Voyageurs Cup Match 6: Montreal vs. Toronto [R]

[DJT]

<center>VOYAGEURS CUP 2006

MATCH 6

  MONTREAL IMPACT     vs.     TORONTO LYNX

                

Friday, September 8, 2006 - 7:30 PM EDT

Claude-Robillard Sports Complex, Montreal

Radio & Audio Webcasts:

CJAD 800 AM Montreal (English, direct link to Webcast)

Sport Plus XM-172 (French, Webcast through Montreal Impact)

Text Match Tracker:

Montreal Impact

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SCENARIOS

[*]The winner of this match, or Montreal in the case of a draw, will win the 2006 Voyageurs Cup.

[*]If Montreal win this match then they will win the 2006 Commissioner's Cup. (Montreal will also win it if they do not win this match and the Rochester Raging Rhinos do not win both of their remaining matches.)

VOYAGEURS CUP 2006 SUMMARY

Montreal   1-2-0  3-2  5

Vancouver  1-1-2  4-4  4

Toronto    1-1-1  3-4  4


April 29    - Vancouver  2-0  Toronto

July 5      - Toronto    2-1  Vancouver

July 7      - Montreal   1-1  Vancouver

July 16     - Vancouver  0-1  Montreal

August 23   - Toronto    1-1  Montreal

September 8 - Montreal   vs.  Toronto[/code]


[b]MATCH 6 PREVIEWS[/b]



[*]Montreal

   »  USL D1:   14-8-5   31-15  50    (1st place)   ·   Last match: August 31 - Portland 0 Montreal 1

   »  September 7 Impact pre-match report in next post



[*]Toronto

   »  USL D1:    7-7-12  25-36  23   (10th place)   ·   Last match: September 3 - Toronto 2 Virginia Beach 1

   »  September 6 Lynx media release in next post





[b]TORONTO & MONTREAL HEAD-TO-HEAD 2002-2006[/b]



[*]Last match:
[code]   »  VC     - August 23, 2006: Toronto 1 Montreal 1

[*]Results at Montreal:

   »  Non-VC - May 26, 2002   : Montreal 2 Toronto 0

   »  VC     - August 7, 2002 : Montreal 1 Toronto 2

   »  Non-VC - June 6, 2003   : Montreal 1 Toronto 0

   »  VC     - July 16, 2003  : Montreal 2 Toronto 3

   »  Non-VC - May 28, 2004   : Montreal 4 Toronto 1

   »  VC     - June 20, 2004  : Montreal 1 Toronto 1

   »  Non-VC - June 3, 2005   : Montreal 0 Toronto 0

   »  VC     - July 24, 2005  : Montreal 2 Toronto 1

   »  Non-VC - July 11, 2006  : Montreal 2 Toronto 0[/code]
[*]Records at Montreal:
[code]   »  VC     : Montreal  1-1-2 Toronto

   »  Non-VC : Montreal  4-1-0 Toronto

   »  Overall: Montreal  5-2-2 Toronto

[*]Records Overall:

   »  VC     : Montreal  5-2-2 Toronto

   »  Non-VC : Montreal  6-2-1 Toronto

   »  Overall: Montreal 11-4-3 Toronto[/code]
Voyageurs Cup

[DJT]

Nice to see both teams mention the Voyageurs Cup!

After these were written, Portland lost to Atlanta and have no matches remaining and one fewer point than Toronto, so Toronto will not finish in last place.

Montreal Impact pre-match report:

PRE-GAME REPORT: September 7, 2006

THE IMPACT COULD CLINCH REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP AND VOYAGEURS CUP FRIDAY

Goalkeeper Greg Sutton has registered eight shutouts so far this season.

MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact (14-5-8) is playing, in front of a sell out crowd, its 28th and last game of the regular season, Friday, as the Toronto Lynx (7-12-7) will be the visitors at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex (7:30 pm, CJAD 800, Sport Plus XM-172).

