Alliance United Futbol Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Markham and Scarborough, Ontario. The club was founded in 2017 to compete in League1 Ontario. The club was formed as a partnership between two youth clubs - Markham FC and Wexford SC. It fields teams in both the men's and women's divisions of League1 Ontario.
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| Full name | Alliance United Futbol Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Stadium | Mount Joy Turf Field / Turf Sports Field |
| Head Coach | Ilya Orlov (men) Angelo Cavalluzzo (women) |
| League | League1 Ontario |
| 2023 | League, 8th; Playoffs, DNQ (men) League, 4th; Playoffs, Champions (women) |
| Website | Club website |
Founders
editThe club was founded in 2017 as a joint partnership between clubs Markham FC and Wexford SC with the team playing out of Centennial College.[1][2] The name Alliance United was initially meant to be a temporary with a 'name the team' initiative planned, but it ultimately remained the official name.[3][4]
Markham FC
edit
Markham FC is a youth soccer club in Markham, Ontario. It was founded in 1971 as the Markham Minor Soccer Club, before changing its name to the Markham Youth Soccer Club.[5]
Wexford SC
editWexford SC is a youth soccer club in Scarborough in Toronto. It was founded in 1967 as the Buchanan Soccer Club and is the longest running club in Scarborough.[6]
History
editAlliance United joined the men's division of League1 Ontario for the 2018 season.[7] They played their inaugural match on April 29, 2018 against North Mississauga SC at home, which they lost by a score of 1–0.[8] They finished in 7th place in their debut season.[9] They improved to a 3rd-place finish in the 2019 season, but had a very poor showing in the playoffs where they lost 15–0 to FC London on aggregate in the semi-finals over the two-game series, due to being unable to field many of their best players, who missed the series due to college and university commitments,[10] thereby having to rely on many youth players instead.[11]
In 2019, the club added a team in the League1 Ontario women's division.[12] In their debut season, they finished in a three-way tie for fifth, but did not play in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] In their return in 2022, they finished 6th in the regular season, but advanced to the Championship Final in the playoffs, where they were defeated by NDC Ontario.[13] In addition, they advanced to the League1 Canada Women's Interprovincial Championship for 2022, as NDC Ontario was unable to compete due to player unavailability,[13] where they finished in 3rd place, following a defeat to PLSQ side AS Laval in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals,[14][15] before defeating League1 British Columbia side Varsity FC in the third-place match in another penalty shootout.[16] In 2023, after finishing 4th in the regular season, they won the women's league championship defeating NDC Ontario in the playoff final.[17][18]
In 2023, they formed an affiliation with Canadian Premier League club York United FC, which enables York United to send players to Alliance on short-term loans.[19] On July 29, 2023, they recorded their largest victory, defeating Unionville Milliken SC by a score of 13-1.[20]
Squad
edit- As of 16 April 2023[21]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Seasons
editMen
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | League Cup | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | League1 Ontario | 17 | 7–3–6 | 7th | Group Stage | Preliminary Round | [22] |
| 2019 | 16 | 11–3–1 | 3rd | Semi-finals | – | [22] | |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[23] | ||||||
| 2021 | League1 Ontario Summer Championship | 11 | 3–2–2 | 3rd | – | – | |
| 2022 | League1 Ontario | 22 | 13–6–2 | 3rd | Semi-Finals | – | |
| 2023 | 22 | 9–6–5 | 8th | did not qualify | – | ||
Women
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | League Cup | Interprovinical Championship | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | League1 Ontario | 14 | 6–2–5 | 7th | Quarter-finals | – | – | [24] |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[23] | |||||||
| 2021 | Did not enter due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2022 | League1 Ontario | 20 | 11–4–4 | 6th | Finalists | – | 3rd | |
| 2023 | 19 | 10–5–3 | 4th | Champions | – | 4th | ||
Notable former players
editThe following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:
Men
edit
Women
edit
Jade Vyfhuis
References
edit- ^ "East-GTA Partnership Driving New League1 Club Alliance United FC Has Orlov In The Manager's Seat". League1 Ontario. February 9, 2018.
- ^ Glover, Robin (June 20, 2018). "L1O Game of the Week: Late equalizer seals Alliance United draw". Waking The Red.
- ^ Cudmore, John (December 21, 2017). "League1 expansion focus zooms in on Unionville, Markham entries". Markham Economist & Sun.
- ^ a b Bates, Matt (May 26, 2022). "A Bluffer's Guide to Alliance United". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "About Markham Soccer". Markham Soccer Club.
- ^ "Wexford History". Wexford SC.
- ^ "Significant Expansion Planned for League1 Ontario". Ontario Soccer Association. December 20, 2017.
- ^ Anchour, Yacine (April 27, 2018). "New season, New Kits & New Ambitions". NMSC.
- ^ Stancati, Johnny (September 24, 2018). "Alliance Books Spot In The Playoffs With 1-0 Victory Over Sanjaxx". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Thompson, Marty (October 30, 2020). "Ilya Orlov on Alliance's COVID-19 training, 'biggest worry' from L1O stoppage". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Vanderhoeven, Paul (September 24, 2019). "FC London men looking to follow women's lead". The London Free Press.
- ^ "FC Oshawa set to make soccer debut in League1 Ontario loop". Oshawa This Week. February 1, 2019.
- ^ a b Cheng, Jonathan (August 7, 2022). "NDC Ontario cap off dream season with victory in Women's Premier Division Final". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "L'AS Laval l'emporte contre Alliance United aux tirs au but" [AS Laval wins against Alliance United on penalties]. Première ligue de soccer du Québec (in French). August 13, 2022.
- ^ "AS Laval defeat Alliance United on penalties". League1 Canada. August 13, 2022.
- ^ "Alliance United finish third after beating Varsity on penalties". League1 Canada. August 15, 2022.
- ^ Cheng, Jonathan (August 6, 2023). "Alliance United win Women's Premier Division title in extra-time". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Parkes, David (August 8, 2023). "Alliance United Claims League1 Ontario Women's Crown". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "York United FC announces key partnership with League1 Ontario side Alliance United". York United FC. April 16, 2023.
- ^ Jacques, John (July 30, 2023). "Misery For Unionville Milliken As Alliance Asserts Itself In Fourteen-Goal Match". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "Alliance United FC". League 1 Ontario.
- ^ a b "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
- ^ a b "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020.
- ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.