The Impact opened the scoring at the 53rd minute when French player Hassoun Camara scored his first goal of the season. Following a corner from midfielder Luke Kreamalmayer, team captain Nevio Pizzolitto took a shot that went to Camara’s feet, standing on the six-yard line. Camara then scored with a low shot to the right of Strikers goalkeeper Matt Glaeser.
Less than two minutes later, Strikers defender Lance Laing scored the tying goal. On the left flank, Laing accepted a pass from midfielder Adam West and took a shot from the corner of the six-yard box, which beat Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush in the upper corner of the net.
For a third consecutive home game, the Impact goalkeeper was named the Setanta Player of the Game, with a total of seven saves. Bush notably made key diving saves against midfielder Brian Shriver at the 25th minute and 68th minute.
"We played with good intensity and with intention, we defended as a block and we recovered a lot of balls, but we were not efficient enough," said Impact head coach Nick De Santis. "We maintained a good intensity during the first 35 minutes, but I am disappointed with our performance in the second half. We put a great effort, but we should have done a better job overall. We still have things to work on, including being more efficient in the offensive zone to create more scoring opportunities.”
“We put a lot of efforts tonight and we opened the scoring at the right time,” said Camara. “Unfortunately, they quickly scored the tying goal and this cost us a lot. We will have the chance to get back on the field this Sunday and it’s up to us to keep our head high and work hard. I think that with the group we currently have, the club has everything to make the playoffs.”
The Impact came close from breaking the tie at the 59th minute when forward Eduardo Sebrango took a shot from inside the 18-yard box, which was stopped by Matt Gleaser, before being kicked out on the goal line by Laing.
In the first half, the Impact also got a few scoring opportunities. At the 3rd minute, forward Mignane Diouf took a point blank shot from 18 meters out that went to the right of the Strikers net. Six minutes later, standing at the penalty spot, midfielder Anthony Le Gall deflected a free kick from Antonio Ribeiro, but the ball went a few inches from the net.
At the 44th minute, forward Eduardo Sebrango deflected with a header a cross from midfielder David Testo, but goalkeeper Matt Glaeser caught the ball diving to his left.
"At the end, I’m satisfied with our game and it felt good to be back on the field," said Impact team captain Nevio Pizzolitto, who played his first game after missing eight games with a hip injury. "We defended well, but the second half was tougher with the fatigue and the speed of play of our opponent. We worked hard offensively all week long and we created enough opportunities to score. We now have to continue working, because we know we can be really dangerous with the mobility we have forward."
The Impact will play its next home game at Saputo Stadium, Sunday, against the Atlanta Silverbacks, at 3:30pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports). Tickets for this game are still available through Admission Network (admission.com / 514-790-1245) or at Saputo Stadium’s ticketing office.
THREE NEXT GAMES
•Sunday, July 17 – Atlanta Silverbacks @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 3:30pm (CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
•Friday, July 22 – IMPACT @ Minnesota Stars – National Sports Center – 8:30pm
(nscminnesota.com)
•Sunday, July 31 – Puerto Rico Islanders @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 2:30pm (Radio-Canada, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990, radio-canada.ca/sports)
GAME SUMMARY
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