Impact Loses 4-0 on the Road to the New York Red Bulls The Montreal Impact started the second half of the season with a 4-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls, Saturday night, at Red Bull Arena. Despite the loss under difficult conditions due to high humidity, the Impact remains atop the Eastern Conference standings, tied with the Red Bulls with 31 points, but the Impact has two games in hand. The New York Red Bulls struck first when midfielder Eric Alexander took a pass from Thierry Henry and then dribbled down the right flank, before cutting into the box in the 10thminute. Splitting two Impact defenders, Alexander fired home a left-footer from just inside the box that beat Perkins to his right. Thierry Henry, from the six-yard box, doubled the Red Bulls lead six minutes later when he tapped home a Fabian Espindola cross from the right flank to score his 7th career goal versus the Impact. Australian international Tim Cahill found a third marker for the home side in the 63rd minute when he hammered a diving header near the six-yard-box off of a corner kick taken by Henry. Second half substitution Peguy Luyindula converted on a penalty kick in the 88th minute after midfielder Lloyd Sam was taken down in the box. A few changes were made to the starting lineup from last weekend's matchup as team captain Davy Arnaud found himself back in the starting Xl, only his second start since returning from his concussion, and Justin Mapp made his first start since June 15 against Columbus. Brazilian midfielder Felipe missed his first game of the season after suffering a knock in training this past week, while Sanna Nyassi was serving a one-game suspension. Post-game comments "This wasn't a good game tonight, but we played better in the second half with more character," said Impact head coach Marco Schällibaum. It's not easy being in first place and even more difficult to remain on top. We'll need to work and return to the basics." "We must forget that we are first and work just like we did at the start of the season," added Marco Di Vaio. We hope that it will be the solution to find our winning ways again." "We must not panic," said Davy Arnaud. There are tough times in a season. We must come back stronger in our next game. We are still in a great place in the standings, but we need to find a way to win and allow fewer goals." Other highlights Alexander came close to scoring his second of the game when he took advantage of some space down the heart of midfield, but his shot from just outside the box rang off the crossbar in the 32nd minute. The Impact came out in the second half with conviction. Justin Mapp missed just wide left of goal as he cut towards centre and fired a low shot from the top of the box in the 48th minute when Daniele Paponi lured two Red Bulls players away from him. Two minutes later, Di Vaio fired one from distance, but Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles punched away his 30-yard drive, diving to his right. Patrice Bernier fired one from distance in the 72nd minute that forced Robles into another save diving to his right to push the ball out for a corner. Cahill hit the cross bar, a second for the Red Bulls in the game,with a header from close range after Henry dribbled into the box and played a cross far post in the 83rd minute. Upcoming games Both teams will meet in an MLS Reserve League match, tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 11am, at the Red Bulls training center. The Impact will then play its next game at Stade Saputo versus FC Dallas on Saturday, July 20, at 7pm (ET).
Impact's long June break completely different this time around For two straight seasons, the Montreal Impact were given a two week break to start the month of June. That's about the only similarities at this point between this season and the last. It's been quite the year for Major League Soccer's youngest franchise. Looking at how the team has started the 2013 season, today's results would be seen as a pipe dream to somebody exactly one year ago. http://www.rednationonline.ca/Articles2012/ImpactsJunebreakcompletelydifferentthistime.aspx
Winless streaks continue as Impact, FC Dallas play to 0-0 MLS draw The winless streaks dragged on for the Montreal Impact and FC Dallas as the teams played to a 0-0 MLS draw on Saturday night
Impact Scores in Stoppage Time to Win 1-0 Versus Kansas City at Stade Saputo A goal by second half substitute Blake Smith in stoppage timegave the Montreal Impact a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City Saturday night in front of 20,527 spectators at Stade Saputo. Blake Smith scored his first ever game-winning goal in the 96th minute. Impact defender Hassoun Camara, dribbling down the right flank, played a ball towards centre field in the direction of Patrice Bernier, who cleverly dummied the ball through his legs for striker Marco Di Vaio. The Impact's DP took one touch and then played a through ball for Blake Smith towards the left of goal. Smith used his first touch to place the ball past SKC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen. With the win, the Impact is now only one point behind SKC for first place in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, tied with the New York Red Bulls, which won 4-3 versus the Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The best chance of the first half fell to the Impact in the 20th minute. Justin Mapp cut to the middle from the right flank before playing a through ball towards the left side of the box that found Sanna Nyassi on the run. The Gambian midfielder dribbled into the box on a partial break and fired a shot that Nielsen blocked up high. In the 26th minute, SKC striker Claudio Bieler found a little room just outside the left of the 18, but his left-footed shot was caught by Impact keeper Troy Perkins. Perkins, who registered his 6th shutout of the season, came up big in the 52nd minute when a ball bounced into the box finding Bieler. With his back towards goal, the Argentine half volleyed a shot from 7-yards-out that was destined for the top right corner before the Impact's keeper managed to parry the ball out of bounds, diving to his left.
