Toronto to open Canadian defense on April 28

February 6, 2010

Toronto FC will begin defense of its Nutrilite Canadian Championship on April 28, hosting the Montreal Impact as it attempts to return to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Thursday’s release of the 2010 tournament schedule comes nearly a month after the U.S. Soccer Federation sanctioned a merged league between the United Soccer Leagues and the offshoot North American Soccer League, which cleared the way for the competition to go forward.

With the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact breaking away from the second-division USL to join the NASL, neither league was in position to gain the USSF’s sanction.

Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli, however, was confident the third edition of the championship would go forward.

“The future of this competition was solid,” he said. “Certainly we had the right to play this competition no matter what the resolution would be, so this competition was moving forward. So in our mind it was really not in doubt.”

The three-team, six-game tournament will finish on June 2 with Toronto hosting Vancouver. The winner qualifies for the Preliminary Round of the Champions League, set to begin the final week of July.

“I’ve been in North America for over 20 years and been part of a U.S. (Open) Cup and in the U.S. Cup there’s not really much passion and just being here and hearing about the Canadian Cup there seems to be a lot on the line,” newly hired Toronto coach Preki said. “People are excited to watch the games and support the teams.”

This will be Vancouver’s final year to compete as a team from a second-division league. The club is set to join Toronto in Major League Soccer in 2011.

This year’s schedule has all the games played on six consecutive Wednesdays, a move intended to improve television audiences.

Montreal won the inaugural tournament, parlaying that success into a surprising run to the Champions League quarterfinals. Last year, Toronto FC captured the title, but was eliminated from the Champions League by the USL’s Puerto Rico Islanders in the Preliminary Round.

2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship
Wednesday, April 28
Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact
Wednesday, May 5
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Montreal Impact
Wednesday, May 12
Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC
Wednesday, May 19
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC
Wednesday, May 26
Montreal Impact vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Wednesday, June 2
Toronto FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

TORONTO -

By Vijay Setlur

Tags: american soccer, canadian soccer association, champions league quarterfinals, concacaf champions league, game tournament, general secretary, inaugural tournament, Major League Soccer, Montreal, montreal impact, nasl, North American, north american soccer league, offshoot, Peter Montopoli, preki, Puerto Rico, secretary peter, soccer federation, television audiences, Toronto, toronto fc, U.S, U.S. Cup, U.S. Soccer, united soccer leagues, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps, Vijay Setlur, Whitecaps

2009: Mexico continues CONCACAF club domination

December 23, 2009

The name of CONCACAF’s premier club tournament has changed. Mexico’s dominance of the region continues.

One year after Pachuca captured the final CONCACAF Champions Cup trophy, Atlante defeated Cruz Azul to claim the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League crown.

It’s a command that has continued into the second edition, with all four of Mexico’s entrants advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2009-2010 Champions League by winning their groups.

By winning the title, its first CONCACAF club title in 26 years, Atlante earned a bid to the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. There it crushed Auckland City 3-0 only to be overwhelmed by eventual winner FC Barcelona 3-1 in the semifinals.

Atlante stuck first on a fifth-minute goal by Guillermo Rojas, but Sergio Busquets equalized 30 minutes later and Lionel Messi and Pedro sealed the Barcelona win with second-half tallies. Atlante fell on penalty kicks to Pohang Steelers in the third-place game.

It was the second straight fourth-place finish at the world club championship for a CONCACAF side, following Pachuca’s consolation game loss a year ago.

While the all-Mexican final was expected by many, there was plenty of intrigue in the first CONCACAF Champions League.

One of the biggest surprises of the tournament was the Puerto Rico Islanders of the United Soccer Leagues First Division, which needed to qualify through the CFU Club Champions Cup.

The Islanders became the first Caribbean team in 14 years to reach the final four of CONCACAF’s club competition, where they were eliminated by Cruz Azul on penalty kicks.

The Montreal Impact, also of the USL-1, a second-tier North American league, defeated Toronto FC of Major League Soccer to win the Canadian Nutrilite Championship and qualify for the Champions League.

