The Impact will play its 14th home opener in club history at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex on Sunday, May 20, against the Seattle Sounders. Montreal will play its first four games on the road before coming home to its fans.
“Over the past few seasons we’ve had good results starting on the road,” said Impact head coach Nick De Santis. “This year, the beginning of the schedule is much better because we will be playing a game a week, which allows players more time to recuperate. The months of July and August are more demanding but at least, we have eliminated back-to-back games.”
After the first four games on the road, the Impact will play eight of its next ten games at home, at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. Impact home games will mainly be played Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.
The 2007 schedule, announced Thursday by the USL, once again features 28 games, with the same format as last year, as the Impact will play all other teams at least twice. The Impact will play geographical rivals four times.
Montreal will take on their rivals, the Rochester Raging Rhinos, in duels August 5 and 31 at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex, and August 24 and September 8, at PAETEC Park. The September 8 match-up against Rochester will mark the end of the regular season.
The Impact will also play a rematch of its semi-final series against the Vancouver Whitecaps on June 1, in Montreal, and August 18, in Vancouver.
Montreal will take on two new teams in 2007 as the USL welcomes two expansion franchises: the Carolina RailHawks (July 8 and August 26) and the California Victory (July 1 and August 16).
The top eight teams in the league will qualify for post-season play, as opposed to six last season, and teams finishing in first and second place will no longer receive a bye.
The top seeded team will square off against the eighth, the second against the seventh – and so on – in a home and away series on total goals. After the quarterfinal round, teams will be re-seeded according to their place in the final standings, with the top remaining seeds playing against the lowest remaining seeds. The final will be played on September 29, 2007.
Impact 2007 season-ticket packages are now on sale. For further information, please contact the Impact ticketing office at 514-328-3668 or at ticketing@impactmontreal.com.
THE 2007 IMPACT SCHEDULE
SATURDAY April 21 IMPACT @ Atlanta 7:55 pm
SATURDAY April 28 IMPACT @ Charleston 7:30 pm
SATURDAY May 5 IMPACT @ Miami 7:30 pm
FRIDAY May 11 IMPACT @ Puerto Rico 8 pm
SUNDAY May 20 Seattle @ IMPACT 4 pm
FRIDAY May 25 Miami @ IMPACT 8 pm
FRIDAY June 1 Vancouver @ IMPACT 8 pm
TUESDAY June 5 Minnesota @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
FRIDAY June 8 Portland @ IMPACT 8 pm
FRIDAY June 15 Charleston @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
THURSDAY June 21 IMPACT @ Portland 10 pm
SATURDAY June 23 IMPACT @ Seattle 10 pm
FRIDAY June 29 Puerto Rico @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
SUNDAY July 1 California @ IMPACT 4 pm
SUNDAY July 8 Carolina @ IMPACT 4 pm
FRIDAY July 13 IMPACT @ Carolina 7:30 pm
SUNDAY July 15 IMPACT @ Minnesota 6:05 pm
TUESDAY July 24 IMPACT @ V. Beach 7:30 pm
WEDNESDAY August 1 V. Beach @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
SUNDAY August 5 Rochester @ IMPACT 4 pm
FRIDAY August 10 V. Beach @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
THURSDAY August 16 IMPACT @ California 10 pm
SATURDAY August 18 IMPACT @ Vancouver 10 pm
FRIDAY August 24 IMPACT @ Rochester 8 pm
SUNDAY August 26 IMPACT @ Carolina 6 pm
FRIDAY August 31 Rochester @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
WEDNESDAY September 5 Atlanta @ IMPACT 7:00 pm
SATURDAY September 8 IMPACT @ Rochester 7:35 pm
Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, ext. 27