Impact Falls 3-1 to D.C. United at RFK Stadium The Montreal Impact lost 3-1 to D.C. United, on Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. bf0cc43cd8c50cbc6e5862389 Defender Jeb Brovsky scored Montreal's lone goal, his first career goal in MLS., his first career goal in MLS. The Impact is now in third place of the Eastern Conference, with 35 points in 21 games, following a 3-2 win by the New York Red Bulls over Sporting Kansas City tonight. Montreal is now three points behind New York for first place, but has two games in hand. D.C. United opened the scoring in the 20th minute, when midfielder Luis Silva beat Perkins to his right. The former TFC player won the ball back in the box and took a low shot towards the second post, ending the Impact's goal against streak at 201 minutes. The Impact tied it up in the 52th minute, with Impact defender scoring his first-ever goal in MLS. The left-back played a one-two with captain Davy Arnaud inside the box before taking a low shot, which beat DCU keeper Willis to his right. Forward Conor Doyle, who came on in the 64th minute for Dwayne De Rosario, restored D.C. United's lead in the 68th with his first MLS goal, redirecting James Riley's cross at the first post and in between Perkins' legs. D.C. United then scored an insurance goal in stoppage time. On a breakaway, Doyle gave the ball to Jeffrey who had the simplest task of scoring in an empty goal.
Impact Loses 2-1 against the Fire in Chicago The Montreal Impact fell to the Chicago Fire 2-1 on Saturday at Toyota Park. The Fire opened the scoring in the 6th minute. Following a weak clearance by the Impact defence, midfielder Joel Lindpere fired a shot from just outside the box that deflected in front of goal and beat a helpless Troy Perkins. Midfielder Dilly Duka doubled the home side's lead in the 23rd minute. Free dribbling for several yards passed several Impact defenders, Duka beat Perkins with a low shot to his left. The Impact reduced the lead in the 57th minute. Midfielder Felipe scored his 4th of the season when he one-timed a shot from 25 yards out just two minutes after coming on as a sub. In the loss, the Impact enjoyed the majority of the possession with 67%. Following wins by Kansas City and Philadelphia, the Impact sits in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference
Final Impact de Montréal 2-1 D.C. United Un doublé de Marco Di Vaio procure la victoire à l'Impact http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2013/08/matchday-timeline-montreal-impact-vs-dc-united
Impact Falls to CD Heredia 1-0 in Guatemala The Montreal Impact fell to Guatemalan side CD Heredia 1-0 in CONCACAF Champions League action on Wednesday night, at Estadio Cementos Progreso, in Guatemala City. CD Heredia scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute. Following a corner, Heredia striker Charles Cordova lunged to get a foot on the ball in the six-yard box to poke the ball past Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, who had given a short rebound. The Impact was forced to play the entire second half with a man down when, seconds before the half-time whistle, Impact defender Adrian Lopez Rodriguez was shown a red card for a sliding tackle. Post-game comments "When the team loses, you can't leave the field with a smile," said Impact head coach Marco Schallibaum. "The first half was very difficult for us. The second half was better and we played with will, but we were unable to score tonight. With a little luck, they dot score that goal right at the end of the game." "With five minutes left we were going to take a point. It's tough to swallow, especially to give up a goal on a set piece," said Davy Arnaud. "The red card changed the game completely. We were organized in the second half and dealt with the situation we were in pretty well. We even got a good scoring chance." "It's frustrating to lose a game like this when you put a 90-minute effort," said defender Jeb Brovsky. "Playing down a man was not easy but we knew it was not going to be easy with 11 players. And giving up a goal like that it's tough." Highlights It took the Impact just 25 second to get its first chance of the game. Midfielder Blake Smith made a deep run towards the corner flag before making a cut pass back into the box that found striker Daniele Paponi inches from goal. Paponi managed a touch on the ball despite heavy defending, but Heredia's keeper Darwin Mendez managed to block the ball with his upper body. Head referee Paul Delgadillo pointed to