Day 3 at Montreal, Quebec
Montreal 4, Toronto 1
In a match that saw the Impact give up their first goal of the season, and was tied 1-1 at the half, the Montreal Impact exploded for three goals in the second half for a 4-1 win over the Toronto Lynx in front of 6,831 on a chilly, windy night at Claude Robillard Stadium.
Nevio Pizzolitto headed in a Patrick Leduc cross to put the Impact up 1-0
Early in the match, it was the Impact who were holding most of the possession, but not getting any shots on goal, while the Lynx were attempting to look for a quick counterattack. Neither team threatened to score in the first 10 minutes, and then for the next ten, it was Montreal getting the better of play, with Joel Bailey just missing left off a feed from Mauro Biello in the 13th minute, and a dangerous chip through the box from Mauricio Vincello just missing the right post in the 15th minute.
In the 20th minute, the Impact had another good opportunity when Bailey received a header pass from Edouardo Sebrango, but his shot from the top of the box was blocked by Toronto's Joe Mattachione. But five minutes later, the Impact finally broke through when a Patrick Leduc cross into the box found defender Nevio Pizzolitto open in the box, and he headed it in from 8 yards out to give the Impact a 1-0 lead.
The lead wouldn't last long, however, because just three minutes later, a seemingly innocent chip shot from Ali Gerber appeared to be going wide, and was in the process of behing shepherded wide by Montreal goalkeeper Greg Sutton when it unexpectedly hit off the right post, then off Sutton's shoulder then into the net. The Impact crowd was shocked into silence by the goal, later ruled an own goal, which have evened the score at 1-1. Neither team seriously threatened again and the half ended level at 1-1.
Just three minutes into the second half, the Impact re-took the lead on a goal that was similar to their first, with a Leduc cross into the box finding an Impact striker unmarked, with Bailey finishing with his head to put the Impact up 2-1. In the 66th minute, a volley from Toronto's Gerber required a quick jump by Sutton to keep it out, and Sutton fumbled with the ball a few times before finally collecting it.
Three minutes later, after a Montreal corner kick was punched out by Lynx goalkeeper Bryheen Hancock, Vincello launched a perfect strike on the spinning ball from 30 yards out, burying it into the lower right corner of the net to put the Impact up 3-1.
As the match neared stoppage time, the Lynx nearly pulled one closer when John Barry Nusem had a good look from 10 yards out, but his shot was a yard over the bar when the Lynx striker probably had more time to shoot than he thought. But less than a minute later, the Impact finished off the night's scoring when two second-half substitutes hooked up, with Fred Commodore putting in Niki Budalic's pass as the match entered stoppage time for the 4-1 final.
Sutton had two saves for the win, while Hancock recorded only one save on the night.
