Sports stats



MLS Club de Foot Montreal

Impact Faces Toronto FC in Return Leg of Canadian Championship on Wednesday

May 8, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release


TORONTO, Ontario "" The Montreal Impact meets Toronto FC in the second leg of the home and away aggregate semi-final series of the 2012 Amway Canadian Championship on Wednesday, at 8pm (ET), at BMO Field. The game will be broadcast live on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

The Impact and TFC played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Canadian Championship, last Wednesday, at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, but both teams have been in action since then.

The Impact (3-5-2) , is coming off a big road win versus Sporting Kansas City 2-0 last Saturday, with goals by midfielders Felipe and Patrice Bernier, while TFC lost its eight straight regular season MLS match in 2012 (0-8-0), last Saturday, by a 2-0 score to D.C. United, breaking the MLS record for number of consecutive losses to start a season.

News and Quotes

"We've pushed ourselves each day and each game, and with a lot on the line in this game, we don't want to have any slip ups," said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. "We'll be ready to put a very good team on the field and to compete. We aren't very sure what we are going to see from them on Wednesday, but our approach is to stay true to who we are. One thing is for sure, the last 30 minutes of Wednesday's game will be crazy."

With a win or a tie by any score, the Impact would qualify for the final aggregate series, scheduled for May 16 and 23 versus the winner of the other semi-final series. The Vancouver Whitecaps are ahead of Edmonton FC based on 2-0 away win from last Wednesdays first leg action. This second leg match kicks off Wednesday at 10pm (ET).

"We want to win this competition," said Impact forward Eduardo Sebrango. "The team has won this tournament before, and we want to do that again to get the chance to play in the CONCACAF Champions League. We also want to continue to do well to keep the momentum we have in regular season play."

The Montreal Impact is currently unbeaten in four games over all competitions, and shut out its opponents in the last three of those games (288 minutes), scoring five and conceding only one goal. TFC will be without Designated Player Torsten Frings, who is sidelined once again due to an injury suffered last game.

"Toronto is going to be a desperate team, so it's going to be hard to know exactly what we are going to see from them on the pitch," said midfielder Collen Warner. "This tournament is important to us, so we definitely can't take them lightly."

Tie breaker rules

The four-team Canadian Championship will determine which club will lift the Voyageurs Cup and earn the right to represent Canada in the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League.

If the two teams in the semi-final score the same number of goals over the two legs, the team which scores more away goals is determined as the winner. If this tie-breaker does not produce a winner, then both teams will play two 15-minute periods of extra time after the second leg. If, during extra time, both teams score the same number of goals, the away goals will count as double in favour of the visiting team. If no goals are scored during extra time, then kicks from the penalty mark (in accordance with FIFA Laws of the Game) will be used to determine the winner.

18-man roster

Goalkeepers: Donovan Ricketts, Greg Sutton

Defenders: Nelson Rivas, Matteo Ferrari, Shavar Thomas, Tyson Wahl, Hassoun Camara, Jeb Brovsky

Midfielders: Felipe, Patrice Bernier, Collen Warner, Justin Mapp, Davy Arnaud, Lamar Neagle, Sinisa Ubiparipovic

Forwards: Sanna Nyassi, Justin Braun, Bernardo Corradi

Next games

The club returns to Montreal to meet the LA Galaxy on Saturday at 4pm at Olympic Stadium. Only 10,000 tickets are left for the game versus the reigning MLS Cup Champion. Affordable seats for this game are still available, and tickets can be purchased via admission.com, by calling 1-855-790-1245 or at the Olympic Stadium ticket office. Management recommends that those attending Saturday's game arrive at least an hour before start time, in order to avoid missing the beginning of the game. Please note that stadium doors open at 2pm ET.

On the following Saturday, May 19, the Impact will play its final game at Olympic Stadium, at 7:30pm, against the New York Red Bulls. On that day, the Impact will be avenging its loss to New York on March 31.

The club will play its first game at Stade Saputo, expanded to 20,341 seats, on June 16 against the Seattle Sounders FC. New 12-game season ticket packages for all matches at Stade Saputo are available via impactmontreal.com, or by calling 514-328-3668.

Game Notes

Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts has played every single game for the Impact this season, earning three consecutive shutouts over all competitions.

The Impact could play as many as six games in 18 days, if the team qualifies for the Amway Canadian Championship final.

Midfielder Felipe's strike against KC, his first ever in MLS, was nominated for Goal of the Week.

Goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who hails from Hamilton, Ontario, played for TFC from 2007-2009 making 34 appearances, going 9-15-8 and recording seven shutouts.

Three players have already appeared in the Canadian championship before 2012, including defender Jeb Brovsky (Vancouver 2011), goalkeeper Greg Sutton (Toronto 2008, 2009) and forward Eduardo Sebrango (Vancouver 2008 & Montreal 2009, 2010).

Toronto FC defender Adrian Cann played 22 games with the Impact, in North American second division, in 2004 and 2005, winning the 2004 A-League Championship with the club.

Injury Report: D Zarek Valentin - Right calf contusion; DOUBTFUL: M Justin Mapp - Left hamstring strain

Check out the Club de Foot Montreal Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from May 8, 2012


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.

Other Recent Club de Foot Montreal Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central