Unionville Milliken SC

Unionville Milliken Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Unionville, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its women's and men's semi-professional teams in League1 Ontario in 2017 and 2018 respectively.[1][2]

Unionville Milliken SC
Full nameUnionville Milliken Soccer Club
Nickname(s)UMSC Strikers
Founded1976
StadiumOntario Soccer Centre
Head CoachFilipe Bento (men)
Paul Omoghan (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2023League1 Ontario, 20th (men)
League1 Ontario, 13th (women)
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was founded in 1976 to serve the communities of Unionville and Milliken in Ontario.[3]

Originally a youth soccer club, the team added semi-professional teams in League1 Ontario in the women's division in 2017, followed by a men's team in 2018.[4] In their inaugural season, the women's team finished in 4th place.[5] Unionville announced that their club would go with a fully professional model, as opposed to an amateur or semi-professional approach, becoming the second fully professional team in the league, after Toronto FC III.[6]

The men's team was formed through a partnership with York Region Shooters, who played in the Canadian Soccer League until 2017, to form a professional club in L1O to begin in 2018, created through the relationship of Shooters' owner Tony De Thomasis and UMSC coach Filipe Bento.[7] They played their inaugural match on April 29, 2018 against Windsor TFC,[8] which resulted in a 3–1 victory.[9] In 2022, the women's reserve team won the League1 Ontario Reserve Division.[10]

Squad
As of 16 April 2023[11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  CAN Ezequiel Carrasco
— GK  CAN Matthew Mattila
— DF  CAN Hans-Conny Chery
— DF  CAN Micah Chisholm
— DF  ALB Frangeld Tinaj
— MF  CAN Temesgen Alemseged
— MF  CAN Adam Belquas
— MF  CAN Michael Camara
— MF  CAN Yuaan Cheliyan
— MF  CAN Ethan Hunter
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  CAN Olisaemeka Ogbonnaya
— FW  CAN Kaden Bennett
—  POR Alexandre Cunha
—  CAN Michael Dattolico
—  CAN Marco Frangini-Andrade
—  CAN Aidean Gideon
—  CAN Saif Jaffer
—  CAN Michelangelo Khan
—  CAN Andy Lau
—  CAN Jordy Sibopa
—  CAN Oscar Teixeira

Seasons

Men
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2018 League1 Ontario 17 6–5–5 8th Group stage Round of 16 [12]
2019 16 3–3–9 12th Did not qualify – [12]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[13]
2021 15 5–2–5 4th, East (8th overall) Did not qualify – [12]
2022 22 4–2–15 20th Did not qualify –
2023 21 1–1–18 20th Did not qualify –

Women
Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs League Cup Ref
2017 League1 Ontario 11 10–3–7 4th – Quarter-finals [14]
2018 13 5–3–4 8th Did not qualify Finalists [14]
2019 14 5–5–4 11th Did not qualify – [14]
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[13]
2021 League1 Ontario Summer Championship 7 2–1–3 5th – – [14]
2022 League1 Ontario 20 7–1–10 14th Did not qualify –
2023 19 7–0–11 13th Did not qualify –

Notable former 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

References
  1. Cudmore, John (December 21, 2017). "League1 expansion focus zooms in on Unionville, Markham entries". Markham Economist & Sun.
  2. Cudmore, John (May 2, 2017). "Aurora, Unionville-Milliken women kick off League1 season". Aurora Banner.
  3. "About UMSC". Unionville Milliken SC.
  4. "Significant expansion planned for League1 Ontario". League1 Ontario. December 20, 2017.
  5. Anstee, James (June 15, 2022). "A Bluffer's Guide to Unionville Milliken". League1 Ontario.
  6. Baldwin, Dan (April 27, 2018). "League 1 Ontario 2018 Preview". Northern Starting XI.
  7. "Unionville Milliken Men To Spotlight Pro Model, Community Roots, In Debut Season". League1 Ontario. April 16, 2018.
  8. Parker, Jim (April 28, 2018). "Windsor TFC soccer team has a new focus this season". Windsor Star.
  9. "Game 1: Unionville with the Win Over Windsor". Unionville Milliken SC. October 17, 2018.
  10. "Unionville Milliken and Simcoe County Rovers win reserve titles". League1 Ontario. August 8, 2022.
  11. "Unionville Milliken SC". League 1 Ontario.
  12. "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  13. "League1 Ontario cancels Fall season plans for 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions". Canadian Premier League. September 4, 2020.
  14. "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
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