London Athletic and Toronto Boca Juniors Win Decisively in CPFL Opening Weekend

It was a pair of strong statements by London Athletic and Toronto Boca Juniors as they recorded victories in the historic first games of the Canadian Premier Futsal League this past Saturday evening at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Toronto Boca Juniors, two-time defending OSA Futsal Cup Champions, opened the fireworks against crosstown rivals Real Toronto, who despite featuring an array of elite futsal layers, came out sluggish and were outclassed from the start. Great goals by Boca pivot Rodrigo Quiroga and forward Massa, along with a very stellar goalkeeping performance by Joshua Lemos allowed TBJ to easily take the opener by an astounding 15-6 score and sending a powerful message to the rest of the league that they mean business.

Boca’s Rodrigo Quiroga (white-centre) battles with Fitzroy Christie
(blue-right) for possession in the CPFL\s opening match.

In the 2nd portion of the double-header, it was a determined and relentless performance from London Athletic from the opening whistle that left the hosts on their heels. Up by a convincing 8-1 lead at half, London refused to let up and continually punished the young and inexperienced Eagles who conceded possession through countless errant passes up the middle of the court which resulted in a 16-5 loss, certainly not the result they wanted for their home opener.

A London defender (left) prevents an Eagles attack, London
went on to win big 16-6.

Both teams have a bye week this round and return to play on Matchday 3, January 21st. The official CPFL launch takes place at Seneca College Newnham Campus this Saturday January 14th with yet another huge double-header as Toronto Boca Juniors host Brampton City United at 6:40pm, while the York Region Shooters face off against Barrie Futsal Club in what will surely be a great night of futsal. Attendance will be limited to the first 500 fans and will be absolutely free in addition to free parking Lot 5. For more information, see the CPFL section of the Futsal Canada website.