The Impact finished behind Atlante in Group D, advancing to the knockout stage where they faced Santos in the quarterfinals, drawing a Champions League record crowd of more than 55,000 for the home leg.

Montreal stunned the Mexican powerhouse 2-0 in the first leg and led 2-1 at halftime at Estadio Corona before Santos struck four times in the final 37 minutes, including a pair of stoppage time goals by Carlos Darwin, to come away with a dramatic 5-2 victory.

As successful as the tournament was for Mexican and United Soccer League squads, Major League Soccer teams struggled. Of the four teams that qualified – New England Revolution, Chivas USA, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo – just Houston advanced to the knockout stage where they were eliminated by Atlante.

“We’ve established its legitimacy,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said. “The fans have a level of expectation – they’ve seen what it is, they know what they’re going to get and they have every reason to believe we’re going to make it better as we go. And we will.”

The second iteration of the Champions League looks very similar to the first, with Mexico’s Cruz Azul, Pachuca, Pumas and Toluca leading the way into the knockout stages.

They are joined by the Columbus Crew, the lone Major League Soccer to advance, Marathon of Honduras, Guatemala’s Comunicaciones and Arabe Unido from Panama. The quarterfinals begin March 9.

Nearly half of the field for the 2010-2011 Champions League has been decided with CD FAS, which won a record 17th El Salvadorian league title, and Municipal, which claimed a record 27th Guatemalan league crown, the most recent to book their tickets.

They join American sides Real Salt Lake, Columbus, Los Angeles and Seattle, Mexican clubs Monterrey and Cruz Azul, as well as Honduran Apertura champion Marathon and Arabe Unido.

By Dylan Butler

Tags: abu dhabi united arab emirates, caribbean team, club champions, club world cup, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, consolation game, cup trophy, game loss, knockout stage, league crown, lionel messi, montreal impact, puerto rico islanders, record crowd, toronto fc, united soccer leagues, world club championship

New North American league sets 2010 debut

November 11, 2009

A new seven-team North American professional soccer league will begin next April after several clubs withdrew from the United Soccer Leagues first division to begin a club owner-operated circuit.

The Vancouver Whitecaps, set to join the premier-level Major League Soccer in 2011, will be part of the as-yet-unnamed league in 2010 along with teams in Miami, Atlanta, Carolina, Montreal, Minnesota and St. Louis.

“We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America,” Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo told the Miami Herald.

Saputo, set to chair the new league’s board of governors, said in a statement released by his club that talks remained ongoing with United League officials but the new league had to move so it could seek approval from US and Canadian soccer officials to keep the breakaway option viable.

The circuit would be a division two level just as the United league, one step below MLS.

MIAMI (AFP)

Tags: Atlanta, breakaway, canadian soccer, Carolina, club owner, joey, league officials, Major League Soccer, Miami, miami herald, Minnesota, mls miami, Montreal, montreal impact, new vision, North America, North American, professional soccer league, s board, saputo, soccer officials, ST. LOUIS, U.S., united league, united soccer leagues, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps

Puerto Rico wins in Toronto 1-0

July 30, 2009

TORONTO – Kendall Jagdeosingh scored in the 67th minute and the Puerto Rico Islanders beat host Toronto FC 1-0 Wednesday night, making a claim to return to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Puerto Rico, which eliminated Alajuelense last year in the Preliminary Round, advanced all the way to the semifinals of the Champions League before being ousted by Cruz Azul.

Jagdeosingh tracked down a ball near the right side of the goal, turned 270 degrees and drove a left-footed shot into the far-side netting. It sends the Islanders to Bayamon for the second leg on August 4 needing only a draw to reach the Group Stage.

Toronto needed a 6-1 victory in the final match of the Canadian Championship over the Montreal Impact, a quarterfinalist last year in the Champions League, to qualify.

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Tags: Azul, concacaf champions league, cruz azul, far side, final match, group stage, Jagdeosingh, kendall, leg, Montreal, montreal impact, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, stage toronto, Toronto, toronto 1, toronto fc, victory, wednesday night

Definitive schedule for Preliminary Round of Champions League set

June 24, 2009

NEW YORK – With the qualification of the last of the 24 teams in the CONCACAF Champions League, the definitive schedule for the Preliminary Round has been determined.

