Miami hosts Impact on FSC Friday

Published on April 23, 2009 under USL First Division (USL-1) News Release


TAMPA, FL - The eighth consecutive season of USL First Division soccer on Fox Soccer Channel (Fox Sports World in Canada) kicks off Friday evening, April 24, when the Miami FC Blues play host to the Montreal Impact at FIU Stadium. The game begins at 8:00 pm ET.

The Montreal Impact enter the match having played to a scoreless stalemate on the road in their season opener against the Charleston Battery. Miami, meanwhile, opened their season with a 3-1 victory over the promoted Cleveland City Stars.

While Saturday's draw in Charleston may have been the league opener for the Impact, it was by no means their first game of the year, nor will Friday's contest in Miami be their first appearance of 2009 on Fox Soccer Channel. The Impact offseason officially ended February 25 when they defeated Mexican giants Santos Laguna 2-0 at Olympique Stadium in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal series. Unfortunately, the amazing international run came to a close a week later in Mexico when they fell in the final minutes 5-4 on aggregate.

Having proven their weight in CONCACAF play, the Impact will look to continue their dominance over Miami Friday while the Blues attempt to post their first-ever victory over Montreal in four years of existence. The Impact come into the contest with an oppressive 4-0-4 record over the past three years against Miami, including 2-0-1 records for both last year and all-time in Miami. Prior to last year, the two teams were evenly matched with Montreal's two victories in five meetings coming by way of 1-0 decisions, but in 2008, the Canadian side posted 2-1 and 3-1 victories in addition to a scoreless draw.

The USL on Fox Soccer Channel schedule, which will include five episodes of the behind-the-scenes show USL Breakaway in 2009, continues with the two new teams over the next two weeks as Cleveland plays host to the Rochester Rhinos May 1 and the Austin Aztex welcome the Puerto Rico Islanders May 8. Fox Soccer Channel's schedule also includes the championship games for the W-League (August 7), Premier Development League (August 8) and USL Second Division (August 29). The schedule concludes with second leg matches from the USL-1 Quarterfinals and Semifinals and both legs of the USL-1 Championship. The 2009 campaign will mark the eighth straight year USL's top league will be featured on America's premier soccer network with matches produced by Cultural Videos and Sports Communications Inc., which has coordinated USL television productions since 1993.

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USL First Division Stories from April 23, 2009


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