With a win, the Impact would earn its fifth regular-season title and would win the Voyageurs Cup for a fifth straight year, a title awarded by the fans around the league to the top Canadian team in the USL D1.

THE GAME AT A GLANCE

• The Impact is still in first place in USL D1 standings with 50 points, four points ahead of the Rochester Raging Rhinos, which have one more game to play. [[That's an error. Rochester have two matches remaining. — DJT]]

• In Montreal’s last game, on August 31, a goal by midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo (88th) gave the Impact a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers, at PGE Park. With the win, Montreal clinched at least second place in the standings and earned a bye into the semi-final round.

• In the last game between the two teams, the Impact and the Lynx played to a 1-1 tie, on August 23, at Centennial Stadium, in Toronto, even with the fact that the Impact played with a man advantage for the last 60 minutes of the game.

• The Impact has not lost against the Lynx this season (2-0-1).

• Since 1993, the year Toronto joined the league (Lynx, Rockets and Blizzard), the Impact has a lifetime record of 26-12-5 against its Ontario rivals.

• The Impact has not lost in its last 10 games against the Lynx (7-0-3) and is leading 15-4 in goals since the beginning of this stretch.

• This is the fourth and last match-up between the two teams this year. The Impact has not lost in the first three games (2-0-1).

THE OPPONENT

• The Toronto Lynx have done well lately and have recently climbed up to 10th place in USL D1 standings with 28 points.

• Toronto has not lost in its last five games (2-0-3) and has a 7-3-5 record in its last 15 games.

• The Lynx, however, have won only one game on the road so far this season (1-9-3).

• Last year, the Ontario team ended the season last in the standings (3-17-8).

PRE-GAMES COMMENTS

HEAD COACH NICK DE SANTIS

“We are in very good position to pick up the regular-season title. We want to conclude the season at home on a good note. Some players won’t be there so it will give us the chance to try new combinations in preparation for the playoffs. On their side, the Lynx have less pressure and the team has been doing well lately. We’ll have to be careful, Friday, and look to dictate the pace of the game.”

DEFENDER LARS LYSSAND

“It’s a very important game for us. The team confidence is high following our last two wins. We had a good week of preparation and we are ready for this game. We will have two weeks off before the playoffs start, so we want to put in a sharp performance and get a win. We sure don’t want to give Rochester a chance to take first place away from us.”

FORWARD MAURICIO SALLES

“We need the win to clinch first place. We are prepared for a tough game. They are a dangerous team and no game against them this season has been easy. We would like to score goals before going into the playoffs to increase our confidence in front of the net. All the work we have done this season could lead us to a concrete result at the end of Friday’s game.”

OUT OF THE LINE-UP

Team – Player (Position) – Reason – Status

MTL – Antonio Ribeiro (M) – Groin injury – Could be back Friday

MTL – Gabriel Gervais (D) – Light calf injury – Could miss Friday’s game

MTL – Joel Bailey (A) – Light heel injury - Could miss Friday’s game

MTL – Zé Roberto (M) – Fractured right tibia August 25 vs VB – Out for the season

MTL - Jason Di Tullio (D) - Knee injury July 21 @ MIN - Out for the season

MTL – Kirk Wilson (M) – Out for personal reasons

NEXT GAMES

Friday September 22 – Semi-final – Game #1 - To be determined

Sunday September 24 – Semi-final – Game #2 - To be determined

-30-

Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact

Info: 514-328-3668, ext. 27

Toronto Lynx pre-match media release:

TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BIG WEEKEND GUARANTEED FOR LYNX

Toronto heads to Montreal Friday; Hosts Minnesota Sunday on Guaranteed Win Night

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2006[TORONTO, ON] The Toronto Lynx hope to close out their tenth season with a bang this weekend with games against the first-place Montreal Impact and the last-place Minnesota Thunder. The Lynx head into the weekend remaining one of the USL-1's hottest teams, with only three losses in their past sixteen matches [[That's an error. It's 4 losses in the last 16 matches, or 3 losses in the last 15 matches. — DJT]], and carrying a team-record nine game home undefeated streak. The team also climbed into tenth place in the league table with their win over Virginia Beach on Sunday, and can finish as high as seventh in the final standings.