The first of 78 games in the 2009-2010 Champions League will start with D.C. United at home against Chalatenango of El Salvador on Tuesday, July 28. The Preliminary Round will finish with the second leg between Real Espana of Honduras at home against Liberia of Costa Rica on Thursday, August 6.

With Toronto FC’s 6-1 victory over the Montreal Impact on Thursday in the final game of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, the Major League Soccer side claimed its first berth in the Champions League and will open at home against the Puerto Rico Islanders on Wednesday, July 29. Puerto Rico will host the second leg on Tuesday, August. 4.

The eight winners of the Preliminary Round will advance to the Group Stage, which will begin the week of August 18-20.

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCHEDULE
Times local (USA Eastern in parentheses); home teams listed first

FIRST LEG
Tuesday, July 28
D.C. United (USA) vs. Chalatenango (SLV), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Pachuca (MEX) vs. Jalapa (GUA), 9 p.m. (10 p.m.)

Wednesday, July 29
Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
San Francisco (PAN) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Liberia (CRC) vs. Real Espana (HON), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

Thursday, July 30
W Connection (TRI) vs. New York Red Bulls (USA), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Herediano (CRC) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Olimpia (HON) vs. Arabe Unido (PAN), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

SECOND LEG
Tuesday, August 4
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) vs. Toronto 8 p.m. (CAN), (8 p.m.)
Jalapa (GUA) vs. Pachuca (MEX), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)
Chalatenango (SLV) vs. D.C. United (USA), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

Wednesday, August 5
New York Red Bulls (USA) vs. W Connection (TRI), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Cruz Azul (MEX) vs. Herdiano (CRC), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)

Thursday, August 6
Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. Olimpia (HON), 7 p.m. (8 p.m.)
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) vs. San Francisco (PAN), 8 p.m. (8 p.m.)
Real Espana (HON) vs. Liberia (CRC), 8 p.m. (10 p.m.)

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Tags: arabe unido, august 4, chalatenango, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Costa Rica, cruz azul, d c united, D.C., El Salvador, final game, francisco pan, group stage, gua, herediano, Honduras, Liberia, m cruz, Major League Soccer, Montreal, montreal impact, New York, new york red bulls, olimpia, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, San Francisco, san juan, san juan jabloteh, slv, Toronto, toronto fc, Tri, USA, W. Connection

De Rosario scores three, Toronto beats Montreal 6-1 to clinch Champions League berth

June 19, 2009

MONTREAL – Dwayne De Rosario scored three goals and Toronto FC defeated the Montreal Impact 6-1 on Thursday to win the Nutlite Canadian Championship and a berth in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Toronto, which had only won one game by four goals in its history, needed a four-goal victory at Montreal or hand the title to the second-division Vancouver Whitecaps and miss out on the Champions League for a second straight year.

Second-half substitute Chad Barrett headed home an Amado Guevara corner kick in the 82nd minute to put Toronto ahead 5-1 and score the decisive goal that gave Major League Soccer a fifth and the final entrant in the 24-team Champions League.

De Rosario’s three goals came in a 20-minute span and Honduran international Amado Guevara added a pair to edge the Whitecaps on goal difference for the title

“We showed tonight we’ve got something special building at the club,” interim Toronto coach Chris Cummins said. “We’re not going to rest on it, we’re really going to kick off from this.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved it on the night . . . people say we can’t take our chances. Tonight we’ve taken our chances.”

The Impact, last year’s Canadian representative and semifinalists in last season’s Champions League, opened the scoring in the 24th minute after striker Peter Byers was fouled by Toronto defender Nick Garcia setting up a penalty kick.

Tony Donatelli converted the spot kick with a calm right-footed stroke past Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

“When they scored I looked around to every guy and not one of them had their head down,” De Rosario said.

A steady rain and slippery conditions were less than ideal, creating loose footing and uneven bounces throughout the match.

