Oct 05 Finals Bound!

Against all odds and despite questionable officiating, the Montreal Impact are off to the USL Finals.

The 5^th place Impact  advanced to the USL First Division final for the first time since 2004 by beating the 3^rd place Puerto Rico Islanders 2-1 (4-2 on aggregate goals), Sunday, at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamon, in the semifinal round.

Peter Byers put the pressure on the Islanders by scoring at the 2 minute mark and after continued pressure from the home team, the score was tied 1-1 at the 86^th minute with a goal by Josh Hansen,. Before the Islanders could get the all important aggregate tying goal, however, Eduardo Sebrango , who came in to play in replacement of Roberto Brown later in the second half, cemented the win and a spot in the USL finals with his goal in stoppage time.

Matt Jordan set a new team record with seven career wins with the Impact in the playoffs. Jordan, who saved a total of 12 shots, notably stood out in the second half by saving point blank shots from defender John Krause at the 72nd minute and from forward Nicholas Addlery, less than two minutes later.

The Impact were able to maintain their composure and focus despite the hostile atmosphere in Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, the extreme heat and some questionable calls by the officiating staff, especially in the second half, when it appeared as if they wanted to give Puerto Rico every chance to get back into this game..

Hansen’s goal came off a penalty kick where nary a call was to be made. The Impact had a goal called back as offside was called, however, according to the on-air announcers, the call was not accurate. A few other Impact offensive strikes that could have been dangerous never saw their day, again due to marginal offside calls by the official.

Nevertheless, the Impact will advance to an all-Canadian USL D-1 Final against the Vancouver Whitecaps who also just came off a satisfying win against the 1^st place Portland Timbers.

The Whitecaps (7^th place), allow the Impact to enjoy home pitch advantage for the first time in these playoffs, setting the stage for Montreal to potentially win the Championship at home. No one, especially the Impact will be looking that far ahead, as there is no love lost between these two teams.

While the advantage should go to the Impact who have beaten the Caps in all three regular season games, Vancouver did beat Montreal twice in the Nutrilite championship playoffs and the rivalry was escalated when Vancouver hinted that the impact may have thrown their game against Toronto FC, thus eliminating the Whitecaps from advancing to the CONCACAF.

Eduardo Sebrango, who played for Vancouver last season, can conceivably win back to back Championships while having played for both teams. The final round this year will be decided in two games. Details will be determined at a later date.

Read on for the Impact game recap

pic by photos pépé

Tags: Eduardo Sebrango \ finals \ Matt Jordan \ Montreal Impact \ peter byers \ playoffs \ Puerto rico islanders \ Roberto Brown \ semifianls \ USL \ Vancouver Whitecaps