the penalty spot in the 19th minute. Heredia's Charles Cordova's attempt hit the crossbar. Then three minutes later, a low blast from 30 yards out by Heredia's David Espinoza skipped off the turf and changed direction on Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, but he kicked out his feet to make the stop. In the 59th minute, the Impact penetrated the 18-yard-box when Smith played a chip to Paponi near the penalty spot. The Italian striker held off his marker, used one touch to make some space, and fired a shot that was scooped up by the Heredia keeper. In the 73rd minute, Paponi made a long run from the left side touchline all the way into the box, before playing a short ball to Smith. The Impact rookie pushed the ball past the defender on his right before beating him on the left to recover his own ball, but his shot from 10 yards out rang off the post. With this being the second of three matches in just eight days, the Impact made a number of changes to the starting lineup, including defenders Maxim Tissot and Wandrille Lefevre, along with midfielders Collen Warner and Blake Smith, who made his first ever start with the Impact. Over 400 impoverished kids from Guatemala were in attendance for the game against CD Heredia, thanks to Operacion Quetzal, a charitable initiative launched by Peace Pandemic and the Jebi Knights. The Impact had won the first game of the tournament 1-0 against the San Jose Earthquakes, on August 7 at Stade Saputo. Upcoming matches The Impact will return home to face off against the Houston Dynamo in MLS regular season play this Saturday, at 7pm (ET), at Stade Saputo. The team will play its remaining CONCACAF Champions League matches on September 17 in San Jose before hosting CD Heredia on September 24, at Stade Saputo.
MLS Commissioner suspends Montreal's Marco Schallibaum and rescinds ban for D.C. United's Ben Olsen Managers Ben Olsen and Marco Schallibaum may have been dismissed at the same time during Saturday night's Montreal-DC match, but the resulting discipline for their actions turned out to be very different. On Friday MLS Commissioner Don Garber rescinded Olsen's automatic one-game suspension and fine, while handing Schallibaum an additional game and extra $5,000 fine on top of the automatic one-game ban "for his repeated misbehavior." http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...eals-marco-schallibaum-and-rescinds-ban-dc-un
Montreal Impact 5, Houston Dynamo 0 MONTREAL – For a few hours at least, the Montreal Impact will top the Eastern Conference. The Houston Dynamo conceded more than three goals in a game for the first time this season as Marco Di Vaio, Felipe, Jeb Brovsky and Andrea Pisanu gave the Impact a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday night at Stade Saputo. With 41 points, Montreal have reclaimed top spot in the East, two points ahead of Sporting Kansas City and the New York Red Bulls – though the latter team plays on Sunday at Chivas USA. Houston remain fifth in the East with 36 points. http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-08-24-MTL-v-HOU/recap
Montreal Impact face final 10 games of season with mission to improve road form MONTREAL – It’s back to (road) basics for the Montreal Impact. Of the 10 MLS games Montreal still have to play, six require them to pack their bags and face hostile crowds, starting this Saturday night at the Philadelphia Union (7:30 pm ET, watch on MLS Live). Mindful of the tight Eastern Conference standings which they currently top, the Impact are on a mission to repeat their early season road heroics, when they most notably beat both Seattle and Portland in Cascadia. “The next two games won’t be easy, but we have to do more if we want to make the playoffs,” forward Marco Di Vaio said on Thursday. “We have to pick up points away like we did early this season. It’s very important: it might be the difference between fifth place leading to the wild card game and the top of the table sending us directly into the playoffs.” http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...nal-10-games-season-mission-improve-road-form
Impact and Philadelphia Union Tie 0-0 The Montreal Impact played to a 0-0 draw with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, at PPL Park in Chester Pennsylvania. Impact goalkeeper Troy Perkins recorded his 8th shutout of the season, ending the match with four key saves. With a point on the road, the Impact is still first in the Eastern Conference standings with 42 points from 25 games.