De Rosario started Toronto’s push with a dramatic bicycle kick in the 29th. Montreal goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic punched away a Guevara corner kick, but De Rosario, with his back to goal, pounced on the rebound with a lunging scissors kick to the delight of their hundreds of traveling supporters who had made the six- hour drive from southern Ontario.

De Rosario next converted a Pablo Vitti cross at the top of the penalty area in the 39th, with his hard shot first deflecting off Montreal defender Elkana Mayard, then off the Montreal goal post and into the net giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Three minutes into the second half, De Rosario collected a through ball, raced into the penalty area and slotted the ball past Djekanovic at point-blank range.

In the 67th, Guevara closed the gap further, bending a free kick from just outside the penalty area over the wall and past Djekanovic to incease the lead to 4-1.

Barrett, who entered the game to start the second half in place of Vitti, then scored the title clincher and set up an insurance tally by Guevara in the 90th.

Barrett back-healed a cross into the path of Guevara, who volley the ball to complete the victory.

It was the second major unraveling for the Impact who also fell apart in injury time during the second leg of their Champions League semifinal loss to Santos Laguna in March

“When that happens twice, it’s because there’s a problem, there’s a big lack of character on our part . . . you have to honour the city and club and tonight these players didn’t,” said Impact coach Marc Dos Santos.

Toronto will host the Puerto Rico Islanders of the United Soccer Leagues First Division the Preliminary Round of the Champions League, on Tuesday, July 28 and then head to Bayamon, Puerto Rico on Tuesday, August 4 for the second leg.

The Impact were missing four starting defenders from their lineup with Adam Braz and Cedric Joqueviel ruled out of the match due to injury while centre-back Nevio Pizzolitto was given the night off by coach Marc Desantis and defender Zanzan was on international duty with Togo’s national team for a World Cup qualifier against Morocco.

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Tags: Adam Braz, amado guevara, bicycle kick, canadian representative, Cedric Joqueviel, Chad, chris cummins, coach chris, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, corner kick, decisive goal, dwayne de rosario, goal victory, Major League Soccer, Marc Desantis, Marc Dos, minute span, Montreal, montreal impact, morocco, nick garcia, Pablo Vitti, Peter Byers, pounced, Puerto Rico, Santos, slippery conditions, southern Ontario, srdjan, Srdjan Djekanovic, steady rain, Stefan Frei, Togo, Tony Donatelli, Toronto, toronto fc, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps

Jalapa, San Francisco claim Champions League berths; One berth remains undecided

June 16, 2009

NEW YORK – Guatemala’s Jalapa and San Francisco FC of Panama claimed their berths in next seasons’ CONCACAF Champions League, leaving only one place still open in the 24-team field.

Either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Toronto FC will claim the final spot on Wednesday, when Toronto hosts the Montreal Impact needing a four-goal victory to win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and a berth in the Champions League.

Jalapa defeated Municipal 3-1 on Sunday to complete a 1-0 aggregate victory and claim the Clausura crown, joining Comunicaciones in the Champions League from Guatemala. Comunicaciones will be seeded directly into the Group Stage, while Jalapa will play Pachuca in the Preliminary Round.

San Francisco FC returned to the Champions League for a second straight year, prevailing over Chorrillo 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw on Saturday to win Panama’s Apertura and claim its berth. It joins Arabe Unido from Panama in the Preliminary Round. San Francisco will play San Juan Jabloteh in the two-leg playoff, while Arabe Unido will face Olimpia of Honduras.

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Tags: aggregate victory, apertura, berth, berths, concacaf, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, goal victory, group stage, Guatemala, Honduras, Jabloteh, jalapa, Montreal, montreal impact, New York, Panama, penalty kicks, San Francisco, san juan, san juan jabloteh, Toronto, toronto fc, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps

Vancouver boosts Canadian title hopes with 1-0 win; Montreal eliminated from Champions League return

May 28, 2009

BURNABY, British Columbia — The Vancouver Whitecaps ended the Montreal Impact’s hopes of repeating as Nutrilite Canadian champions Wednesday night, winning 1-0 on 18-year-old Ethan Gage’s first career goal for the Whitecaps midway through the second half.

