CHAPTER 1 MAKING AN IMPACT The situation looked bleak for the Montreal Impact It was March 3 2015 The Major League Soccer MLS club was facing Mexican team Pachuca It was the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal A week earlier the teams had tied 2 2 in Mexico That alone was quite an accomplishment for the Impact who are now called Club de Foot CF Montreal Canadian and US clubs have not fared well in the tournament against their more established competition from across the region Only two MLS teams had ever won a Champions League game in Mexico Only four others had managed a draw in 26 tries And only one MLS team had ever beaten a Mexican team in a knockout series in the Champions League Montreal's Ignacio Piatti right and Pachuca's Jorge Hernandez race to the ball 4
Bakary Soumaré 5 and Calum Mallace celebrate the Impact’s late comeback against Pachuca A first-leg draw on the road was a promising result for the Impact However in Montreal for the rematch Pachuca’s Germán Cano converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute That lead stood as the game entered stoppage time The 38,104 fans in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium were desperate for a goal At any moment the referee might blow his whistle to end the game But then Montreal midfielder Calum Mallace took possession in his team’s defensive end 6
He saw 21-year-old Cameron Porter streaking down the left side of the field Mallace lobbed a long ball over the defense Porter managed to stay onside and settled the ball off his chest at a full sprint just outside the penalty area He brushed off a defender and shot the ball between the legs of the Pachuca goalkeeper Olympic Stadium erupted Porter was buried under his ecstatic teammates The Impact had tied the score When the referee ended the game moments later the crowd set off smoke bombs Blue and white flags waved The noise inside the stadium was deafening It was only a 1 1 draw But that was good enough for Montreal to advance The teams had tied 3 3 on aggregate or total goals in their two games However the tiebreaker fell in Montreal’s favor The Impact had scored twice in their game in Mexico and Pachuca had only scored once in Canada Montreal was the winner on away goals ON TO THE FINAL FOUR The victory sent the Impact to the semifinals of the tournament which featured the top clubs in North America Central America and the Caribbean Montreal was only the 7
