Thursday, July 2, 1998

By DON BRENNAN -- Ottawa Sun  The Montreal Impact celebrated Canada Day with a six pack.
 After a scoreless first half, the Impact went on a wild binge and downed the Toronto Lynx 6-0 in A-League soccer play on the Keith Harris Stadium pitch at Carleton University.
 A crowd of 2,876 was on hand to witness the first pro soccer game to be played in Ottawa since the Impact beat the Lynx 1-0 last July 1.
 The final, however, was very un-soccer like, as Montreal improved to 10-3 over the now 4-8 Lynx with an eruption of offence akin to a baseball team batting through the order twice in one inning.
 "As soon as the game started we totally dominated," said Montreal midfielder Nick DeSantis.
 "We just weren't finding the back of the net."
 The Impact had 13 shots at goal compared to Toronto's three in the opening 45 minutes and Montreal keeper Paul Shepherd, who saw the ball even less in the second half, would later admit "sometimes my mind wandered."
 But the Impact kept plugging.
 Montreal coach Paul Kitson said there was no shouting, finger-pointing or panic present in the locker room at the half.
 "We just went over a few things and came out with a positive attitude," he said. "I just told them the next scoring opportunity we get is a must.
 "I felt if we got one, they'd come in bunches."
 DeSantis got the one, pouncing on a rebound after Bruno Xavier hit the post and sending it by Toronto keeper Hubert Busby Jr. in the 53rd minute.
 The Impact followed up with goals by Sipho Sibiya, Mauro Biello and Kevin Wilson in a nine-minute span to chase Busby, who could only raise his hands in a 'what could I do?' manner when he approached Toronto coach Peter Pinizzotto on the sidelines.
 Even when Montreal sent subs in for its stars, the onslaught continued.
 Nicola Corneli and Giuliano Oliviero added goals in the 83rd and 86th minutes, respectively.
 All of which made the pro-Montreal crowd quite happy.
 "The guys in the locker room were saying the atmosphere was even better than it is for some of our home games," said Impact midfielder Billy Sedgewick. "We had people come from Montreal, but the people really get into it here. It seemed like they appreciated us."