Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - The Montreal Impact celebrated the opening of
their new stadium in style on Saturday, earning a 4-1 victory over Seattle
Sounders FC in Saputo Stadium's Major League Soccer debut.
The Impact made the switch from the Olympic Stadium to their new home, and if
Saturday's result was any indication, Saputo Stadium may prove to be one of
the toughest venues in the league for visitors to get a result.
Montreal took the lead by halftime with Felipe Martins' opening strike, but
the home side killed the game off shortly after the restart as Justin Mapp
doubled the lead.
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado was sent off in the 56th minute for the Sounders, and the
Impact capitalized through Andrew Wenger's goal two minutes later.
Seattle pulled one back through Eddie Johnson, but it was all for naught as
Lamar Neagle wrapped up the scoring three minutes from time.
The result snaps a three-game winless run for the Impact (4-7-3), who improve
to 15 points on the season. The Sounders (7-4-3) are winless in their last
five as their first road loss of the season leaves them on 24 points.
Martins broke the deadlock in the 18th minute as he collected a pass from
Patrice Bernier and curled a lovely shot past Bryan Meredith at the far post.
Montreal emerged from halftime and quickly doubled the advantage. Mapp took a
pass from Bernier and drifted inside from the left flank before firing a low
shot past Meredith.
Things went from bad to worse for Seattle as Hurtado received a straight red
card in the 56th minute for a rash challenge on Collen Warner.
The Impact took immediate advantage of the extra man as Bernier found Wenger
in the center of the box. The rookie fired a shot past Meredith for his third
goal of the campaign.
Seattle pulled one back shortly after as Johnson latched on to a through ball
from Fredy Montero slipped a shot past the on-rushing Donovan Ricketts.
But not to be undone, the Impact made sure the match ended on a high note as
Neagle hit for his first goal of the season. The former Sounders striker
pounced on a defensive miscue in the box and placed his shot out of Meredith's
reach.
Both sides return to action on Wednesday as Seattle welcomes Sporting Kansas
City to CenturyLink Field and Montreal heads to The Home Depot Center to face
Chivas USA.
The Sports Network