VANCOUVER -- With a convincing 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C. on Sunday, the Montreal Impact became the inaugural Voyageurs Cup winners. Montreal finished its six-game schedule with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss for 15 points, moving two points ahead of Toronto (4-1-1, 13 points) in the Voyageurs Cup standings. The Voyageurs will present the trophy to Montreal at a remaining home game.
Only one week earlier, Toronto had the opportunity to claim the trophy when it faced Montreal in Toronto on August 18 with a six-point lead in the Voyageurs Cup standings and Vancouver and Calgary already eliminated.
Having beaten the Impact 2-1 in overtime in Montreal on August 7, the Lynx needed only a draw against Montreal to put themselves out of reach. But the Impact turned the tables by winning by the same score in Toronto. With their fate in their own hands, Montreal took control with two more straight wins against Calgary and Vancouver.
In a close game on August 23 against the Calgary Storm, which had yet to gain a Voyageurs Cup point, Montreal scored two goals in second-half injury time to win 3-1. With a victory over Vancouver on August 25, Montreal won the title. Vancouver's loss put them in third place with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses for 7 points. Calgary finished last in the standings with six losses.
With three goals in the last three games, Montreal's Eduardo Sebrango joined Toronto's Nikola Budalic as the top scorer in the Voyageurs Cup with 4 goals each. The Impact's Ze Roberto also scored in each of the last three games and finished with 3 goals along with Toronto's Ryan Lucas, who joined the team halfway through their schedule, and Vancouver's Niall Thompson.
The Voyageurs will present the Voyageurs Cup trophy to the Montreal Impact at their last home game of the season on September 1, 2002.
ABOUT THE VOYAGEURS CUP
The Voyageurs, Canada's national soccer fan club, has inaugurated the Voyageurs Cup, Canada's only national, fan-awarded soccer trophy. The Voyageurs Cup is a lasting emblem of soccer fans' commitment to the improvement, enjoyment, and advancement of the game in Canada. The Voyageurs Cup trophy will be awarded to the most successful Canadian A-League team, based on matches with other Canadian A-League teams.
The Voyageurs Cup trophy will be engraved with the name of the winning team, and presented to that team by Voyageurs representatives at a home game late in the season. The Cup will remain in possession of the winning team for display until the beginning of the following A-League season. The entire cost of the Voyageurs Cup, including purchasing, maintaining, engraving, shipping, and promoting the trophy and tournament, has been borne entirely by private donations from individual Voyageurs.
ABOUT THE VOYAGEURS
The Voyageurs soccer fan club was founded in 1996 as a national group of fans of the national men's World Cup team. Since then, they have been a visible (and audible) presence at Canadian national team games both in Canada and abroad (as far away as Egypt and Switzerland), at all age levels, for both the men's and women's teams.
The Voyageurs maintain a strong working relationship with members of the CSA, but are an entirely independent body. The Voyageurs group is maintained, run, and funded entirely by its fiercely enthusiastic members. The Voyageurs host the most active Canadian soccer forum on the Internet (at www.canadian-soccer.com), with participants including fans, national-level players, media representatives, and CSA representatives. The forum receives over 300,000 hits per month.
CONTACTING THE VOYAGEURS
Matthew Bin, director of communications for the Voyageurs Cup, is available to provide any further information about the Voyageurs or the Voyageurs Cup competition.
Matthew Bin
19 Bond Court
Guelph, Ontario
N1H 8N6
(905)510-1638
info@voyageurscup.ca