Back on top! Watch all the goals from Sunday's win in Foxborough http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2013/09/report-impact-beats-revs-4-2-sunday-night-foxborough
Montreal Impact are the best Canadian team in MLS history, and the numbers prove it MONTREAL – Quietly and with eight games to spare, the Montreal Impact have already broken two team records and become the best Canadian team in MLS history. Reaching 45 points with their 4-2 win in New England on Sunday has not only lifted the Impact beyond their expansion-year tally of 42 points, but it also bettered the Canadian record of 43 points in MLS established last season by the Vancouver Whitecaps – who will also likely surpass the mark in 2013, whether or not they advance to the playoffs. Asked about these landmarks on Tuesday, both Jeb Brovsky and Patrice Bernier admitted that the records had not been a focus. But the fact that they broke them so early in the season does present plenty of motivation, as it leaves plenty more to accomplish. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...anadian-team-mls-history-and-numbers-prove-it SIMPLY THE BEST http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob6RRcw3V3A
Impact Falls 3-0 to Whitecaps FC at Stade Saputo The Impact fell 3-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Saturday afternoon at Stade Saputo, in front of a sixth consecutive crowd of over 20,000 spectators. The Whitecaps FC opened the scoring in the 7th minute on a penalty from Kenny Miller. The former Scottish international beat goalkeeper Troy Perkins to his right. While the Impact was pressing in the offensive third for nearly 10 minutes, a clearance from the Whitecaps FC found the foot of striker Camilo Sanvezzo in the 89th minute of play, who went on a breakaway towards Perkins. The Brazilian scored his 15th goal of the season with a shot that beat the Montreal goalkeeper to his left in the 89th minute. Three minutes later, Camilo scored his second goal of the game, dribbling at centre of the field before taking a long shot that also went to Perkins' left. It looked like the Impact was being awarded a penalty in the 37th minute, following a hand ball from the Whitecaps FC in their box, on a volley from Patrice Bernier. The referee initially pointed to the spot before changing his decision. Midfielder Patrice Bernier started the 50th game of his career with the Impact in MLS while defender Matteo Ferrari set a new team record as a field player with 21 consecutive regular season starts. Midfielder Felipe will serve an automatic one-game suspension, next Saturday in Chicago, after receiving his fifth caution of the season. Post-game comments " We started off the game well and then had to adjust our game after that unlucky penalty shot," said Impact head coach Marco Schällibaum. In the first half we had troubles getting into those last 20 metres. In the second half, we had lots of opportunities; we pushed a lot and tried hard. I think we were closer to a tie at the beginning of the second half, but with these goals, it came down to a hard loss for the team." "We didn't play well today. This is the third game that we haven't performed to our standards and we need to react better on the field," said Marco Di Vaio. "We cannot continue this way so we have to start thinking about our play. The first half we didn't play well and we didn't have a lot of opportunities." "It was an ugly game all around," said Troy Perkins. "Towards the end of the season every team needs points and we certainly need to play better than we did today." Other highlights The Impact had its first scoring chance in the 23rd minute. Off of a long cross towards midfielder Andrés Romero, at the left of the box, the Argentine beat his defender and passed in front of goal. Justin Mapp took the ball and found Felipe in the six-yard box, who tried a bicycle, but it was cleared by a Vancouver defender. In the 47th minute, midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker cut towards midfield, near the 18-yard box, and hit the crossbar. A few minutes later, Miller found himself alone in front of Troy Perkins but his shot went over the net. Midfielders Felipe and Patrice Bernier successively hit the crossbar, in the 54th and 65th minutes of play. Felipe hit a volley after receiving a cross from Justin Mapp, while Bernier took a shot that was finger tipped away by goalkeeper David Ousted. In the 70th minute, Designated Player Marco Di Vaio took a point blank shot from the top of the 18-yard box, but the 'Caps keeper dove to his left to make the save. The Caps goalkeeper stole another goal from the Impact in the 85th minute, this time off of Daniele Paponi. Upcoming games The team will play its final game of the CONCACAF Champions League group stage this Tuesday, at Stade Saputo, hosting Guatemalan club CD Heredia at 8pm ET, before traveling to Chicago for a regular season matchup versus the Chicago Fire on Saturday, September 28, at 8:30pm ET.
