Saturday, September 18, 2004

 

MONTREAL – Ten years after becoming the first Canadian team to win the A-League title in 1994, the Montreal Impact ended the nation’s drought with their second A-League championship with a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders. Defender Mauricio Vincello’s third goal of the year proved the game-winner in front of a standing room only, sold out crowd of 13,648 at Claude Robillard Stadium in Montreal.

Vincello put the Impact on top in the 33rd minute with a fantastic drive up the middle and shot from the top of the box. Midfielder Ze Roberto dished the ball to the forward-charging back and Vincello drove another 10 yards before ripping a low shot to the right post from the top of the box past diving Seattle goalkeeper Preston Burpo.

Vincello was part of the defensive unit that capped its record season in fitting fashion with yet another shutout, earning him the Championship Most Valuable Player honor, an honor all the more deserved considering he was knocked out by the flu, Friday, and spent the night on intravenous fluids under the care of a local doctor.

"I didn’t feel so good during the warm-up, but I felt better and better during the game," said Vincello. "I wanted to play. I played all year, so I didn’t want to miss the final even if I wasn’t 100 percent."

The team set the single season record for shutouts with 19 during the regular season, one better than the 1998 Rochester Rhinos, with Vincello playing in 26 of the club’s 28 games on the year. The club registered four more shutouts in five postseason games.

Freddy Commodore, who registered the game-winner in their 2-0 win at Syracuse in the conference final, came on as a sub in the second half and locked up the club's second title with a blast into the back of the net from eight yards in the 78th. A cross from the left flank found defender Nevio Pizzolitto in the center of the box. Pizzolitto, flicked the ball to the right side of the box to a wide open Commodore, who tied Eduardo Sebrango for the team lead in goals with eight on the season, for the easy blast past Burpo.

The old adage that defense wins championships could not have been more true on the night with a shutout and defenders Vincello and Pizzolitto playing significant roles in the two goals.

"I couldn’t hope for a better gift," said current two-time A-League Defender of the Year Gabriel Gervais, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, Saturday. "Everybody worked hard, we showed we had the better team. And all that in front of 13,000 people, it’s incredible."

Pizzolitto also nearly had the opening marker, connecting on a Sandro Grande free kick with a header inside the box in the 27th minute that forced a diving save from Burpo.

Four minutes later, another Grande free kick resulted in a near miss as Sebrango sent a header from 14 yards just wide of the far post.

First-year Montreal head coach Nick DeSantis made history on the night, becoming the first person in the A-League to win the championship as a player and then as a coach, excluding those who won the title as player/coaches.

"It was a great feeling as a player, and it’s a great feeling as a coach," said Impact head coach Nick DeSantis, who was part of the 1994 championship team, along with Mauro Biello and Lloyd Barker. "The guys have shown consistency all year, and they’ve done it all the way. They’ve been on a mission since day one and they showed today that they deserved the title."

The championship was the second for longtime Impact veterans Biello, who played the full match, and Barker, who was a reserve for the game.

Jason Farrell, who nearly tied the game early in first half stoppage time, heads into retirement missing out on his chance at a third, playing the full match as the lone remaining Sounder from the club’s back-to-back 1995 and 1996 championships. Farrell got the ball on the left side of the box, but his shot to the near post was stopped by 2004 A-League MVP and current two-time Goalkeeper of the Year Greg Sutton.

It was also the last match as well for Farrell’s teammate Darren Sawatzky, who is also retiring.

Montreal dominated most of the play in the game with a 16-5 shot advantage, but nearly saw Seattle level the game 16 minutes from time when Craig Tomlinson cracked a shot off the crossbar less than a minute after entering the match. 

In the 13th minute, Seattle's Jonathan Bolanos nearly scored when he curled a 23-yard free kick just over the crossbar.

Seattle Sounders 0 :: 2 Montreal Impact

MON: Vincello (Roberto) 33
MON: Commodore (Pizzolitto) 78

SEA: Sawatzky 17, Sleeth 44
MON: Vincello 12, Roberto 14, Pizzolitto 61

None

Mauricio Navarro, Zoran Kristo, Amato DeLuca, Daniel Belleau

13,648 – Montreal club record

Seattle: Preston Burpo; Danny Jackson, Ryan Edwards (Chad Brown 65), Billy Sleeth (Scott Jenkins 84), Zach Scott; Jason Farrell, Kevin Sakuda, Ben Somoza (Marco Velez 58), Jonathan Bolanos (Craig Tomlinson 74), Darren Sawatzky (Kyle Smith 84); Roger Levesque
Montreal: Greg Sutton; Gabriel Gervais, Nevio Pizzolitto, Adam Braz, Mauricio Vincello; Sandro Grande, Ze Roberto, Patrick Leduc (Antonio Ribiero 89), Mauro Biello; Joel Bailey (Freddy Commodore 58), Eduardo Sebrango

Shots – SEA 5 :: 16 MON
Saves – SEA 7 :: 3 MON
Fouls – SEA 15 :: 13 MON
Offsides – SEA 0 :: 1 MON
Corners – SEA 5 :: 7 MON