01-15-2020, 09:18 AM
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Impact wasted no time cooling off the hottest team in Major League Soccer. Tony Gonzalez Super Bowl Jersey . Montreal needed just three minutes to score the winner against a streaking New England club, shutting out the Revolution 2-0 on Saturday night at Saputo Stadium. New England (7-4-2) came to Montreal riding a five-game winning streak, their longest such run in nearly a decade. The team was unbeaten in its last seven contests atop the Eastern Conference standings. But with fans still trickling in to their seats after the opening whistle, midfielder Andres Romero scored the Impacts quickest goal of the season in the third minute to give last-place Montreal (2-6-4) a surprise lead. Romero took a long through ball from striker Marco Di Vaio and moved in all alone on goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. With Revolution defenders requesting an offside call on the play, Romero held onto the ball several seconds before beating the keeper for his career-high third goal of the season. "We came out, we dominated, and we did exactly what we wanted to do," said Jack McInerney, who played up front with Di Vaio in a seldom seen two-striker formation. Montreal followed the early goal with sustained pressure. Its emphasis on the long ball created several goal-scoring opportunities in the first half hour. "We had a stronger start than they did," said defender Wandrille Lefevre. "That made a world of difference. We controlled the ball and it allowed us to ease into the game." Many of the Impacts scoring chances fell to Di Vaio, who couldnt find the back of the net despite taking four shots on target in the first half. Di Vaio came close in the 17th minute when his strike from outside the 18-yard box missed the net by inches. A minute later, Di Vaios volley from close range was stopped by Shuttleworth. In the 26th minute, the Italian striker moved in alone on goal, but tripped and fell. The Impact took eight shots on target in the first half to New Englands one. "You have to credit the other team because they came flying," said Revolution coach Jay Heaps. "In this league, you cant give a team anything. We gave quite a bit to Montreal, and they took it. Montreal did an excellent job of taking advantage of our slow start and they were ready." Frank Klopas men doubled their lead in the 31st minute after an impressive individual effort by newcomer Issey Nakajima-Farran, who made his Saputo Stadium debut after being acquired from Toronto FC two weeks ago. The left-winger cut into the middle of the pitch and fired a powerful strike at Shuttleworth, who bobbled the ball. McInerney pounced on the rebound from the edge of the six-yard box for his fifth goal against New England in 10 career appearances. Although he wasnt credited with an assist on the goal, Nakajima-Farran was instrumental on the play for the Impact. "It just clicks," said Nakajima-Farran, who played at the club level in Denmark, Australia, and Cyprus before making the move to Major League Soccer. "Everybody is playing simple, and the ball is zipping around. I feel conformable, and the guys know my movement too. Its been a very easy transition." Coming into this one with just one win on the season, seven points from 11 games, and a league-worst goal differential, the Impacts stingy defending settled a hot team that had scored 12 goals in its last three games. The Revolution couldnt generate much offence on Saturday despite controlling the ball for long stretches. Rookie forward Patrick Mullins, who entered the game with a goal in four consecutive contests, an MLS record for a rookie, was limited to just one shot on target. And 19-year-old Diego Fagundez, who scored four times on New Englands winning streak, did not challenge goalie Troy Perkins once. "It wasnt our best stuff," said Heaps, whose Revs still top the Eastern Conference despite the loss. "It was one of those nights where every pass was a little bit off. It didnt have the same zip to it. To break a team down, you have to have things go your way a little bit. You have to credit a team when they do a good job." At the other end of the table, the win keeps Montreal at the bottom of the standings, but the team is now only six points out of a playoff spot. "The first couple of games of the season didnt show the kind of talent we have on this team, and what we can do," said McInerney. "If we want to get back into the picture, we need to be consistent." The Impact now turn their attention to a mid-week battle versus Toronto FC on Wednesday for the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship final. The winner advances to the CONCACAF Champions League. Notes: The attendance at Saputo Stadium was 18,060. a The Revolution have now been shutout five times this season. a New England lost its first-ever game at Saputo Stadium (2-1-0). a The Impact and Revolution will face off twice more this season. Kendall Fuller Super Bowl Jersey .com) - Robert Upshaw made a putback jumper to put 17th-ranked Washington ahead with 1:27 remaining in the game and the Huskies held on to beat Eastern Washington 81-77 on Sunday. Len Dawson Super Bowl Jersey . Top-seeded Djokovic swept to a 6-1, 6-3 win over 51st-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in just 57 minutes, but fourth-seeded Federer had to see off a serious challenge from 48th-ranked Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic before coming through 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Antho...fs-jersey/ . -- Scottie Wilbekin sat on the bench for the final minute, holding a bag of ice against his left knee.ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright held the hug with catcher Yadier Molina a few extra seconds, soaking in his latest pressure-packed performance for the St. Louis Cardinals. "Ive got to put it right up there with the most fun and one of the greatest moments of my career so far," Wainwright said. "Those are the kind of moments that starting pitchers live for. I almost didnt want to let go of Yadier." Wainwright went all the way on the mound Wednesday night, pitching the Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 and into the NL championship series for the third straight season. David Freese and Matt Adams each hit a two-run homer, and Wainwright scattered eight hits for his second dominant win of the division series. "I wanted it bad. Its probably the most nervous Ive ever been," Wainwright said. "I dont get a whole lot of nerves when I pitch. Before I pitched today, I was pretty nervous." For three years now, nobody is better than the Cardinals when they cant afford to lose. And after coming through again in a winner-take-all Game 5, St. Louis gets to stay at home to open the NLCS against the well-rested Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. By ending Pittsburghs storybook season, the Cardinals improved to 8-1 when facing post-season elimination the past three years. They also won Game 5 of the NL division series in Washington last year -- even though Wainwright got rocked -- and at Philadelphia in 2011. "Well take him on the mound any day, especially in a big situation," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "I love the fact that everybody kept asking him about Game 5 last year because I knew that was just bringing even more to the table, if you could even do that." Freese homered in the second inning off rookie Gerrit Cole, and Adams connected in the eighth against reliever Mark Melancon to make it 5-1. Pete Kozma added an RBI infield single, and Wainwright finished it off by striking out Pedro Alvarez with two on. "Im just so fired up for this team and this city right now," Wainwright said. "Cardinal fans were rockin today." Alvarez became the first major league player with an RBI in his first six post-season games on a fluke hit that caromed off first base in the seventh. But the Pirates, who stopped a record streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons this year, were held to one run in each of the final two games of their first playoff appearance since 1992. "We were able to take a huge step forward this year in restoring the pride and the passion of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization," manager Clint Hurdle said, "and rebonding our city with a ball team." Despite their charming turnaround and a victory over Cincinnati in the NL wild-card game, the Pirates havent won a post-season series since the 1979 World Series. Wainwright was helped by three double plays -- two when Pirates runners strayed too far on line drives. The right-hander struck out six and walked one in a 107-pitch complete game. "Every time we turned around, Wainwright got in the way tonight," Hurdle said. "The at-bats were better, the approach got better, but he kept making pitches."t; Sidelined with an arm injury when the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series, Wainwright threw seven innings of three-hit ball to beat Pittsburgh 9-1 in the series opener. Daniel Sorensen Super Bowl Jersey. He is 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and four saves in 15 career post-season games, including six starts. He even helped the Cardinals to a championship as a rookie closer in 2006. But still, Game 5 last season against the Nationals was fresh in his mind. "Its hard not to think back about what happened in Game 5 last year. I just wanted to prove I could go out there and be a good playoff pitcher," Wainwright said. The 23-year-old Cole beat the Cardinals with an impressive effort in Game 2. They got to him early this time even though his fastball hit 100 mph in the first inning against Matt Holliday. Freese made the kid pay for a full-count walk to Jon Jay with two outs in the second, lining a 1-2 pitch into the visitors bullpen in left. Cole gave up just three hits over five innings, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. Jay made it 3-0 in the bottom half with a two-out RBI single off Justin Wilson. Freese struggled this season to overcome a back injury in spring training and had nine homers and 60 RBIs. But just like teammate Carlos Beltran, hes an October star with seven homers, 29 RBIs and a .325 average in 36 career post-season games. Adams power hitting helped the Cardinals overcame a mid-foot sprain to cleanup man Allen Craig in early September. And on this night, Adams hammered a first-pitch fastball from Melancon well over the right-field wall for his first RBIs of the series. The Pirates scratched out their lone run on two infield hits and the single by Alvarez that looked to be a harmless inning-ending groundout before it hit the bag. Freese was a hometown hero in 2011, both the NLCS and World Series MVP. He singlehandedly got the Cardinals to Game 7 of that World Series against Texas with a two-run triple with two outs and two strikes in the ninth and then ended Game 6 with a leadoff homer in the 11th. "Hes a stud. Hes a big-time player at big-time moments," Wainwright said. "And thats what we expect of him and thats what he continues to deliver." At 23 years, 31 days, Cole was the youngest NL pitcher to start Game 5 of a division series and the fifth-youngest NL pitcher to start a winner-take-all post-season game, according to STATS. Counting the post-season, Cole didnt allow a homer in six straight starts. That ended when Freese connected for a 2-0 lead in the second. Neil Walker drew a one-out walk in the first from Wainwright, who issued just 35 free passes during the regular season and none in Game 1. Walker went no further. After a leadoff single by Marlon Byrd in the second, Matt Carpenter was perfectly positioned at second base to snare Alvarezs liner and flip to first for a double play. NOTES: Lou Brock, clad in a red sport coat worn by all the Cardinals Hall of Famers, bounced the ceremonial first pitch, with pitcher Joe Kelly making a nice scoop. ... Josh Young, in town for the musical Evita, sang the national anthem. ... It was the 24th meeting between the teams this season, with each team winning 12 times. ' ' '