In just a little over three years since that inaugural game, the Impact played its 50th regular season home game on June 29 at Saputo Stadium.
By pure coincidence, that game also ended in a 0-0 draw against the Porto Rico Islanders.
Obviously, these 50 games may be considered only a footnote in the history of a club that has played almost 500 regular season games prior to the team’s last season in the North American second division, but there are some interesting statistics that have been recorded over those games by team statistician Camille Baccanale.
At the top of that list is the contribution of Argentinean midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo. During the span of the team’s first 50 games played at Saputo Stadium, his name appears in the “Top 5” of almost every statistical category.
In second place for number of games played (39), games started (34), minutes played (2,979), assists (6) and shots (44), Di Lorenzo is also amongst the leaders in goals (4), game-winning goals (2), points (14) and fouls committed (31).
In terms of appearances over the first 50 games, midfielder David Testo started in 37 games and took part in 41 totalling 3,235 minutes played, being the only player to surpass the 3,000 minute mark.
The crucial role played by Testo, as a central midfielder who helps solidify the defensive zone, explains why he is also the leader in fouls committed (58) and is third for the number of yellow cards (9).
Interestingly enough, the leader in yellow cards earned is not someone like Nevio Pizzolitto, known for his rugged play in front of the Montreal goal.
The Impact captain is second with 10 yellow cards, one less than Simon Gatti, who looks like he could be an altar boy.
In the offensive categories, numerous player changes over the last three years to the Impact line-up make it that only a few current members of the club make the “Top 5” list for goals scored, game-winning goals, assists, points and shots.
As mentioned previously, Leonardo Di Lorenzo is the only active player to appear on all five lists. He is tied with Ali Gerba for goals (4) and has doubled the number of assists made by Antonio Ribeiro (3).
A return to the past is required for the rest of the best offensive categories. Tony Donatelli leads the team with most goals (8) and points (19) tying him with Roberto Brown, all the while making the “Top 5” in game-winning goals (3), assists (3) and shots (34).
Donatelli also makes an appearance on the list for most games started (26), games played (38) and total minutes played (2,264).
Montreal native Rocco Placentino had some success in his time with the team, placing second for goals scored (6), tied with Roberto Brown, and placed third in assists (4) and most in shots (79).
Another player who liked to shoot, and who left the team following its 2009 championship run, was Joey Gjertsen, whose 41 shots place him third behind Placentino and Di Lorenzo.
There remains less than half a season of home games at Saputo Stadium for the Impact in the North American second division. Soon, focus for the fans, the players, the technical staff and administrators will shift exclusively to the MLS and the North American first division championship, which includes the likes of superstars Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Rafael Marquez, Dwayne De Rosario, Breck Shea, Chris Wondolowski and others.
As such, we wanted to highlight the contribution of the players that have brought the fans at Saputo Stadium to their feet over the years, as the statistics from the second division will most likely be forgotten over time once the club makes the jump to the big leagues…
Martin Smith, Impact Média