Montreal played without several injured first-team regulars injured and defender Nevio Pizzolitto, who was suspended for accumulated yellow cards.

“They scored, we didn’t. That was the story of the two games,” Montreal coach Marco Dos Santos said. “Last year it was Montreal winning. This year it will be Toronto or Vancouver and I wish them the very best.”

The victory gave Vancouver six points and moved it into a tie atop the three-team standings with Toronto FC, which has played one less game. It also sets up a battle for first place when Toronto FC visits Vancouver on June 2. The Canadian champion earns a berth in next season’s CONCACAF Champions League, which begins July 28.

“I’m very happy with what I saw from the team,” Vancouver coach Tietur Thordarsson said. “We have our destiny in our own hands. We have to come out and play against Toronto.”

Wednesday’s game was the opposite of last week’s match in Montreal, where the Impact controlled possession but were unable to capitalize. In contrast to a week ago, the Whitecaps outshot the Impact 6-2 in the first half in front of a near capacity crowd of 5,134 at Swangard Stadium.

Vancouver’s passing created both space and attacking opportunities, while the Impact could only muster a scattering of chances on the counter-attack.

Just before the 10- minute mark, Vancouver midfielder Justin Moose swung a cross in from the right side that was met by Charles Gbeke. But his first time shot was deflected over Matt Jordan’s crossbar in the Montreal goal.

Jordan kept Montreal in the game early in the second half, stopping a 55th-minute penalty by Gbeke.

“Pretty much every time in training he was hitting them,” Thordarsson said. “It was a little bit unfortunate that he missed this one.”

Vancouver’s penalty was created when Adam Braz fouled Gbeke at the penalty spot. Jordan dived to his left to parry Gbeke’s poorly taken penalty, and Justin Moose’s follow sailed over the bar.

Vancouver’s goal came in the 67th minute after Montreal striker Eduardo Sebrango tried to clear a Marcus Haber flick into the box. The clearance only came as far as Gage, who drove a low right-footed ball into the left corner.

“It was the biggest goal of my career so far,” said a smiling Gage.

Montreal nearly equalized in the 88th minute, but Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly made two point-blank saves to thwart Amadou Gai and Sebrango.

Sebrango was looking for a goal in his first game back in Vancouver, and also to honor his father, who was celebrating his 65th birthday and is battling cancer.

The result left Montreal, which reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League this past season, at the bottom of the table with no points after three games. It needed a win to keep any hope alive of retaining the Voyageurs Cup.

Whitecaps captain Martin Nash will miss the game against Toronto after he picked up his second yellow card of the tournament in the first half.

By Gavin Day

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Tags: Adam Braz, berth, British Columbia, burnaby british columbia, canadian champion, canadian champions, capacity crowd, captain Martin Nash, career goal, Charles Gbeke, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, crossbar, Eduardo Sebrango, Ethan Gage, Gavin Day, jay nolly, Justin Moose, Marcus Haber, Matt Jordan, midfielder, Montreal, montreal impact, moose, regulars, Santos, six points, Swangard Stadium, tietur, Toronto, toronto fc, two games, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps, yellow cards

Three more teams claim places in Champions League field

May 27, 2009

NEW YORK – Three more teams joined the field for next season’s CONCACAF Champions League, with Pachuca and Pumas reaching the Mexican Clausura finals to qualify, and Aguila claiming El Salvador’s second berth by finishing with the second most points over the Central American league’s two seasons.

If Real Esteli’s stadium meets CONCACAF standards and is approved later this week, only four places will remain unclaimed in the 24-team field for the tournament which begins with the first leg of the Preliminary Round on July 28.

Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama each have one berth open as well as Canada, which last week reached the midpoint of its six-round championship tournament between the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps. Costa Rica’s second berth was to be decided Tuesday night in the second leg of that country’s final between Herediano and Liberia.

Pachuca advanced past Indios 4-3 on aggregate in their Mexican Clausura semifinal while Pumas reached the two-leg championship after drawing with Puebla on aggregate but advancing due a better regular-season record. Pumas joins Cruz Azul as the two Mexican returnees from the inaugural Champions League.

