Nuke Soccer

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico – The Montreal Impact (7-10-5) started its two-game road trip with a 1-0 loss against the Puerto Rico Islanders (11-5-8), Saturday, at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamon.

The Islanders took the lead at the 37th minute. Following a corner kick from Jonathan Steele, Cristian Arrieta deflected the ball with his head from inside the box, then defender John Krause, scored with a header to the right of goalkeeper Matt Jordan. This was Krause’s second goal against the Impact this season.

“We played a good game and we were superior on the field, but it’s the story of our season, we lose on very costly mistakes,” said Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos. “In a league where such parity prevails, we can find ourselves on one side or the other of the standings. Everything is based on detail. We did not deserve to lose tonight. We did everything we could to obtain the best result. Now we need to turn the page and go for points in Cleveland.”

“We did all the efforts possible tonight and due to one mistake, we lost the game,” mentioned midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo, who played the full 90 minutes of the game. “It’s a shame because we are truly improving but we are not seeing the results. In the first half we played better and on a dead ball they scored. We have to improve our play on dead ball situations and avoid making costly errors.”

The Impact got its best chance to score at the 89th minute. Midfielder Rocco Placentino fired a 25-meter free kick that Gaudette cleared by diving to his right, before forward Roberto Brown dove for the rebound, but his point blank header went just to the left of the goal.

At the 42nd minute, midfielder Joey Gjertsen hit the crossbar with a shot of about 30 meters.

Goalkeeper Matt Jordan was back in nets for the Impact. Jordan, who had not played in the last seven regular season matches since the game in Minnesota, July 11, faced four shots. Jordan notably stood out in stoppage time with two back-to-back saves, following point blank shots from Nicholas Addlery and Jonathan Steele.

The Impact started the game with a 4-4-2 formation with Eduardo Sebrango and Roberto Brown as forwards. This was this first start for midfielder Tony Donatelli, since July 19, and a first start for defender Stefano Pesoli, since August 1.

Midfielder Leighton O’Brien played his first match with the Impact, replacing Joey Gjertsen at the 75th minute of play.

The Montreal Impact has not won in its last five matches against the Islanders (0-4-1). The Impact suffered three losses in as many matches against the Islanders this season.

At home this season, head coach Colin Clarke’s squad only lost once in 12 matches (8-1-3).

The Impact will play its next game Tuesday against the City Stars, in Cleveland (7 pm, USLlive.com). The Impact will play its next home match at Saputo Stadium on Sunday, August 23 against the Austin Aztex (3:30 pm, Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990).

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
9th minute – On a cross from Islanders midfielder Jonathan Steele, who was coming from the left wing, midfielder Noah Delgado took a high shot from inside the box that went above the Impact goal.

15th minute – Joey Gjertsen unleashed a low shot to the far post from near the box that Bill Gaudette saved by boxing out the ball with a dive to his right.

28th minute – Islanders midfielder Marcelin James took a low shot from just outside the box that Matt Jordan caught, while kneeling to the ground.

77th minute – From the edge of the box, midfielder Ciaran O’Brien took a shot but Bill Gaudette leapt forward from his goal to make the save.

NEXT GAMES
• Tuesday, August 18 – @ Cleveland – Middlefield Cheese Stadium -7 pm (USLlive.com)
• Sunday, August 23 – @ IMPACT – Saputo Stadium – 3:30 pm (Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990)
• Sunday, August 30 – vs Carolina – Saputo Stadium – 3:30 pm (Radio-Canada, FSW, CKAC Sports, THE TEAM 990)

GAME SUMMARY