The complicated life and times of the Montreal Impact In just their second year of existence, Montreal jumped out to the fastest start in the league, going 8-2-2 in their first 12 games, and leading the Supporters’ Shield standings all spring. They established an identity as a solid, counterattacking side with a deadly finisher in Marco Di Vaio, the league’s leading scorer, and a quality midfield led by a resurgent Justin Mapp, Felipe and Patrice Bernier. They did show some defensive flaws, though, and a five-game winless streak knocked them off track during the summer. To address those problems on D, the Impact acquired Spanish defender Adrián López and Argentine holding midfielder Hernán Bernardello. And as Bernardello, a Designated Player, settled into their midfield, Montreal rebounded. They walloped Houston 5-0 in late August, and returned to the top of the table. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...me-complicated-life-and-times-montreal-impact
Impact changes the playing surface at Stade Saputo Work started minutes after the final whistle against CD Heredia With a break of 15 days without a home game, the Impact is taking the opportunity to change the playing surface at Stade Saputo. Work literally started minutes after the final whistle of the game versus CD Heredia Tuesday night. “It’s a good time to replace the grass when looking at our scheduled and the weather,” explained executive vice-president Richard Legendre. “There have been a number of activities held on the field over the last few months and the condition of the grass degraded.” The new, natural surface, which is again Kentucky Bluegrass (dwarf), will be in place as of Friday, allowing for a two week period before the team’s next home game. Dissimilar to the grass originally put in place on June 16, 2012, the new grass surface was cultivated in sand, the same infrastructure that exists at Stade Saputo. Therefore, the general state of the grass will be improved. After studying all options, the organization decided against a heating system under the field http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2013/09/impact-changes-playing-surface-stade-saputo
Highlights: Chicago Fire 2-2 Montreal Impact Impact leaves Toyota Park with an important point BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The top two goalscorers in MLS traded punches before a Homegrown rookie landed the final blow Saturday night, as Maxim Tissot’s late header salvaged a 2-2 draw for the Montreal Impact against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. Star striker Marco Di Vaio also scored his league-leading 19th goal of the season for the Impact (13-9-7), who snatched a point from a precarious spot after they coughed up a first-half lead. Chicago’s Mike Magee scored two goals in the second half to bring his season total to 18, but missed a crucial penalty kick in the 79th minute that would have given him his second hat trick of the season and likely sealed three huge points for the Fire in their push to reach the postseason. Instead the moment of the match belonged to Tissot, who scored his first goal of the year when he headed a deflected clearance inside the six-yard box to the far post in the 87th minute http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/09/28/chicago-fire-2-montreal-impact-2-mls-match-recap
Impact and Fire Play to 2-2 Draw at Toyota Park With an 87th minute equalizer by Academy product Maxim Tissot, the Montreal Impact tied the Chicago Fire 2-2 at Toyota Park, Saturday night, ending a stretch of five games in 15 days. Designated Player Marco Di Vaio also scored his league leading 19th goal of the season. With only five games remaining in the regular season, the Impact remains in third spot in the Eastern Conference with 46 points in 29 games, behind the New York Red Bulls (51 points) and Sporting Kansas City (48 points), who lost 1-0 to the Philadelphia Union on Friday. The Impact found the game's first goal in the 25th minute when team captain Davy Arnaud, who found some space right down the centre of midfield, played Di Vaio with a low through ball just outside the box. Di Vaio took two quick touches before he fired a low left-footer that beat Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson to