It’s a preseason that a professional side would be proud of – and for the Simcoe County Rovers, it sets the tone to keep punching upwards.
The League1 Ontario outfit will undergo no less than nine preseason friendlies between February and April, including matches against professional sides Toronto FC II, Valour, and all three of Ontario CPL sides in Atletico Ottawa, Forge FC, and York United.
The heavyweight preparations for the 2025 League1 Ontario season were unveiled by the club last week and will kick off later this month against Toronto FC II and OUA semi-finalists TMU Bold. March brings four CPL matches with League1 Quebec’s CS Saint Laurent – another producer of pro talent – sprinkled in between, with April seeing a friendly against the Sudbury Cyclones and intra-squad Rovers FC 2 match close out the preparations.
If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. It’s a preseason a professional CPL side would be happy with, and for the Simcoe County Rovers it’s an integral part of the club’s role in both the player development pathway and improving on the Rovers’ performances in 2024.
Doniel Henry, the club’s head coach and sporting director, puts it bluntly: “It’s been a busy offseason for the club after falling short of our goals last year,” says the former national team defender. “Stepping back to reflect, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we could have done more to create professional opportunities for our deserving players, despite a number of players signing fully professional contracts.”
While Henry isn’t satisfied, a good number of the last year’s Rovers still took firm grip of professional opportunities, like Cloey Uddenberg landing with AFC Toronto and forward Jevontae Layne recently being selected first overall in this year’s CPL-U SPORTS Draft.
“In 2025,” asserts Henry in regards to missing his metric on pro opportunities, “That has to change. We’re raising our intensity and making winning a daily standing in our environment. We wanted to provide our players with an early opportunity to showcase their talent in the 2025 campaign. Facing top professional teams not only challenges them at the highest level, but also puts them on the radar of these clubs from the start.”
One needs to look no further than the club’s Canadian Championship tilt against Toronto FC to see the fruit of that labour: Cuban international Orlendis Benitez is now on contract with Forge, with defender Cameron DaSilva now a professional with York United. Jevontae Layne, who played all ninety minutes, went first in the CPL-U SPORTS draft.
Others who have tasted professional heights before like Sean-Claud Lawson, CJ Smith, Alejandro Portal, and more all got to showcase themselves, too, and the club’s preseason will bring a healthy serving of new doors to pry open. Given that the Rovers will face four Canadian Premier League clubs at a time when their opposition will be finalizing rosters ahead of the 2025 CPL season, the Rovers squad will enjoy a big sequence of opportunities all month long.
Henry says the bold preseason setup makes the club’s ambition clear: the Rovers want to win the next League1 Ontario title, which is also their only path back to the coveted Canadian Championship. This year Scrosoppi FC gets that honour, but it’s a clear slate towards next year’s iteration – there’s just no wiggle room for failure.
Helping set the tone for 2025 is the signing of former Mallorca midfielder Joao Victor, who will assist Doneil Henry through the upcoming season. A veteran of 387 professional appearances, including over fifty in Spain’s top flight, he brings a wealth of experience to the Rovers team.
The Simcoe County Rovers have been busy behind the scenes, fleshing out a roster which, barring a few slots left for players departing Canada’s top flight or returning from MLS NEXT Pro trials, is looking near-complete. With the club intending to begin its roster reveal in the weeks ahead of its home opener, fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see how that took shape.
Original article: https://northerntribune.ca/simcoe-county-rovers-preseason-2025/
