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After plenty of midweek action, attention turns to the weekend as the plot thickens across League1 Ontario.

Friday night under the lights

It’s another bumper Men’s Championship Friday night with three matches scheduled to kick off the weekend.

Division leaders FC London are on the road to North Mississauga, having almost beaten Premier side Blue Devils in the L1 Cup in midweek – losing out on penalties after an epic Oakville fightback.

Mid-table BVB IA Waterloo host St Catharines Roma Wolves, who will be desperate for a win and to escape the relegation playoff position. There’s also a mid-table clash between Windsor City and Pickering.

Picking up from midweek

There were nine goals across the two Women’s Premier games on Wednesday night, as Woodbridge Strikers beat North Mississauga 3-2 and North Toronto and Alliance United played out a 2-2 tie – leaving the reigning champions in the relegation playoff spot.

North Toronto and Alliance are both back in action on Saturday as they host Blue Devils and FC London respectively. Despite Alliance’s precarious position, they are only four points behind fifth-placed FC London and will take confidence from their midweek tie against high-flyers North Toronto.

North Mississauga would have been level on points with Vaughan Azzurri had they held out for a tie on Wednesday night, and these two sides face each other this weekend.

Simcoe County Rovers and NDC Ontario both registered wins last time out, with NDC the only team left to taste defeat in the regular season, and they also meet on Saturday.

In the Men’s Premier, the undefeated Vaughan Azzurri host winless Sigma, who showed their worth in a 5-0 L1 Cup victory against BVB IA Waterloo in midweek. A win for the Azzurri in this one would keep them firmly in the mix for the title.

Also up there are Scrosoppi who visit Hamilton United this Saturday – the division’s most prolific attack coming up against the leakiest defence, and this one will be streamed live on YouTube.

There will also be an interesting battle between Simcoe County Rovers and ProStars. It will be Simcoe’s first game since departing ways with head coach Zico Mahrady and they are only three points above the relegation playoff spot, with ProStars one point ahead of them.

Battles at the top and bottom

There are also some crucial matches in the Men’s Championship, as it’s third versus second with Unionville Milliken hosting TFC Academy – two teams still with title hopes.

Darby are eight points adrift of FC London and might have an outsider’s chance for the crown, but Master’s FA certainly need the points if they are to give themselves breathing space from the relegation playoff spot.

It’s a similar picture in the Women’s Championship with league leaders Scrosoppi travelling to ninth-placed Rush Canada, with three points integral for both teams – for different reasons.

Hunting down Scrosoppi are Unionville Milliken who beat Rush 4-1 in one of the Championship’s four midweek games, and they host bottom side Burlington who occupy the automatic relegation spot.

Tecumseh United host ProStars this Sunday and both are in danger of being sucked into that relegation battle. Hamilton United and Darby are above them in the standings and will face off at Ron Joyce Stadium.

Rush Canada are in action in the Men’s League2 Division against FC London B – both with eyes for the wildcard playoff spot. Sudbury Cyclones have won their last three games and have their own promotion ambitions with Unionville Milliken B visiting this Saturday, and mid-table The Borough FC visit Blue Devils B.

The two ‘A’ teams in Women’s League2, Master’s FA and St Catharines Roma Wolves, clash on Sunday in this weekend’s livestreamed women’s game on L1ON YouTube.

More Sunday soccer

The only Women’s Premier game on Sunday sees Woodbridge Strikers, who left it late to win in midweek, going up against Guelph United who have five points from their last five.

Men’s Premier leaders Burlington, who lost for the first time this season last week, are in action on Sunday against a Blue Devils side that went unbeaten in their last three divisional games and progressed through to the Men’s L1 Cup quarterfinals in midweek.

In-form Woodbridge Strikers are bearing down on the divisional leaders as one of the three unbeaten teams in the Men’s Premier, and they host seventh-placed Guelph United.

Pickering will have a good look at the Women’s Championship table after all of Saturday’s games, and they will aim to keep tabs on the league leaders with victory against BVB IA Waterloo, who are just one place and two points behind them in the standings. This is a game to watch.