July 11, 2006 USL Montreal Impact vs Toronto Lynx (from Montreal Gazette)

Record crowd takes in Salles show
Impact 2, Lynx 0; Striker scores twice in 13-minute span before 13,367 fans

RANDY PHILLIPS, The Gazette
Published: Wednesday, July 12, 2006
It is said timing is everything, and it couldn't have been better for Mauricio Salles last night.

The rangy Brazilian striker came off the bench to score two goals during a 13-minute span in the second half as the Impact blanked the hapless Toronto Lynx before a franchise record regular-season crowd of 13,367 at Claude Robillard Stadium.

Salles, who entered the game in the 60th minute, scored his fourth goal of the season in the 62nd and added his fifth in the 75th as Montreal finally found some real offensive punch for the first time in five games.

The Impact, 7-1-5 and riding a 10-game unbeaten streak, moved into a tie for first place with the idle Vancouver Whitecaps. Each club has 26 points, but Montreal has played five fewer games than the Whitecaps, who host the Impact Sunday.

"I just tried to do what the coach asked me to do," said Salles, who hadn't scored since his decisive goal in a 1-0 win over his former team, Puerto Rico, on June 4 and wasn't even dressed in the team's 1-1 draw with Vancouver here last Friday.

"He wanted me to play behind (fellow striker Daniel Antoniuk) and just try to get the ball from far out and shoot," Salles said. "He knows I have the qualities to do this and that's what I tried to do."

Salles didn't play against Vancouver because he wasn't among the five foreign players that head coach Nick De Santis dressed. Last night, he scored so soon after after replacing starting forward Joel Bailey he couldn't remember if the goal came on his first touch of the ball.

He converted a pass from Argentine midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo, who had substituted for Kirk Wilson in the 53rd, by beating Toronto goalkeeper Theo Zagar with a high-looping, left-footed shot from more than 25 yards away and to the left of the Lynx 'keeper.

"I don't know if it was one of the most beautiful goals I have scored, but I'm very happy it helped the team win," Salles said. "We are in first place where we belong."

Salles notched his second of the game on a nifty cross from the right wing by team captain Mauro Biello.

It was the first time the Impact scored more than one goal in a game since a 4-1 win over Atlanta on June 14 - a timely display of offence with the club set for a trip to the West Coast, where it will play the Sounders in Seattle Saturday and the Whitecaps Sunday before concluding the three-game road trip in Minnesota July 21.

De Santis credited players, Salles and Di Lorenzo especially, who came off the bench for making the difference and downplayed any suggestion of genius on his part.

"We always go with players we feel can help us during the game," De Santis said. "Sometimes there are players who I think will do well in the game. We'll keep them on the bench and once the game opens up, maybe we can throw them in.

"Mauricio knew that we are expecting a lot from him and this was a good night for him,"

De Santis said. "I'm happy for him. I'm proud of him and hopefully, this will bring him a lot of confidence."

Andrew Weber made his seventh consecutive start in goal for the Impact and made five saves to record his fifth shutout since taking over for injured all-star 'keeper Greg Sutton.

The Impact, 7-0-2 in its last nine games against the Lynx, outshot the last-place team in the league 16-7.

Record attendance: Last night's crowd topped the previous high - 12,952 on Aug. 26 last year against Virginia Beach - for a regular-season game.

The all-time record is 13,648 for the Impact's 2-0 win over Seattle in the league championship Sept. 23, 2004.

Pizzolitto nears milestone: Defender Nevio Pizzolitto played his 198th game last night and with this weekend's games on the West Coast, will join forward Biello and former player De Santis as the only players to reach the 200-game plateau in franchise history.

rphillips@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006

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