Toronto Lynx
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The Toronto Lynx is a soccer team that plays in the North American USL First Division, which is the second division for the United States and top division for Canada. Their main rivals are Montreal Impact and Rochester Raging Rhinos.
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The Toronto Lynx announced its expansion rights in Toronto on June 24, 1996 and played their first A-League game in Jacksonville, Florida on April 12, 1997. The Toronto Lynx set an A-League record of 10 consecutive wins during their first season in 1997 and continued to field a very competitive franchise on the field and in the offices ever since. In 2000, the Lynx proceeded to the Eastern Conference Finals and only a 1-0 loss to the Raging Rhinos kept the Lynx out of the A-League Championship game. In 2002, the Lynx narrowly missed the playoffs on the last night of the season, in a game against the Atlanta Silverbacks. The upcoming 2005 season will be their ninth season of playing in the A-League.
Peter Pinizzotto was the Toronto Lynx Head Coach from 1997 to 2003. The team made one playoff appearance under his reign. The next season he would be hired as assistant coach for rivals Montreal Impact. In September 2003, Duncan Wilde was appointed as the new Toronto Lynx Head Coach for the 2004 season bringing a new philosophy and vision for the club. Duncan Wilde also holds the position of Director of the Toronto Lynx Premier Soccer Academy and Super Y League Program for accomplishing the mission of developing and inspiring youth soccer talent in the Greater Toronto Area. After a season, Wilde resigned from his head coaching position amidst rumours of owner interference in squad selection. The 2005 season has led to the hiring of new manager and former Lynx goalkeeper Hubert Busby Jr.
In October 2004, the Lynx announced that they had purchased the rights to a W-League franchise, to be known as the Toronto Lady Lynx, which was to begin play during the 2005 season.
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Star Players
- Paul Stalteri (now with Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga)
- Chris Pozniak
- Marco Reda
- Dwayne De Rosario (now with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer)
- Pat Onstad (now with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer)
- Atiba Hutchinson
- Adrian Serioux (now with Millwall of the English League Championship)
Stadium and Facilities
The Toronto Lynx played out of Varsity Stadium in Toronto from 1997 to 2001. When Varsity Stadium was demolished in 2002 to make way for a new proposed development at the University of Toronto, the Lynx moved to Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke in 2002 and remain there to this day. Half of the 2002 season was spent at York University due to a public employees strike in the City of Toronto.
International Friendlies
September 7th, 1998 - Toronto Lynx 2, Persepolis 0 (Iranian First Division champions) Persepolis fielded five Iranian internationals from the team that had defeated the U.S. at that summer's World Cup.
June 5, 1999 - Santa Clara 2 (Portuguese First Division), Toronto Lynx 1
June 6, 2000 - Reggina (Italian Serie A) 2, Toronto Lynx 0
May 14, 2002 - Toronto Lynx 1, 1860 Munich 0 (German Bundesliga)
External links
- Toronto Lynx homepage (http://www.lynxsoccer.com/site.html)
- U-Sector: Lynx News Site and Supporters (http://www.torontoultras.net/)Template:United Soccer Leagues