While only a handful of berths are undecided, many of the seedings for the Champions League have yet to be determined. Toluca already has earned one of Mexico’s places in the Group Stage as the Apertura champion and will be accompanied by the winner between Pachuca and Pumas.

Major League Soccer champion Columbus will enter along with the Houston Dynamo as the United States’ two qualifiers to the Group Stage, while El Salvador’s Metapan and Honduras’ Marathon also have clinched places in the 16-team league phase.

Besides the Mexican berth, Costa Rica and Guatemala also have yet to determine which teams will go directly to the Group Stage and which will be required to enter the Preliminary Round.

The Preliminary Round will be contested in a two-leg format between 16 teams, with the winners on aggregate joining the eight seeded sides for the Group Stage — which will begin August 18.

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Tags: berth, Canada, Central American, COLUMBUS, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Costa Rica, cruz azul, El Salvador, group stage, Guatemala, herediano, Honduras, Houston, houston dynamo, impact toronto, league phase, Liberia, Major League Soccer, metapan, Mexico, midpoint, Montreal, montreal impact, New York, pachuca, Panama, Puebla, pumas, real esteli, returnees, soccer champion, toronto fc, United States, Vancouver, vancouver whitecaps

Whitecaps win first of Canadian Championship 2-0; Montreal falls to last

May 21, 2009

MONTREAL – The Vancouver Whitecaps used first-half goals by Marcus Haber and Charles Gbeke to outlast the Montreal Impact 2-0 Wednesday and take control of second place as the Nutrilite Canadian Championship reached its midpoint.

(For a report in French, see below.)

Vancouver improved to three points, three behind Toronto FC, to keep alive its hopes of a title and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. The Major League Soccer side leads the three-team table with six points after home victories over Vancouver and Montreal, both of which play in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, the second tier of North American soccer.

“I thought we played an extremely good game,” Whitecaps coach Teitur Thordarson told whitecapsfc.com. “In the first half, we were excellent, and deserved the two goals that we scored. In fact, we should have scored more goals before halftime.

“We were a little bit more tactical in the second half, as we dropped one of our strikers back to play in behind his partner up front, in order to try and close the midfield space on Montreal. I thought we did that extremely well, as well as keep possession of the ball during some difficult periods. Overall, it was huge for our side.”

The result left defending champion Montreal, which reached the Champions League quarterfinals three months ago, last with no points and two games remaining.

“Except for the two goals early on, we completely dominated the game,” Impact defender Adam Braz said. “It’s always tougher to pull through when you concede two goals at the start of the game. It’s not always easy to create chances against a good team like Vancouver.”

Thordarson’s side jumped ahead in the first minute when former Canadian U-20 international Haber converted a pass from Gordon Chin to silence the near-capacity crowd of 11,483 at Stade Saputo. It was the first time in club history that the Impact conceded a goal in the first minute of play.

Gbeke, a former Impact striker, extended the lead in the 17th minute when he headed a lofted cross from the left flank from defender Takashi Hirano into the far side of the goal by goalkeeper Matt Jordan.

That strike inspired Montreal, which stifled Vancouver’s offense the rest of the way.

But Montreal couldn’t capitalize on numerous chances in outshooting Vancouver 18-6 overall.

Montreal was denied by the crossbar three times in the first half. Former Whitecaps midfielder Joey Gjertsen corralled a low cross from striker Rocco Placentino at the edge of the penalty area, turned and drove the ball off the crossbar. The rebound then came to Panamanian striker Roberto Brown, who headed the ball off the crossbar.

Five minutes later, Placentino hit the crossbar on a free kick from 30 yards.

The second half was similar, with Montreal thwarted repeatedly by Vancouver goalkeeper Jay Nolly and its own inability to finish.

“Two tactical defensive errors in the first twenty minutes of the game cost us the win, but the players had an excellent attitude as they tried to come back to win,” Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “I am proud of the team today because we never panicked and we reacted well to a situation that was unpredictable. We had at least 15 scoring chances and three crossbars, but there are days like that, when the ball just doesn’t go in. We should not forget that the team was playing a fourth game in eight days.”