The Lynx will board Via Rail and head east to Montreal on Friday evening for a date with the Montreal Impact to kick off the weekend's action. The match is the fourth of four meetings between the two Canadian rivals with Montreal holding a 2-0-1 edge this season. The result will decide the annual Voyageur's Cup competition for Canadian clubs, and a win by the Lynx will earn the team their first title in the competition which is presented by the Voyageurs, a national organization of Canadian soccer fans. Montreal has won the title in each of the four years it has been awarded, while the Lynx have finished in second place in every year except 2005.

Sunday evening sees the Lynx host their final home game of the 2006 season with an encounter against the Minnesota Thunder. This annual Fan Appreciation Night game, presented by Air Miles, will be a "Guaranteed Win Night" as well, to say thank you to Lynx fans for their support this season and over the last 10 years. Should the Lynx fail to beat the Thunder, all fans in attendance will receive free admission to the 2007 season opener by simply presenting their ticket stub. Fans are reminded that the kick-off time has been moved to 6:00 PM from 4:00 PM.

Commencing at 5:30, the pre-game proceedings will include the tenth annual Toronto Lynx Player Awards, recognizing excellence both on and off the pitch by Lynx players in 2006. The evening will be jam-packed with contests and give-aways courtesy Toronto Lynx sponsors. The first 500 fans through the gate will receive a baseball cap courtesy of Lynx Equipment sponsor, Legea. Air Miles is also providing a grand-prize of 500 Air Miles to be awarded to one lucky fan during the match! As well, four lucky fans will get to take part in the weekly Pro Line Kick For Cash with a chance to win $200!

Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased by calling the Lynx Ticket Hotline at 416-251-4625 x 31 or at the Centennial Park Stadium Box Office two hours prior to kick-off.

ARANGO EARNS USL-1 TEAM OF THE WEEK HONOUR

Andres Arango is the latest Toronto Lynx player honoured by the USL on the league's Team of the Week. The Lynx defender makes his second appearance on the weekly squad as a result of his stand-out play, exemplified last week in the Lynx' 2-1 win over Virginia Beach.

-30-

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

ROB IRWIN, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, TORONTO LYNX SOCCER CLUB

416-251-4625 ext. 23

[DJT]

Halftime: 0-0

[DJT]

After 60 minutes: 0-0

Zagar stopped a Salles PK a few minutes ago.

Attendance: 12,891

[DJT]

Final:

Montreal 0  Toronto 0

That's five out of five Voyageurs Cups for Montreal. And four out of five second-place finishes for Toronto.

The single point makes no difference for the race for the Commissioner's Cup. Montreal lead Rochester by 5 points with no matches left for Montreal and two for Rochester.

There's something about Toronto and Voyageurs Cup matches in Montreal compared to non-Voyageurs Cup matches in Montreal: they are 2W-2D-1L in the former, but 0W-1D-4L in the latter.

Montreal are crawling into the semifinals, with just 3 wins in their last 10 matches going back to the beginning of August and just 8 goals scored over that span.

[Daniel]

Saputo mentioned yesterday that it would be preferable for Voyageurs Cup games to be earlier in the year so that the games wouldn't be "meaningless". I can appreciate this, but it's mostly because the Impact have been so strong and the Lynx so weak and the Whitecaps so flaky since the Cup started.

[Grizzly]

According to the locall CTV sports broadcast last night the Impact were unable to beat the Lynx because they were blinded by their uniforms. Had to work so was unable to go but from the highlights on tv it looked like the Ultras had some flares going.

[Daniel]

New superflares from some members of the kop. Serious damage with the stands, though.