MONTREAL IMPACT 2006 PREVIEW

LAST SEASON:

2005 results:	18-7-3; 61 points; +22 diff; 1^st place; lost in playoff semifinal
RD's 2005 prediction:	22-3-3, 1^st place

Last year’s club had a dream season, owning first place wire-to-wire; allowing a ridiculously-low 15 goals for the second straight season; and finally wrestling the attendance crown away from Rochester. But all anyone remembers is the Impact allowing the eventual champions from Seattle to score four goals against their usually stingy defense in the two-leg playoff semifinals, eliminating the 2004 titlists with an unceremonious but still surprising whimper. With the Rhinos’ PAETECH Park up and running, Montreal doesn’t stand much of a chance in the attendance race, but how will they fare on the pitch?

Leduc

Pizzolitto

Sutton

Antoniuk

Salles

Wilson

Seacrest, Out:

F Eduardo Sebrango (4+0=8)

F Charles Gbeke (2+2=6)

M David DiPlacido; 704 minutes; 9 starts

D Adrian Cann; 796 minutes; 9 starts

GK Andrew Olivieri; 0.750 GAA; 1 SO in four starts

Back in the Fold

F Mauro Biello (9+3=21); MVP runner-up

M Zé Roberto (1+4=6)

M Antonio Ribeiro (2+2=6)

M Patrick Leduc (0+3=3); one TOW

D Gabriel Gervais (2+0=4); All-League First Team

D Mauricio Vincello (2+3=7); three TOWs

D Nevio Pizzolitto (1+2=4); All-League 2^nd Team

GK Greg Sutton; Goalkeeper of the Year

Fresh Meat

F Maurico Salles; from Puerto Rico

F Dan “Dizzy” Antoniuk; from Portland

M Kirk Wilson; from Rochester

Cann

Olivieri

Sebrango

THE LOWDOWN:

The question posed above was totally rhetorical, by the way. Only eight players in USL D1 tallied more than 20 points in 2005. Montreal had one of them (Biello), but they’ve added three more in Salles (14+1=29), Antoniuk (13+2=28), and Wilson (9+5=23). Even if the Impact weren’t the best team in the league last season, this development should give fans of every other team nightmares (or, minimally, a near-fatal case of Jimmy Legs). Just as a point of reference, this would be like FC Dallas keeping Eddie Johnson, and also adding Pat Noonan, Brian Ching, and Jaime Moreno. Not running away with everything will be a shock and a disappointment for the organization. And a big excuse for fans of every other team to point and laugh. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen. Also, dig that photo of Sutton ready to take it in the seat (yeah, you heard us, you gork).