A goal from defender Nevio Pizzolitto at the end of the game allowed the Impact to play to a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers, during Montreal's 17th home season opener in club history, Sunday, in front of a sellout crowd of 13,034 spectators, at Saputo Stadium. "I am happy that we equalized and we will take the point, but I am not fully satisfied with the result. At home, we need to win and be ready to go to war," mentioned Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "A point is good, but it's not sufficient. We need to be stronger than the opponent. It's a very similar match to the one we played against Portland here last year, but today we were able to react and find solutions, so it was positive. Both teams worked hard, but we need to be able to get results." The Timbers opened the score in the 67th minute of play. Midfielder Ryan Pore dribbled the Impact defense and laced a powerful shot inside the 18-yard box to the far post that defeated goalkeeper Matt Jordan to his right. The Impact then equalized on a penalty in the 81st minute. New team captain Nevio Pizzolitto scored with a low shot to the right of Timbers goalkeeper Steve Cronin. Pizzolitto registered his 10th career goal with the Impact. "I think we were a bit nervous at the start, but we nevertheless played a good game," said Pizzolitto. "It was a very physical match between two good teams. We fought well and we came strong in the game. Even if we committed tactical errors, we managed to equalize." With this draw, the Impact has now ended a sequence of three consecutive losses against the Timbers. The team now owns a 10-2-5 lifetime record (25 GF - 9 GA), during its home openers in Montreal, since joining the league in 1993. Goalkeeper Matt Jordan faced six shots and notably made a solid save at the 15th minute when he stopped midfielder Brian Farber's point blank shot from the penalty spot. A total of eight cautions were awarded during the game, four for each team. Veteran defender Adam Braz played his 125th in career with the Impact and is now only 198 minutes from the 10,000-minute played mark. Defenders Simon Gatti and Stefano Pesoli did not play Sunday due to ankle injuries. "We will arrive motivated for the match against Toronto Wednesday," mentioned Dos Santos. "We have some adjustments to make as our defensive line was too wide and we gave too much space in the midfield today. We have two days to work on these aspects of the game." The Impact will play its next game Wednesday against Toronto FC, at BMO Field in Toronto, in his first game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship (8 pm, Sportsnet). The team's next regular season home game will be Saturday, May 1, against the Puerto Rico Islanders, at Saputo Stadium (2:30 pm, Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports). OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 13th minute - After dribbling over a 30-meter distance, midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo fired a strong 25-meter shot that went over the Timbers' net. 23rd minute - In a free kick situation, Impact midfielder Filipe Soares took a strong right-footed shot, from the edge of the 18-yard box, which went to the left of the Timbers goal. 49th minute - On a corner kick situation, Timbers defender Steve Purdy deflected the ball with his head, but Leonardo Di Lorenzo made the save on the goal line with his head. 53th minute - Impact forward Peter Byers dribbled a Timbers defender, and close to the six-meter line, fired a shot that Steve Cronin blocked by diving to his left. THE NEXT 3 MATCHES: Wednesday, April 28 - IMPACT @ Toronto - BMO Field - 8 pm (Sportsnet)* Saturday, May 1 - Puerto Rico @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 2:30 pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports) Wednesday, May 5 - IMPACT @ Vancouver - Swangard Stadium - 10 pm (Sportsnet)* *Nutrilite Canadian Championship match
