Impact Faces The Austin Aztex Sunday
August 21, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL - After playing its last two games on the road, the Montreal Impact (8-10-5) is back for a three home game stretch. Sunday, the Impact plays against the Austin Aztex at Saputo Stadium, at 3:30 pm (Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990).
The Impact faces this expansion team for the third and last time this season. On May 17, the Impact earned a 4-0 win against the Aztex, at Saputo Stadium. On July 25, the Impact and the Aztex tied 2-2, in Austin. Forward Roberto Brown tallied two goals and an assist, for five points, in those two games against Austin.
"Now we kick off a three home game stretch, so if we manage to obtain nine points here, we would be in an excellent position," said Brown, who is back in the lineup after a one-match suspension. "Every game we are getting closer as a group to what we want to become."
Montreal is currently sixth in the USL First Division standings with 29 points, one point in front of Vancouver and four points behind Rochester.
"This is a game that we need to win because we are fighting for a spot in the playoffs," added Brown. "Each match we tackle now is like a final for us, since every point is vital. We have to be very careful, even against the teams that sit at the bottom of the standings. These are the most dangerous ones since they have nothing to lose."
The Aztex are next to last in the standings with only three wins in 23 matches. Their only victory on the road was July 3 in Cleveland.
"We shouldn't expect an easy match against Austin, even if the club sits at the bottom of the standings," declared Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. "There is a lot of parity in our league and there isn't a single team that is weak. Even if we obtained good results against them earlier this season, the situation is not the same at all because we are facing this club in very different circumstances. We absolutely need to win this match because we need to earn a maximum number of points at home."
Defender Stephen deRoux will be available Sunday. deRoux, who had suffered a light fracture of a bone in the cheek July 25 against Austin, will play for approximately two weeks with a mask. This is the same type of mask that goalkeeper Matt Jordan used when he fractured his jaw in 2007. deRoux missed seven matches, including five regular season games.
Simon Gatti will miss the match against Austin due to an automatic one-game suspension after receiving five cautions. Gatti received his 5th yellow card in the match against Portland on August 12.
Defender Nevio Pizzolitto's next match will be his 250th in career with the Impact. Only Mauro Biello has played more games with the Montreal club (337).
Midfielder David Testo, who will be playing his 50th match with the Impact, is currently the club leader in games started (22), minutes played (1917), fouls (28) and yellow cards (7).
OTHER FACTS
- In its last match in Portland, a goal from Mauro Biello at the 75th minute allowed the Impact to seal a 2-1 win against the City Stars, in Cleveland.
- Midfielder Patrick Leduc resumed training with his teammates this week. Leduc went through surgery last May following a stress fracture. A screw was inserted in his foot and bone fragments were removed in the procedure. He has now recovered from his injury, but is trying to regain his physical shape and rhythm. Leduc has not played since August 27, 2008.
- In it last match at home, Sunday, the Aztex tied 2-2 against the Minnesota Thunder, following a goal from the Thunder at the 89th minute.
- The two points leaders for the Aztex, Edward Johnson (4-4-12) and Yordany Alvarez (3-2-8) will miss Sunday's game. Johnson will serve a one-game suspension following a caution accumulation, while Alvarez, a Cuban defector, cannot travel abroad.
- Former Impact player Kevin Sakuda could miss the match due to a light foot injury.
NEXT GAMES
- Sunday, August 30 - Carolina @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 3:30 pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
- Wednesday, September 2 - Carolina @ IMPACT - Saputo Stadium - 7:30 pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com)
- Saturday, September 5 - IMPACT @ Cleveland - Middlefield Cheese Stadium - 2 pm (USLlive.com)
USL First Division Stories from August 21, 2009
- Miami FC Travels to the West Coast - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Whitecaps Look To Give Miami The Blues - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Impact Faces The Austin Aztex Sunday - Montreal Impact
- Timbers Host Miami Saturday - Portland Timbers
- RailHawks, Rhinos to rumble in Rochester - North Carolina FC
- Battery battles back to earn tie with Whitecaps - Charleston Battery
- City Stars Host Minnesota Thunder Saturday - Cleveland City Stars
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
