The Montreal Impact captured its second A-league championship by defeating the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in front of an all-time record crowd of 13,648 delirious fans. Goals by Mauricio Vincello and Fred Commodore were all that the Impact needed to seal the victory. Greg Sutton earned his fourth shutout in five playoffs games making a handful of saves to preserve the victory.
The Impact played a very defensive style in the first half but was not without their share of chances. Captain Mauro Biello earned a free kick in the 4th minute when he fought two Seattle defenders just outside the box. The Impact did not capitalize on the kick but continued to press Seattle. The play was very rough on both sides and in the 12th minute Vincello earned a yellow card for a tough tackle. Seattle had the first good chance of the game when Jonathan Bolanos sent the resultant free kick from 25 yards out just over the Montreal net. Ze Roberto was also carded a few minutes later for rough play. In the 17th minute Seattle earned its first yellow card of the game when forward Darren Sawatzky was called for rough play. Montreal had their first chance of the night when Roberto sent a rocket from 20 yards out that was smothered by Sounders keeper Preston Burpo in the 18th minute. Roberto had another chance four minutes later but only lobbed a weak shot at Burpo. Just a minute later Sutton made his best save of the night stopping a low hard shot. Nevio Pizzolitto tested Burpo in the 27th minute when he headed a free kick to the right of the keeper. Burpo just managed to get a hand on it and keep it out.
In the 33rd minute Montreal struck for their first goal when Roberto made an excellent pass to a streaking Vincello who sent a hard low shot past Burpo into the bottom right corner. Montreal 1 Seattle 0.
In the 38th minute Biello made a great pass to Joel Bailey coming in on the left, but the forward lost control of the ball and could not shoot. The Sounders had another great chance in injury time but the low hard shot by Kevin Sakuda was smothered by Sutton.
In the second half Montreal kept up the pressure getting many chances. Sandro Grande sent a terrific cross into the box in the 66th minute which Burpo punched out of danger. Commodore had his first chance just two minutes later when he was fed a great pass but shot just wide of the net. In the 70th minute Commodore had another chance but headed a weak ball into Burpo's hands. In the 74th minute Seattle almost tied the game when Craig Tomlinson, who had just entered the game, took off on the left and hammered a shot off the crossbar. Montreal continued their fine play and scored in the 78th minute when Commodore was fed a back heel pass from Pizzolitto and pounded the ball past Burpo. Montreal 2 Seattle 0.
Seattle could not muster much offense and it was Montreal that had the last chances with Eddie Sebrango and Commodore both shooting wide in stoppage time.
The stadium erupted in cheers when the referee blew the whistle to indicate full-time. Fans invaded the pitch and swarmed all over the Impact players. Security staff rushed to separate the players from the mob of fans and thankfully no one was hurt. Coach Nick De Santis was ecstatic saying, "it was unbelievable from minute one." Biello, who is one of only two players (the other being Lloyd Barker) from the Impact team that won the championship in 1994, was just as excited. Comparing the two championships he said, "It's a bit sweeter for me this time. In 1994 I was a reserve player. Now I'm team captain."
The team was presented the A-league trophy to the cheers of the hundreds of fans who stayed on the field. A terrific end to a terrific season which saw the Impact shut out the opposition in 19 of 28 games in the regular season and four of five games in the playoffs.
Game notes: The 13,648 fans were sitting just about everywhere in the stadium including on temporary stands and on the grass around the pitch. The Impact players and coaching staff were all moved to a platform in the centre of the pitch for the trophy presentation. Seattle's leading scorer Welton Melo did not play in tonight's game due to the two yellow cards he received against Vancouver in the previous series.
Lineups:
Montreal: Sutton (GK), Gervais, Pizzolitto, Braz, Vincello, Grande, Roberto, Leduc (Ribeiro 90), Biello, Bailey (Commodore 58), Sebrango. Substitutes not used: Olivieri (GK), Barker, Cann, Williams, Lemire.
Seattle: Burpo (GK), Jackson, Edwards (Brown 65), Sleeth (Jenkins 84), Scott, Farrel, Sakuda, Somoza (Velez 58), Bolanos (Tomlinson 74), Sawatzky (Smith 84), Levesque. Substitutes not used: Waltman (GK), Callahan.
Cautions:
Montreal: Vincello (12), Roberto (14), Pizzolitto (61).
Seattle: Sawatzky (17), Sleeth (43).
Scoring:
Vincello (Montreal 33), Commodore (Montreal 78)
Conditions: Cold and windy; field dry.
Attendance: 13,648
Man of the match: Mauricio Vincello (Montreal)
