Preseason game to be broadcast live on impactmontreal.com
CLEARWATER, Florida – The Montreal Impact plays its fourth preseason game of 2017 – its second in the Rowdies Suncoast Invitational – this Wednesday at 7pm ET against the Philadelphia Union at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater, Florida. This game will be available to watch online for free at impactmontreal.com.
The Bleu-blanc-noir has posted a 2-1-0 record thus far in preseason. The team first won 2-0 over the University of South Florida on February 3, in Orlando, before suffering a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Fire last Wednesday in St. Petersburg. But the Impact rebounded well, winning 4-2 against D.C. United on Saturday with goals from Dominic Oduro, Nacho Piatti, Matteo Mancosu and Anthony Jackson-Hamel.
“We want our starters to be ready for Saturday,” said Impact head coach Mauro Biello. “We are going to mix it up a little bit, so that we are not caught in a recovery situation. We want to continue to work and be ready to play a full 90 minutes on Saturday night, which is a week before our MLS opening game in San Jose. It will be an opportunity for other players to get 45 minutes against an MLS team and show what they can do. We also want to keep working on the cohesion we saw the other night against D.C. in both phases of the game, defensively as well as offensively.”
In its first Suncoast Invitational outing, the Union defeated the hosts, the USL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-0. Head coach Jim Curtin has welcomed four potential new starters into the fold this winter: Dutch full-back Giliano Wijnaldum, former United States central defender Oguchi Onyewu, Bosnia-and-Herzegovina midfielder Haris Medunjanin and English forward Jay Simpson.
The Impact’s preseason schedule comes to a close this Saturday at 7:30pm ET when the team faces the Tampa Bay Rowdies. This game will also be broadcast on impactmontreal.com.
The Impact’s 2017 home opener, the climax of a full week of activities, takes place at the Olympic Stadium against the recently crowned MLS Cup champions, Seattle Sounders FC, on Saturday, March 11, at 7pm ET (TICKETS – TVA Sports). In the meantime, the Bleu-blanc-noir plays its first game of the season on Saturday, March 4, against the Earthquakes at San Jose’s Avaya Stadium at 10pm ET (TVA Sports, TSN).
