(August 15, 2019) Another season of the Alberta Major Soccer League (AMSL) has wrapped up, with the final game taking place last night in Edmonton.

The season brought with it some big changes, thanks to the inclusion of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) development teams joining in on the competition. FC Edmonton’s and Cavalry FC’s U20 squads competed in the Men’s division, making for a longer season with a greater number of games for the teams (17 games compared to past years’ 14).

Read more: CPL U20 Development teams to join Alberta Major Soccer League

The addition of these teams added a unique challenge to the other teams in the league, while also providing an excellent development opportunity for the players on the CPL U20 teams:

“It was a huge step for the Cavalry U20 team to be able to participate in the AMSL,” said Martin Nash, Cavalry FC Technical Director. “The league was very competitive and pushed our players more than we could have anticipated. It was an important step in their development as young soccer players.”

FC Edmonton staff agreed:

“Having our U20s compete in the AMSL is vital to the growth our players. The experience this past season has been a positive one in that it has exposed potential future first team professional players to a level of play that they cannot get if they remained in youth football,” said Jeff Paulus, FC Edmonton Director of Soccer Operations & Head Coach. “We also want to thank the AMSL clubs for accepting our program into their league and for the challenge and level of competition that they provided to our young players.”

Scheduling

The 28^th season also experienced a record number of rescheduled games (12) due to the combined impact of the poor air quality and stormy weather conditions. Fortunately, the weather late in the season took a turn for the better, allowing teams to make all but one (at the teams’ request) of these games up.

Youth Trialists

Of specific interest for this season is the dramatic increase in the number of youth trialists called up to compete, particularly on the Men’s side. In 2018, teams called up just 7 trialists. In 2019, that number jumped to 46. For the Women, the number increased from 62 in 2018 to 80 this past season.

“The increase in youth call-ups this past season is an exciting development,” said Shaun Lowther, Alberta Soccer Executive Director. “Integrating high performing Youth Players into the AMSL and exposing them to pressure situations with and against older, more experienced players will assist in their individual growth from technical, tactical, physical and social/emotional perspectives.”  

Final Standings

On the Women’s side, Edmonton Victoria claimed the first-place spot once again, earning 40 points throughout the season. Edmonton Northwest United placed second with 32 points, and Edmonton Scottish Angels placed third, with 21 points.

Click here to view the full Women’s standings

The Men’s group saw Edmonton Green & Gold place at the top of their division standings by a wide margin, with 44 points. Edmonton Scottish followed in second with 32 points, then Calgary Dinosaurs with 29.

Click here to view the full Men’s standings

Top Goal Scorers

Congratulations to Sunder West of Lethbridge FC, who scored 11 goals in 13 games:

Congratulations to Matteo Valdes, of Calgary Villains Elite FC, and Derek Brust, of Calgary Dinosaurs, who tied as the Top Goal Scorers this season. Valdes scored 13 goals in 15 games and was also the leading goal scorer in the 2017 season. Brust scored 13 goals in 17 games.

What’s Next

The top three men and women’s teams in both the North and the South will meet at the 2019 Alberta Soccer Senior Provincials from August 30 to September 2. The teams will be competing for a shot at the Canada Soccer National Championships in St John’s, Newfoundland this Fall.

Should they qualify, Women’s League Champions, Edmonton Victoria Women, will battle for their 5^th National title in seven years. Men’s League Champions, Edmonton Green & Gold, will seek to return to Nationals after last qualifying in 2016, when they placed 5^th.

Challenges

Two teams have qualified to vie for a spot in the 29^th season of the AMSL: Rangers Sportif FC in the South Men’s Division and Futbol United/Powerplay FC in the North Women’s Division. Both teams will now participate in a Challenge Series to determine whether they’ll enter the league in 2020.

South Men’s Challenge Series

• Game 1, September 11 (revised 19-Aug):
  • Rangers Sportif FC vs Calgary Villains Elite FC
  • Shouldice -Hellard, KO at 7:00 PM
• Game 2, September 19 (revised 19-Aug):
  • Calgary Villains Elite FC vs Rangers Sportif FC
  • Calgary Soccer Centre 2, KO at 7:00 PM

North Women’s Challenge Series

• Game 1, September 7 (tentative):
  • Futbol United/Powerplay FC vs Edmonton Green & Gold
  • Field/KO (TBC)
• Game 2, September 14 (tentative):
  • Edmonton Green & Gold vs Futbol United/Powerplay FC
  • Field/KO (TBC)

Photos

Check out pictures from some of the games throughout the season on the Alberta Soccer Flickr page. If you don’t see your team represented, please send your photos to Alberta Soccer for uploading.

• Women’s Album
• Men’s Album

Click here to visit the AMSL website for full standings and more