MONTREAL – Saturday afternoon’s contest versus the New England Revolution marks the Montreal Impact’s second-to-last game of the 2014 campaign at Stade Saputo (4pm, RDS, TSN, TSN Radio 690) and as a result, the second-to-last opportunity to see Marco Di Vaio live in action in Montreal.
But for Di Vaio, he’s approaching it as just another game.
“I’m not going to do anything different,” said IMFC’s all-time leading scorer in MLS. “I will prepare like I always do. It won’t be an easy game, but we are going to play in front of our fans and we want to make sure we have a good performance at Stade Saputo.”
For that to happen on the field, the Impact needs only look at its 2-0 shutout win against the Revs back on May 31 here at home for inspiration.
“When we played them here, we were good on the ball and with possession. We stayed compact,” said head coach Frank Klopas, who returns to the Impact bench after serving a one-game suspension. “When we played them there (2-1 loss on September 13), the field was turf and it’s a little smaller. Here our field is a little bit bigger, so our ability to be good in the final third will be a key for us and then defend well as a group.”
And one of the keys will be to neutralize midfielder Lee Nguyen, who leads the league in game-winning goals at half of his 14 on the season.
“Their biggest weapon is Nguyen,” said defender Heath Pearce. “He’s been talked about as a potential MVP candidate and he is their link between the midfield and the attack. Their midfield is strong. We know they are a good team, but we plan to come out and play our game and force them to make adjustments to us.”
Although the bleu-blanc-noir may not have the playoffs to look forward to, there is a Champions League game that the club needs to prepare for, and there’s the chance to play spoiler against a Revolution team that is only four points out of top spot in the Eastern conference and which has won seven of its last eight games.
“As a professional player, your motivation is to win,” added Pearce. “Obviously, our priority has changed in league play and we can only play spoilers, but we do have the last group game left in New York to play for. The Revs are going for first place and we want to spoil that, but being at home, we want to have a good performance. We did well earlier in the year. It’s a familiar opponent and we are going to be prepared.”
Game Notes:
- The Impact has a 4-3-0 lifetime record versus the Revs, including a split of home games so far this season.
- Striker Jack McInerney has scored five career goals in MLS against the Revolution, including three game-winning goals, while playing with Philadelphia. He also recorded one goal and one assist against New England in two games with the Impact.
- Saturday’s game against New England will mark the Impact’s 50th regular season home game since joining MLS, with a record of 26 wins, 14 losses and 9 ties, and the team’s 100th regular season game.
- Midfielders Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé and Issey Nakajima-Farran, as well as defender Karl W. Ouimette, have been selected by the Canadian National Team to play in an international friendly against Colombia on Tuesday at 9:15pm at Red Bull Arena. All three players will miss Saturday’s matchup.
- With a victory, the New England Revolution could clinch a playoff spot.
- Jay Heaps will coach his 100th career game Saturday, all coming with the Revolution. A New England native, Heaps will become the 30th coach in MLS history to lead a team in 100 or more games.
