player who plays for the North Toronto Nitros in League1 Ontario. She is the all-time leading goal-scorer in both League1 Ontario and the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.

References

  1. ↑ "Steven Caldwell Joins Oakville Blue Devils FC To Help Guide Club into the Future". Oakville Blue Devils FC. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Oakville Blue Devils's official website". Oakville Blue Devils. Oakville Blue Devils. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Oakville Blue Devils's page in". League1 Ontario . Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "About". Oakville Blue Devils. Oakville Blue Devils. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Kuiperij, Jon (January 30, 2015). "League1 Ontario men's soccer loop welcomes Oakville Blue Devils". Oakville Beaver.
  6. ↑ Kuiperij, Jon (September 19, 2013). "Iafrati, Phil (Died)". Oakville Beaver. Oakville Images.
  7. ↑ "Canadian Professional Soccer League - Clubs". December 25, 2005. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Kuiperij, Jon (October 12, 2005). "Blue Devils' Gamble pays off in CPSL final" (PDF). Oakville Beaver.
  9. ↑ "Different cast of Blue Devils seeks repeat". Burlington Post . May 26, 2006.
  10. ↑ Crawford, Colin (February 29, 2016). "Toronto's Soccer History: 1987 - Present". Toronto FC. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Toronto Lynx Soccer Club". Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ Kuiperij, Jon (November 17, 2015). "Goal by defensive sub lifts Oakville Blue Devils to victory in Inter-Provincial Cup". Oakville Beaver.
  13. ↑ Chenoix, Éric (May 30, 2018). "À la Découverte du Oakville Blue Devils FC" [Discovering Oakville Blue Devils FC]. PLSQ (in French).
  14. ↑ "Oakville Blue Devils qualifies for Canadian Championship – Canada Soccer". Canadian Soccer Association . Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ "AS Blainville qualifies for Canadian Championship – Canada Soccer". Canadian Soccer Association . Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  16. ↑ "About the Canadian Championship". Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  17. ↑ Garbutt, Herb (October 22, 2017). "Oakville Blue Devils reclaim League1 title with dramatic penalty-kick victory". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Frosinone Calcio is Here in Canada". Molisana Imports. July 18, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Frosinone - Oakville Blue Devils 2-0". Frosinone Calcio (in Italian). July 26, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Tournée Canada/USA, il programma delle Amichevolu" [Tournée Canada/USA, the friends' program]. Frosinone Calcio (in Italian). July 17, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Significant Expansion planned for League1 Ontario". Ontario Soccer Association . December 20, 2017.
  22. ↑ Baldwin, Dan (April 27, 2018). "League 1 Ontario 2018 Preview". Northern Starting XI.
  23. 1 2 3 "A Bluffer's Guide to Blue Devils". League1 Ontario . September 22, 2022.
  24. ↑ "GPS Academy to Merge with Blue Devils FC". Blue Devils FC. October 1, 2020.
  25. ↑ "About Us". Oakville Blue Devils. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Blue Devils FC". League 1 Ontario.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  28. 1 2 "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League . September 4, 2020.
  29. 1 2 "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.