Semifinal Series Against Puerto Rico Starts Thursday At Saputo Stadium
Published on September 30, 2009 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL - The Montreal Impact (5th) faces the Puerto Rico Islanders (3rd) Thursday at Saputo Stadium at 7:30 pm (radio-canada.ca/sports, 98,5 FM, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com), in the first match of the USL First Division semifinal round.
The Montreal Impact advanced to the second round of the playoffs by defeating the Charleston Battery 4-1 on aggregate goals (2-0 and 2-1).
"It will be a battle between two USL giants," declared head coach Marc Dos Santos, who will have to serve an automatic one-match suspension issued by the league, following his ejection in the last match against Charleston. "I think that the pressure is on Puerto Rico now because they finished higher in the standings. We want to keep that advantage by winning the first match at home. Against Charleston, we won all four halves of the round. We will have to do the same now against Puerto Rico. We cannot allow ourselves to only win two or three halves."
This is the second time that both teams match up in the playoffs. In 2007, the Impact lost 5-3 on total goals against the Islanders. The Impact registered a 3-2 win in the first leg in Montreal, before losing 3-0, in the second leg, in Bayamon. Forward Roberto Brown earned one goal and one assist in that series.
Since the arrival of the Islanders in the league in 2004, the Impact maintained a 9-4-4 record in 18 matches against Puerto Rico (18 GF - 10 GA). The Impact has not won in its last five regular season matches against the Islanders.
This season, the Impact lost its three games against Puerto Rico: 3-2, May 2 in Bayamon, 1-0, July 19 at Saputo Stadium, and 1-0 August 15, in Porto Rico.
"The outcome of the three matches this season was decided on small details, so I'm expecting the same thing in the semifinals," added Dos Santos. "The Islanders are very good on dead balls and counterattack, so we will have to be very cautious about those aspects of the game."
"It's always tough to play against Puerto Rico but in the playoffs it's different and anything can happen," said defender Stephen deRoux. "Our coach (Marc Dos Santos) always tells us to keep possession of the ball because if the other team doesn't have it, they can't score. That is exactly what we did against Charleston and it went in our favour. It's difficult to find spaces because the Islanders play compact."
In the quarterfinals, the Islanders defeated the Rochester Rhinos 5-2 on aggregate goals. After losing 2-1 in Rochester Thursday, the Islanders registered a 4-1 win Sunday at home. In that series, forward Nicholas Addlery scored three goals, while midfielder Jonathan Steele earned three assists.
In the second half of the season, Puerto Rico only lost three matches on a total of 15 matches (8-3-4). The Islanders ended the season second in the USL-1 standings with 44 goals scored in regular season play.
"They have quality players, so we have to be cautious all the time," noted central defender Cédric Joqueviel. "We need to score Thursday in Montreal because Puerto Rico is a very dangerous team at home. We want to keep the confidence that we have before visiting them in Puerto Rico."
Nevio Pizzolitto's next start will be his 25th with the Impact in the playoffs. In the last match, Sunday, Pizzolitto earned his first career goal in the playoffs and became the 2nd player in Impact history to reach 2,000 minutes played in the playoffs.
With a total of five playoff wins with the Impact, goalkeeper Matt Jordan is one win shy of the team record owned by Paolo Ceccarelli (6).
The second leg game of the aggregate goal series will be played Sunday at 6 pm at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamon (radio-canada.ca/sports, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, USLlive.com).
Tickets for Thursday's game are currently on sale. Tickets are available through Admission (514-790-1245 / 1-800-361-4595 / admission.com), at the Saputo Stadium ticketing office or at 514-328-3668 (group packages only).
The Portland Timbers, which won the Commissioner's Cup (regular season champion), earned a bye for the semifinal round. They will face in the second round the Vancouver Whitecaps (7th), which eliminated the Carolina RailHawks (2nd) 1-0 on aggregate goals. The series starts Thursday in Vancouver.
OTHER FACTS
- The Impact has now a lifetime record in the playoffs of 19-17-5 (52GF-42GA).
- The Montreal Impact finished the season with the second best defense at home in the league, having only conceded 9 goals in 15 matches.
- For a second consecutive year, the Islanders reached the group phase in the CONCACAF Champions League. Tuesday, the Islanders were mathematically eliminated following a 2-0 loss against Cruz Azul, in Mexico.
- Goalkeeper Bill Gaudette ended the season among the best goalkeepers in the league. He registered a Goal Allowed Average per match of 0,740, 15 wins and 12 clean sheets in 2,430 minutes of play.
- Gaudette and midfielder Jonathan Steele were selected to the USL-1 All-League Second Team.
- Defender Cristian Arrieta was named to the USL-1 All-league First Team. He is this season's points leader for the Islanders with 10 goals and five assists, for 25 points.
ELSEWHERE IN THE LEAGUE
- Thursday, October 1 - Portland @ Vancouver - Swangard Stadium - 10:30 pm
- Sunday, October 4 - Vancouver @ Portland - PGE Park - 7:00 pm
USL First Division Stories from September 30, 2009
- Five Timbers Receive All-League Honors - Portland Timbers
- Nelson Akwari and Matt Bobo named to USL-1 All-League First Team - Charleston Battery
- Paladini named to USL-1 First Team - North Carolina FC
- USL-1 All-League First Team unveiled - USL-1
- Semifinal Series Against Puerto Rico Starts Thursday At Saputo Stadium - Montreal Impact
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.
