ORLANDO, Florida – The Montreal Impact will face the Houston Dynamo in its third and final game of the group stage of the Disney Pro Classic tournament on Wednesday, 8pm ET, at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex in Orlando. The game will be streamed live on impactmontreal.com.
“It will be a chance for us to once again play under the lights,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “They will probably play most of their first team, so it will be a good challenge for us and help move ourselves along.”
With just 12 days before the team’s inaugural game on March 10, at BC Place in Vancouver (6pm ET), this game may be the last MLS competition for the Impact before its historic first regular season game.
Former Impact member Brian Ching and the Houston Dynamo have a record of 0-1-1 in the tournament and have yet to score a goal, tying Sporting KC 0-0 in its first game, and losing to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 in the second.
“It’s another chance for some guys to get some quality minutes, and for us as a team to challenge for 90 minutes,” said Impact defender Shavar Thomas, who wore captain’s armband in the second game of the tournament. “There was a lot of good stuff to take away from last game and use to work towards our first game to give everything we got on March 10. But for now, we have to be ready to match what Houston’s brings to the pitch. The team’s record speaks for itself. It will be a tough game they are tough to play against.”
“With the type of players we have on this team, we get better every game and every practice,” said Impact 2012 MLS SuperDraft pick Calum Mallace. “We hold each other to a high standard and I love that about this group of guys.”
The Impact has a record of 4-3-6 in preseason action since the start of camp, losing 3-0 to Vancouver in its opening game, and earning a 1-1 draw with Kansas City in its second.
The Impact will also play a 60-minute exhibition game at 10am ET Wednesday morning against the U.S. men’s U20 National Team. Montreal will play its home opener at Olympic Stadium on March 17, against the Chicago Fire, at 2pm.
New trialist
The club also announced that former Italian international forward Bernardo Corradi will join the Impact tomorrow in Orlando for a trial. The 35 year-old striker has scored 50 career goals in 210 games in Serie A, with stints at Lazio, Parma and Udinese as well as one season with Manchester City in the English Premier League. Corradi has represented Italy 13 times internationally in 2003 and 2004.
Season tickets are available online at impactmontreal.com or by calling 514-328-3668 while individual tickets for the five games presented at Olympic Stadium are available through Admission.
