Montreal Impact vs. Columbus Crew SC | Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals Preview

MONTREAL IMPACT v COLUMBUS CREW SC
Sun., Nov. 1, Stade Saputo (7 p.m. ET; FS1 / FOX Deportes; TSN1/RDS2)

The Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew SC open up their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series on Sunday evening at Stade Saputo, the first playoff meeting between the clubs. The Impact won an MLS Cup Playoffs game for the first time in their history at midweek, rolling to a 3-0 win against Canadian archrivals Toronto FC in the Knockout Round at Stade Saputo. Crew SC begin their quest for MLS Cup after their second-place finish in the Eastern Conference in the regular season,finishing the campaign with an historic five-goal victory against D.C. United. The teams met twice during the regular season -- and the Impact won both, outscoring Crew SC 5-1.

REFEREE: Chris Penso
AR1 (bench): Jeff Muschik; AR2 (opposite): James Conlee
4th: Jose Carlos Rivero

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS: none

LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD: MTL 4 wins, 13 GF ... CLB 6 wins, 15 GF ... Ties 1

2015 HEAD-TO-HEAD: MTL 2 wins, 5 GF … CLB 0 wins, 1 GF … 0 ties
AT STADE SAPUTO:
7/11: MTL 3, CLB 0 (Oduro 5, 80; Donadel 8)

MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: First meeting.

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MONTREAL IMPACT

• The Impact won the first MLS Cup Playoffs game in the club's history, making a second appearance in their four seasons in the league. It was a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions for the Impact, after ending the regular season with a three-game winning streak.
• “We started [the] game with a huge hunger to play our game and win,” said Impact interim head coach Mauro Biello. “After we scored the first goal, we took control of the game. We were able to neutralize Bradley and Cheyrou. That gave us quality going forward and we were able to give them problems after that.” Said Didier Drogba: “It was tough to pull off such a good performance after the game a couple of days ago against the same team. It's always tricky, because that was a league game, and the other team was upset with the result. We were expecting a reaction from Toronto. In the end, we took the game the right way.”
• It was also the fourth time in five meetings in knockout competitions the Impact had ended the season of their arch-rivals from Toronto FC. “We saw in the game we played the other night that we exploited the wide areas. In the second half, as soon as we got the ball wide and our wide guys were isolated 1v1, we created problems. We wanted to create the same thing,” said Biello.
• Patrice Bernier scored the first MLS Cup Playoffs in the Impact's history, sending them on their way early in the match, then later added an assist on the third goal. “Patrice was excellent tonight. I think he had a lot of energy. Tactically he was great, on the ball he was great. He scored a goal and gave an exceptional pass. I was very happy with him,” said Biello.
• Didier Drogba finished off the scoring with a goal in his first MLS Cup Playoffs match. Drogba now has 12 goals in 12 games in all competitions since coming to MLS and the Impact.
• Ignacio Piatti also scored a goal and added an assist. Piatti was involved in each of the Impact's final three goals in the league campaign, with a goal and two assists. “We saw Nacho have an excellent game. I think he's the type of player that really enjoys games like these, to show off his skills when the pressure is on. We saw it in the Champions League, and we saw it again," said Biello. Said Bernier: “When [Piatti] has the ball, you never really know what's going to happen. He creates so much space for himself, for others. He gave me the ball and I had to bury it, to make it count, because you never know when you'll get an opportunity again.”

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COLUMBUS CREW SC

• Crew SC gained a first-round bye after their dominant 5-0 win against D.C. United in the season finale -- which matched the club's largest margin of victory in its history (after 6-1 wins in 1998 and 2001). It was the biggest shutout victory in the club's annals.
• The five goals were the most scored by Crew SC in a league game since a 6-2 win vs. the Chicago Fire in the season finale in 2003. "It was a good performance in a game that we needed to win. We showed up," said Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter. "But I’ve been telling you guys for a month now that the end of the season’s preparing us. We talked about how we’ve had a tough stretch, the games we’ve been playing are preparing us for these types of games, and then you finally get in a game that you have to prove yourselves and we did it."
• Ethan Finlay netted a pair of goals, giving him 12 for the season, a single-season career-high in his fourth MLS season (Finlay scored 11 goals last year). Finlay also had 13 assists; he has 23 goals and 20 assists over the last two seasons (in 63 appearances), after scoring zero goals with zero assists in his first two years (in 34 appearances).
• "It was a little different, how we arranged the midfield, but I liked it. I thought it was really good, and when you talk about symmetry and spacing, it was certainly there," Berhalter said. "... Look at the game Tony Tchani had, and Wil Trapp. When those guys play like that, it’s very difficult to get a hold of them, because you add a guy like Justin [Meram] and then Ethan [Finlay], who can stretch it, and our forward and it becomes tough."
• Jack McInerney scored his sixth goal of the season, his second since coming to Crew SC from the Montreal Impact, and his first since Aug. 22.
• Aaron Schoenfeld scored his first goal of the season in the finale, his first since netting twice on Oct. 19, 2014 vs. the Red Bulls. Schoenfeld has five goals over the last three seasons.
• Michael Parkhurst was credited with an assist, just the second of his MLS career, his first coming Aug. 30, 2008 with the New England Revolution.
• Said Ethan Finlay: "I think the best part about the performance is how many guys we used, whether it was starting or off the bench, they came in and played some huge minutes and played well. It’s playoffs atmosphere and for those guys to just step in and maybe didn’t have many minutes under their belt before, they played tremendous."