The loss ended the Impact’s two-game unbeaten streak under coach Dos Santos, who replaced John Limniatis last week after Montreal’s 1-0 loss at Toronto on May 13.

The former coach of the Impact’s farm club, the Trois-Rivieres Attak, needs to win both of Montreal’s remaining games by convincing scores to retain any hope of returning to the Champions League, starting with a rematch with the Whitecaps in Vancouver on May 27.

“It isn’t over for us,” Dos Santos said. “We keep our hopes up and we will fight until the end. It’s still possible, so we have to believe in it.”

Montreal 0, Vancouver 2

MONTRÉAL – Dans le cadre de son deuxième match du Championnat canadien Nutrilite, l’Impact de Montréal a été blanchi 2-0 par les Whitecaps de Vancouver, mercredi, devant 11 483 spectateurs au Stade Saputo.

“Deux erreurs défensives tactiques dans les vingt premières minutes de jeu nous ont coûté la victoire, mais les joueurs ont eu une excellente attitude en essayant de revenir dans le match pour gagner,” a déclaré l’entraîneur-chef Marc Dos Santos.

“Je suis fier de l’équipe aujourd’hui parce qu’on n’a jamais paniqué et on bien réagi à une situation qui était imprévisible. Nous avons eu au moins quinze chances de marqer et trois barres transversales, mais il y a des jours comme ça où le ballon ne rentre pas. Il ne faut pas oublier que l’équipe jouait un quatrième match en huit jours.”

Les Whitecaps ont ouvert le pointage dès la première minute de jeu. L’attaquant Marcus Haber, qui avait accepté la passe en profondeur du milieu Gordon Chin, a décoché un tir bas en croisé de l’intérieur de la surface de réparation, qui a battu le gardien de l’Impact Matt Jordan à sa gauche. C’est la première fois dans l’histoire du club qu’un but était accordé dans la première minute de jeu.

L’attaquant Charles Gbeke, un ancien porte-couleurs de l’Impact, a doublé l’avance des Whitecaps à la 17e minute. Sur le jeu qui s’était amorcé sur le flanc gauche, le défenseur Takashi Hirano a centré le ballon au deuxième poteau pour Gbeke, qui l’a ensuite dévié de la tête, battant Jordan au poteau éloigné.

“Si on enlève les deux buts, on a totalement dominé le match,” a noté le défenseur Adam Braz. “Mais si tu encaisses deux buts en début c’est toujours difficile de t’en sortir ensuite. Ce n’est pas toujours facile de se créer des chances contre une bonne équipe comme Vancouver.”

L’Impact est venu près de réduire l’écart à un seul but à la 31e minute. Suite à un jeu amorcé par le milieu Rocco Placentino sur le côté gauche, Joey Gjertsen et Roberto Brown ont tour à tour frappé la barre transversale. Gjertsen, d’un tir haut, et Roberto Brown, prenant le retour de la tête.

Puis six minutes plus tard, Placentino a frappé un puissant coup franc d’environ 30 mètres directement sur la barre.

Bien que l’Impact ait dominé au chapitre des tirs au but 18-6, Matt Jordan s’est tout de même signalé en deuxième demie, notamment à la 81e minute, en plongeant pour bloquer du bout des doigts le tir haut de Justin Moose.

“Ce n’est pas terminé pour nous. On va y croire et on va lutter jusqu’à la fin. C’est encoe possible, alors on doit y croire,” a conclu Dos Santos.

Le milieu de terrain David Testo a raté la rencontre en raison d’une suspension automatique d’un match, suite à son expulsion du match précédent contre le Toronto FC.

Rappelons que le 13 mai dernier, à Toronto, l’Impact avait perdu son premier match du tournoi 1-0 devant le Toronto FC (MLS).

Le onze montréalais affrontera de nouveau les Whitecaps au Stade Swangard, à Vancouver, le mercredi 27 mai, également dans le cadre du Championnat canadien Nutrilite.

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