THE GAME AT A GLANCE
• It will be Impact forward Mauricio Salles’ first game against his former team. In two seasons with the Islanders, Salles scored 25 goals and had three assists for 53 points in 51 games.
• Salles was the third leading goal-scorer last year in the United Soccer Leagues First Division with 14 goals. He was the Puerto Rico Islanders’ leading scorer over each of the last two seasons.
• The Impact has never lost in seven games (5-0-2) against the Islanders since Puerto Rico joined the league in 2004, and is leading 11-3 in goals scored.
• In the last game between the two teams, on August 17, 2005, the Impact tied the Islanders 1-1 in Montreal. Forward Darko Kolic scored for the Impact. In the last match-up played in Puerto Rico, May 1st, Montreal came up with a 3-0 victory.
• Defender Nevio Pizzolitto’s next game will be his 187th career match-up with the Impact. He will then move alone in fourth place in team history in that category, in front of former defender Patrick Diotte.
• The Impact is playing the second of four straight games on the road, ahead of its home opener slated for Sunday, May 21 at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex in Montreal.
THE OPPONENT
• The Islanders won their season opener 3-1 against the Atlanta Silverbacks, on April 21, before tying the Silverbacks 1-1, two days later. Both games were played in Puerto Rico.
• After missing the playoffs by only one point in 2005, in their second season in the league, the Islanders made several changes to their line-up during the off-season. Have left: Islanders head coach Hugo Maradona (dismissed), defender Chris Gores (Charleston), midfielder Sebastian Rozental (Columbus/MLS), as well as forwards Corey Woolfolk (Vancouver), Drew McCathy (Portland) and Mauricio Salles (Montreal).
• The Islanders signed several international players: defender Mauricio Segovia (Chile), midfielders Gustavo Schelotto (Argentina) and Kormac Valbenitto-Gomez (Chile), and forward Arturo Norambuena (Chile).
PRE-GAMES COMMENTS
IMPACT HEAD COACH NICK DE SANTISNick De Santis
"We’ve always had good results against the Islanders, even in their stadium. Yes, the weather will still be a factor but we are getting accustomed to it. We want to go into the game with a positive attitude and be ready for a team that is improving from year to year. We will face players who like to control the ball, but it will be our job to put as much pressure as possible on them."
MAURICIO SALLESMauricio Salles
"I'm looking very much forward to playing in Puerto Rico. I will feel at home with my friends and my family in the stands. I like the stadium because I scored a lot of goals there in the past two seasons. They have a good team, but we do too, and we’ve prepared well for that game."
ADAM BRAZAdam Braz
"It will be a tough game because they collected four points in their first two games and they will be confident. We want to bounce back after our tie in Miami and I’m confident that we’ll come up with a good performance. We’ll need to be better in terms of ball possession and we have to dictate the pace and the tone of the game. The objective is to make them run and to tire them out, so we can get more scoring chances."
ANTONIO RIBEIRO
"I’m expecting things to go better for us in midfield than they did against Miami, where we had a bit of a hard time. We know this team well because we played them several times last year. Yes, every team changes their line-up from year to year, but in terms of preparation and the heat, we’ll be ready."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
IMPACT
• MAURO BIELLO (F) – Club’s leading scorer in 2005 et 7th in the league (9G, 3A – 21 PTS).
• GREG SUTTON (G) – Had his 59th career shutout against Miami, April 23.
• THE NEW ACQUISITIONS – Especially Mauricio Salles, Daniel Antoniuk and Leonardo Di Lorenzo.
PUERTO RICO
• ALLEN MARCINA (A) – Scored two goals in the first game of the season against Atlanta (2G, 0A – 4 PTS).
• PETTER VILLEGAS-ESPANA (M) – Ended the 2005 season third on the team for points (6G, 6A – 18 PTS).
• NOAH DELGADO (M) – Team leader in assists in 2005 (2G, 6A – 10 PTS).
FACTS TO FOLLOW
• Mauricio Vincello, 48 career games started with the Impact
• Darko Kolic, 98 career games played with the Impact and 99 points in the USL
• Greg Sutton, 59 career shutouts with the Impact
INJURIES
Team – Player (Position) – Injury – Status
MTL – Kirk Wilson (M) – ankle – expected to miss Sunday’s game
MTL – Masahiro Fukasawa (M) – left foot – will be out 4-6 weeks
IMPACT LAST GAME
Impact 0 – Miami FC 0 (@ Miami)
• It was goalkeeper Greg Sutton’s first shutout of the season and his 59th overall with the Impact.
• Defender Gabriel Gervais played his 100th career game with the Impact.
USL INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Honor – Player (Position) – Team – Accomplishment
USL Team of the week 1 – Gabriel Gervais (D) – MTL – Helped the Impact shut out the Miami FC (0-0)
NEXT GAMES
Sat. May 13 – Impact @ Charleston – Blackbaud Stadium – 7:30 pm
Sun. May 14 – Impact @ V. Beach – Virginia Beach Sportsplex – 7:30 pm
Sun. May 21 – Minnesota @ Impact – Claude-Robillard Sports Complex – 4 :00 pm
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, ext. 27
