MONTREAL – As part of MLS Decision Day, CF Montréal (11-13-10) shutout New York City FC 2-0 on Saturday evening at Stade Saputo in front of its 17th sellout crowd. With the win, the Bleu-blanc-noir clinched its spot in the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs.
With 43 points, Montreal concluded the 2024 season in 8th place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta United climbed to 9th in the East with a 2-1 win over Orlando City.
CF Montréal will begin its playoffs at Stade Saputo against Atlanta United this Tuesday, October 22 at 7:30pm (MLS Season Pass, BPM Sports, CJAD 800). Tickets will be on sale this Sunday at 10am HERE.
Caden Clark opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a fourth goal in as many games at Stade Saputo.
CF Montréal ended the first half with a bang thanks to a goal from Josef Martínez in stoppage time (45’+1). This was his sixth goal in his last five games and a fourth goal in his last three games on home soil.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois recorded his third consecutive shutout at Stade Saputo (325 without allowing a goal) and his eighth of the season.
GAME SUMMARY **HERE**
GAME NOTES
- Samuel Piette played his 208th game (all competitions). He is now tied with Lloyd Barker (1993-1997, 2001-2004) for 7th in Club history.
- George Campbell reached a career high with his 25th start in a single season. Campbell also played in his 90th MLS game.
- Jonathan Sirois recorded his 11th victory this season.
- Caden Clark played his 3rd multi-point game at Stade Saputo. He tallied four goals and three assists in the last four games.
LAURENT COURTOIS“The guys approached the game like men and we managed to be in the management of emotions, as well as weak and strong times. I found it very effective and I'm happy for the guys because they deserve it. Over the last few weeks, Caden Clark was huge, Josef Martínez was huge, Tom Pearce and Dawid Bugaj helped too but it really was everybody raising their level. The new guys added some fresh blood and of course what Josef did for us in the last few months has been really clutch. We are trying to control what we can control, and whether it's resilience or technical quality and timing, everyone has raised their game lately and it's working out well.”
SAMUEL PIETTE
“It feels really good. We're experiencing great emotions together, with the group, with the fans and with you all, who will continue to follow us. I'm really happy to be able to go in through the front door, finish 8th and have a playoff match at home. If we have the same support we had tonight, and during the 17 sellout games, I think it's looking good. When we scored that first goal, I thought we were really pulling together. The defensive block was top-notch. Yes, we put on less pressure than usual, but you have to give credit to NYCFC who is a very good team and play the ball well. I thought we were super compact and solid. Joel was in the midfield, that's a different position for him, one he's played a few times, but here he played a full match like that. He did a great job.”
JOEL WATERMAN
“It had been a little while since I have been playing as a six. I haven’t done that in five or six years, when I kind of moved to a centre back position. But it went great, anything for the team. I was willing to just run, go get the ball and block whatever threats they had to shut them down. Truly whatever I can do to help the team succeed, I will do it. We remained focused, we were consistent in the lineup, taking care of the small details and you can see how everyone was doing the little things really well. When you put these together, I think you get results and that’s how we ended up in this position tonight.”