his left. The Fire tied things up in the 57th minute when Mike Magee scored his 17th of the season. Midfielder Alex, dribbling through midfield, played a long ball that was deflected and landed on the foot of Magee, who was behind the Impact defensive line. The Fire took the lead in the 73rd minute when Magee was able to steal the ball from Impact keeper Troy Perkins in the 18-yard box before putting the ball into an empty net. Defender Maxim Tissot, who came on to replace Andrew Wenger on the left wing in the 67th minute, scored his first career goal as a pro in the 87th minute. Taking advantage of a poor clearing attempt by a Fire defender, Tissot beat Fire keeper Sean Johnson far post with a header from in close. Midfielder Justin Mapp played in his 50th game in an Impact uniform while defender Matteo Ferrari made his 50th career start in MLS. With Felipe out of the lineup due to suspension and Alessandro Nesta out with an injury, the Impact made some changes to the starting lineup, including the first career MLS start for Wandrille Lefèvre and a start for Andrew Wenger in midfield. POST-GAME COMMENTS "We played a very intense game with a lot of emotion," said Impact head coach Marco Schällibaum. "Our players gave their all today on the field and we believed until the end. We were also disciplined. We came out and responded well tonight. There a lot of positives we can take into our next game in Houston." "It's good to get a point on the road and to keep distancing ourselves from the teams behind us in the standings," said defender Wandrille Lefèvre. "We knew they were going to come out hard in the second half. Unfortunately, they scored two goals but we still managed to come back in the game." "Scoring my first goal was great because we managed to get an important point," added Maxim Tissot. "I played in the midfield last year with the Academy, so I was prepared mentally." OTHER HIGHLIGHTS In the 44th minute, defender Wandrille Lefèvre threw himself on the ground to block a point blank shot by Mike Magee that bounced harmlessly into the hands of Impact keeper Troy Perkins. Perkins then blocked a header by Mike Magee in the 53rd minute after midfielder Arevalo Rios found him with a corner kick. Magee hit the cross bar from the spot in the 78th minute after a foul was called in the 18-yard-box. The Fire came close to scoring a third in the 82nd minute when a Juan Luis Anangono strike hit the post after Perkins made the initial stop. The Fire Designated Player got to his own rebound and fed Magee in the slot, but his shot was blocked by defender Hassoun Camara on the goal line. Upcoming games These two clubs will meet again on Sunday, at 11am (ET) in MLS Reserve League play, at the Toyota Park training field. The Impact will then play a rare Friday night game at BBVA Compass Stadium against the Dynamo in Houston, on October 4 at 8:30pm ET.
Re: Impact and Fire Play to 2-2 Draw at Toyota Park New training field just outside Stade Saputo almost complete Will also be used by the local community of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve With the move to MLS last year for the Montreal Impact, the club made a number of changes to the stadium going from 13 034 to 20 801 seats. The initial expansion project also included the construction of a synthetic surface that could be used by the local community in need of improved infrastructure in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. “The synthetic surface is the newest and most up-to-date Field Turf technology called Revolution,” said Eric Girouard, Director of operations at Stade Saputo. “The field will have a FIFA 2 star rating, the highest grade available for turf.” Located just outside of the main entrance to Stade Saputo, in the Olympic Park, the field will also be used by the pros for training, as well as the club’s Academy and soccer schools. “The field will most likely be in use every day, which is very positive,” added Eric Girouard. “We also have a deal with the UQAM Citadins to use it as their home field.” The playing surface measures 68 x 110 meters. Locker rooms for 20 people and grandstands are also in the works for a near future. http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/ne...eld-just-outside-stade-saputo-almost-complete
