MLS Club de Foot Montreal

Impact Hosts Columbus Crew at Stade Saputo Opener Sunday

Published on April 13, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club de Foot Montreal News Release


MONTREAL - Following a bye week, t he Montreal Impact (4-1-0) is back in action this Sunday at noon ET when it hosts the Columbus Crew (2-1-2) in its first matchup at Stade Saputo this season, which has been postponed due to poor weather conditions. The game will be broadcast live on RDS2, TSN2 and CJAD 800, or you can get live updates using the Impact mobile app or by following @impactmontreal on twitter.

How to buy tickets

By telephone:

Admission Network: 1-855-790-1245 - Saturday, 9am-8pm

Montreal Impact: 514-328-3668 - Saturday, 9am-4pm

In person:

Stade Saputo: Saturday and Sunday starting at 9

Online:

admission.com - Until 6am this Sunday

Season tickets

2013 season tickets are still available in seven categories, starting at as little as $16 per game. You can book your spot for the 2013 season by contacting the Impact's sales and services team at 514-328-3668 .

Pre-game comments

"Marco (Schällibaum) and I are similar in how we approach coaching," said Impact assistant coach Mauro Biello, who will be running the bench in Schällibaum's absence after getting ejected from the matchup versus Sporting Kansas City. "We are both pretty calm on the sidelines for the most part, but when it's time to be firm, Marco can be very demanding and I'm a little like that too. But more importantly, we have similar ideas and philosophy when it comes to soccer and managing the team."

"We have to keep moving," said Impact keeper Troy Perkins on playing in cold weather. "In the summer time, you can afford to stand around for a little bit, but when it's cold like this, you can't stop. You'll get stiff and you stop sweating, so you have to keep moving and keep yourself tuned in."

"They have a lot of dangerous players," added Justin Mapp, talking about the Crew. "Guys like Federico Higuain and Eddie Gaven in the middle are offensive weapons. We played them in the preseason and it was a tough game. We are expecting a dogfight - it won't be easy."

Impact news

The Impact last played two weekends ago, losing for the first time this season 2-0 to Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park, but still sits in first place in the Eastern Conference with 12 points and is just one point out of top spot in the entire league.

Prior to the loss, the Impact registered four straight wins against the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at Olympic Stadium on March 23, Toronto FC 2-1 at Olympic Stadium on March 16, 2-1 versus the Timbers on March 9 in Portland and 1-0 against the Sounders in Seattle on opening weekend.

Defender Alessandro Nesta and midfielder Andrea Pisanu are set to return to action after injuries kept them out of the lineup, for two and one game respectively.

The friendly confines of Stade Saputo helped propel the Impact to a record of 8-3-1 in 2012.

Head to head

This is the first of three regular season games between these teams in 2013.

The Impact and the Columbus Crew faced each other three times in 2012. The Impact lost the first matchup 2-0 on March 24 at Crew Stadium, before defeating the Crew 2-1 at Stade Saputo on July 9. The Crew won the last matchup 2-1 at Crew Stadium, on September 1.

The two teams faced each other in the championship game of the Walt Disney Pro Soccer Classic this preseason in Florida, when the Impact won the title with a 1-0 victory.

Midfielder Davy Arnaud has scored four career goals against Columbus in MLS regular season action.

Columbus Crew news

The Crew is coming off of a 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union, earning a point with a late goal at home.

The club added to its significant midseason acquisitions from last year (forward Jairo Arrieta and midfielder Federico Higuain), acquiring speedy midfielder/forward Dominic Oduro from the Chicago Fire, tied for the team lead in goals with two.

The Eastern Conference's fourth seed (8 points in five games in 2013) made a couple of significant changes on defence, bringing in Brazilian defender Glauber to help solidify the central defence with nine year veteran and team captain Chad Marshall. The black and yellow also acquired Tyson Wahl from the Impact, who has played every minute for the Crew as a left back this season.

Midfield stalwart Eddie Gaven is continuing his good form from last season with two assists in three games played.

Next Game

The Impact has another bye-week next weekend before playing its first game of the Amway Canadian Championship against Toronto FC at BMO Field on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30pm (ET). The Impact will return to Stade Saputo to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday, April 27, at 4pm ET.

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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.

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