In a highly tense match Toronto United Futsal win the OSA Futsal Championship against their rivals on home court.

Toronto United Futsal Club emerged as an elite Canadian youth and adult futsal specific club earlier this year, building upon the past championship teams of Toronto Boca Juniors Futsal and the Toronto Impact. Their primary goal was simple: win every title they could. After winning the Sudbury Futsal Invitational in the fall the team had its sights on the OSA Futsal Cup and a ticket to the national championship. 

Sunday’s final was an epic battle at the Vaughan Sportsplex ll. After going finishing 2nd in the group stage, including a 3-3 draw against their bitter rivals from Futsal Club Toronto, TUF faced off against the winners of Group B, Toronto Idolo. Beating the champions of the 2015 Futsal Canada Tournament and the 2016 Defi Men’s title was certainly no easy task but United delivered one of the most disciplined performances of the year to earn a 4-1 victory.

Toronto United Futsal: 2016 OSA Futsal Cup Champions

A highly anticipated rematch in the finals against the archrivals on Sunday afternoon resulted in a goalkeeping clinic with TUF’s Joshua Lemos in particular showing all weekend why he has been Canada’s best futsal goalkeeper for the better part of the last decade.

Marco Rodriguez, one of several TUF players to be selected to the National ID Camp, scored a goal to level the game at 1-1 after they conceded a controversial penalty that was converted by former Toronto Boca Junior Futsal player Kevin Correa. TUF would score another one very shortly after to go up 2-1 courtesy of a Max Oddo strike.

Halftime saw both teams tied at two a piece.

Toronto United Futsal Star Marco Rodriguez (Photo Credit: OSA)

The 2nd half saw more meticulous play emerge from both sides.

United would go up once again when Jonathan Osorio beat his defender and blasted a rocket up high against his former club. Harry Ahumada doubled the lead with a low shot that forced desperation from the opposition in the final minutes.

A Josh Parades strike cut the deficit down to one with a few minutes left. Things were made even more interesting when a clumsy challenge by Camillo Cano earned him a red card while bringing his team down a man, but a resilient defensive effort anchored by Lemos was strong enough to hold off for a 4-3 win and the title.

The medals were presented by recently named Canadian National Futsal Team Head Coach Kyt Selaidopoulos.

The next step for TUF is a two-legged series at the CSA Futsal Championships on the weekend of April 9-10th in Oshawa, Ontario against Quebec Champions, FC Sparte, who were victorious in their PLFQ season. The weekend after will see TUF enter the Futsal Canada National Tournament on April 15-17th, at Queen’s University in Kingston which will close out the Canadian futsal season.

Jonathan Osorio thanks coach Lorenzo Redwood for guiding them to the championship
(Photo Credit: OSA)