Montréal - June 28, 2006 - Nevio Pizzolitto's first half goal was all the Montreal Impact would need as the home squad defeated the rival Rochester Raging Rhinos 1-0 before 11,369 at Claude-Robillard Stadium.
The Impact also moved into first place in the United Soccer Leagues First Division as the Seattle Sounders edged the visiting Puerto Rico Islanders 2-1 in the late game Wednesday night.
Pizzolitto put the Impact on the board in the 25th minute, converting a Patrick Leduc free kick from 40 yards out. Pizzolitto, who tallied for the fifth consecutive season, used all of his 6'2" frame to leap beyond the shorter Rhino defenders to perfectly head Leduc's cross to the left of keeper Scott Vallon into the net for his seventh career marker.
Despite the Impact tally, the Rhinos had the better chances to score in the first half. With keeper Andrew Weber, playing in his fifth consecutive game, out of position, midfielder Danny Kramer booted the ball past the netminder during a 34th-minute flurry around the Impact net. However, standing on the goal line was defender Gabriel Gervais, at the right place at the right time, stopping Kramer's blast, clearing the ball from harm's way.
Not only did Gervais' stop save the Impact, it totally changed the outlook of the contest.
The Rhinos came charging back two minutes later on a pretty tic-tac-toe play which totally undressed the Impact defence, with Matthew Dezicate finishing off the rush by hittting the post in the 36th minute. Nevertheless, had he beaten Weber on the play, who was out of position, the goal would not have counted as Dezicate was caught barely offside.
The Impact took control of the play for most of the second half as Mauro Biello came alive. First the veteran burst through the Rhino D in the 53rd minute on a great individual effort, but his centering cross to Daniel Antoniuk was slightly ahead of the rushing forward. Antoniuk, who was forced to slide to reach the ball, could only watch in shock as his deflection sailed over the net. Vallon later made a great diving save off a long Biello boot, twelve minutes later, from 25 yards.
Weber almost let the game slip away in the 69th as his hard tackle within the edge of the 18-yard box was enough for referee Mauricio Navarro to call a penalty. The Impact keeper, in his fifth consecutive game replacing the injured Greg Sutton, guessed correctly, diving low to his right on a poorly executed kick by Connaly Edozien, who had come in as a substitute five minutes earlier.
With the victory, the Impact move into first place with a 6-1-4 record. Although the club's 22 points are equal to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the westerners have played three more games.
Corner Kicks: The Impact has now stretched its unbeaten streak to eight games. The club has five wins and three ties in that span, outscoring the opposition 11-1. Andrew Weber, who replaced starting keeper Greg Sutton after the veteran injured an index finger, has 3 victories and 2 ties in the five games he has started, including 4 shutouts… Although the Raging Rhinos were undefeated before the match, the Rochester club had only won five of eleven games. Of their six ties, all three home games played so far have been deadlocks… The Rhinos have also now been shut out in their last 11 games at Claude-Robillard Stadium, with the last goal being scored on July 23, 2000, in a 3-1 loss to the Impact… The Impact, who last tasted defeat at home at the hands of their rivals, falling 1-0 on June 14, 1998, improved to a lifetime 20-11-5 against the Rhinos, including a scoreless tie at Paetec Park in Rochester on June 24, their only other meeting this campaign…
Defenders Gabriel Gervais and Nevio Pizzolitto entered the game as the only two Impact players to have played all 900 minutes so far this season. Neither was substituted for against the Rhinos, extending their respective streaks to 990 minutes… By the way, for those keeping score, Gervais emlazons this year's cover of the Impact media guide… Darko Kolic entered the game with 99 career games with the Impact, but did not see action on Wednesday night. Kolic has only played 5 minutes of one game in what may be the final season for the 34-year-old. Nine other Impact players have played 100 games with the club, including franchise leader Mauro Biello, who played in his 275th Impact game versus the Raging Rhinos. Kolic also sits in sixth-place all-time with 17 career goals. Biello also holds that record with 65, with Eduardo Sebrango (36), Lloyd Barker (34), Nick De Santis (21), Grant Needham (19), and Giuliano Oliviero (18) sitting second through sixth, respectively.
