THE GAME AT A GLANCE
• In the first game of the series, the Impact signed a 3-2 win against the Puerto Rico Islanders, Friday, in front of 10,217 spectators at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. Mauricio Vincello scored twice (8th and 36th), in addition to collecting an assist on forward Roberto Brown’s goal (26th). Midfielders Petter Villegas (16th) and forward Taiwo Atieno (28th) scored for the Islanders.
• The Impact has a lifetime record of 15-14-5 in the playoffs (43GF-34GA). The Impact has missed the playoffs only three times in 14 seasons: in 1993, 2000 and 2001. The Impact has won two championships, in 1994 and 2004.
• This is the second game between both teams in playoff history.
• The Impact has not won an aggregate goal series since 2004, after losing against Seattle in 2005 (3-4) and Vancouver in 2006 (0-2, overtime).
• The winner of the series will move on to the USL First Division semi-final series.
• Last year, after finishing first in the overall standings and obtaining a bye in the semi-finals, the Impact was eliminated by the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Impact tied 0-0 in Vancouver, after losing 2-0 in overtime at home.
THE IMPACT THIS SEASON
• The Impact has never lost in eleven regular-season games against the Islanders (8-0-3, 15GF-4GA), which are playing the fourth season of their history.
• This season, the Impact and the Islanders tied 1-1 on May 11, in Puerto Rico. The Impact then shut out the Islanders 1-0, June 29, in Montreal.
• The Montreal Impact finished the campaign with the second-best defense in the league after allowing 21 goals, three more than the Portland Timbers.
• The Impact scored 32 goals this season, good for fifth place overall in USL D1.
• In regular season, the team boasted a record of 14-0-2 when it scored first. Conversely, the team has a record of 0-6-4 when it conceded the first goal.
• Forward Charles Gbeke is the top scorer in the First Division United Soccer Leagues, with10 goals, tying Seattle Sounders forward Sébastien Letoux. Gbeke also finished the season leading the Impact in points with 21.
• The Montreal Impact has won the Voyageurs Cup, which is given to the top Canadian team in the league, for the sixth consecutive year.
THE OPPONENT
• In their last regular-season game, on September 7, the Islanders tied 0-0 in Charleston.
• Puerto Rico finished fourth this season in the First Division USL standings with 35 goals scored, and sixth in defense, with 34 goals conceded.
• Forward Alberto Zapata and midfielder Noah Delgado were the team’s leaders in points with 12. Delgado and forward Taiwo Atieno were the top scorers with five goals each.
• Last year, the Islanders were eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Charleston Battery, after a 2-2 tie in Charleston and a 1-0 loss at home.
PRE-GAMES COMMENTS
TEAM CAPTAIN MAURO BIELLO
“We wanted to win at home and that is what we did Friday. We are now expecting the Islanders to open their game and it should be an advantage for us. However, we will have to fix a few things defensively. A tie game will be enough to go trough the next playoff round.”
MIDFIELDER ANTONIO RIBEIRO
“We now have the series advantage. Here we will try to play a better game defensively because we are expecting them to attack a lot. We will also try to take advantage of our quick counter-attacks to score. We have good players and I’m confident that even if they have a noisy crowd we will have success tomorrow.”
OTHER FACTS
• Impact head coach Nick De Santis will have an 19-player squad to choose from in Puerto Rico: goalkeepers Matt Jordan and Andrew Weber, defenders Mauricio Vincello, Gabriel Gervais, Andres Arango, Luis Aguilar, Simon Gatti, Hicham Aaboubou, midfielders Mauro Biello, Patrick Leduc, Leonardo Di Lorenzo, Antonio Ribeiro, Seth Trembly, Sita-Taty Matondo, Matthew Palleschi and David Testo, as well as forwards Joey Gjertsen, Charles Gbeke and Roberto Brown.
• Mauricio Vincello became the third player in club history, Friday, to score two goals or more in a playoff match, after Darren Tilley, who had scored three goals, September 7, 1997 against Toronto, and Charles Gbeke, who scored twice on September 23, 2005, in Seattle.
• It was the first time that the Impact scored three goals in a playoff game, since September 12, 1998, in a 3-1 win over Staten Island.
• Team Captain Mauro Biello, who missed the last five games of the regular season due to a dislocated right elbow, made a comeback in the 84th minute, Friday.
• Among regular starters, defender Nevio Pizzolitto (thigh) is the only player injured.
• Only one player has played for the opposing team: midfielder Lars Lyssand, who played the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Impact, was traded to the Islanders, June 14, in return for forward Alen Marcina.
• With 14 shutouts this season, the Impact has shut out its opponent in 50% of its games (14 of 28) for a fourth straight season. Montreal had 19 shutouts in 2004 (68%) and 16 shutouts in the 2005 and 2006 seasons (57%).
• Seven players have reached the 2000-minutes played mark this season: Patrick Leduc (2328 minutes), Leonardo Di Lorenzo (2295 minutes), Mauricio Vincello (2203 minutes), Luis Aguilar (2140 minutes), Joey Gjertsen (2111 minutes), Simon Gatti (2046 minutes) and David Testo (2045 minutes).
THE PLAYOFF FORMAT
• The first eight out of 12 teams in the USL First Division standings are taking part in the playoffs and unlike last year, a bye was not awarded for finishing first or second.
• The top seeded team is squaring off against the eighth, the second against the seventh – and so on – in a home and away series on total goals scored.
• If both teams are still tied after the two games, there will be two overtime periods of 15 minutes, followed by penalty kicks.
• After the quarter-final round, teams will be reseeded according to their place in the final standings, with the top remaining seeds playing against the lowest ones. The semi-final games should be played September 21 and 23.
• The single-game championship final will take place September 29.
PLAYER INJURIES
Player - Position – Injury – Status – Games missed
Nevio Pizzolitto Defender Thigh Day to day 5
Frederico Moojen Forward Sports hernia Season over 8
Jason DiTullio Defender Knee Season over 29
ELSEWHERE IN THE LEAGUE
Friday, September 14, 2007
Seattle 2 (Zach Scott 48th, Andre Schmid 82nd) @ Carolina 0
Rochester 1 (Mike Ambersley 17th) @ Atlanta 2 (Warren Ukah 8th, Anthony Wolfe 87th)
Portland 0 @ Vancouver 1 (Jason Jordan 76th)
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Atlanta (4th) @ Rochester (5th) – 6 pm
Vancouver (7th) @ Portland (2nd) – 8 pm
Carolina (8th) @ Seattle (1st) – 9 pm
-30-
Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, ext. 27
