Ottawa Wizards
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| Full name | Ottawa Wizards |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Wizards |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Dissolved | 2003 |
| Ground | OZ Optics Stadium |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Owner | Omur Sezerman |
| League | Canadian Professional Soccer League |
| 2003 | 1st, Eastern Playoffs:Withdrew |
Ottawa Wizards were a Canadian soccer club which operated in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL), from 2001 to 2003. The team`s home stadium was the OZ Optics Stadium. Though the team had a relatively short tenure with the CPSL, the club dominated the league by winning three consecutive regular season championships, two Open Canada Cups, and the CPSL Championship. Despite the club success the franchise was revoked by the league in 2003 after several legal disputes with the CPSL administration.
Ottawa Wizards entered the CPSL in 2001, joining three other expansion teams the Toronto Supra, Montreal Dynamites, and the Brampton Hitmen. Under head coach Rasim Kara who previously coached Division 1 clubs in Turkey; brought in Trinidad and Tobago national team players Shurland David, Richard Goddard, Kevin Nelson and players with USL experience like Vladimir Edouard, and Sanjeev Parmar. The club debuted on June 1, 2001 with the opening fixture resulting in a scoreless draw with London City. Ottawa would pick up from their draw with an impressive 5 game undefeated streak which included Open Canada Cup matches. After their defeat to Toronto Croatia, the Wizards bounced back with another 15 game undefeated streak Throughout the whole season Ottawa challenged league giants Toronto Olympians for the top spot in the standings; eventually finishing first in the standings the first club to defeat the Olympians regular season winning dynasty. Ottawa finished as the highest scoring team with Kevin Nelson winning the CSL Golden Boot, CSL Rookie of the Year, and Abraham Osman receiving the Canadian Soccer League MVP Award. The Wizards added more silverware to their cabinet by winning the Open Canada Cup, thus becoming the second team in CPSL history in achieving a double.
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