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Canadian rivals clash as Impact host 'Caps

Jun 2, 2015 - 8:23 PM Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of Canadian rivals will lock horns on Wednesday as the Montreal Impact welcome Vancouver Whitecaps FC to Stade Saputo.

Through the first couple months of the season, the Impact were the darlings of Major League Soccer as they made a run to the CONCACAF Champions League final, but the club has come back to Earth since falling to Mexican side America.

Last time out, the Impact saw their two-match winning streak come to an end with a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park.

Montreal fell behind in the 13th minute to a fantastic strike from Harrison Shipp, who sent a rocket into the upper corner of the net after some good work from Kennedy Igboananike, who won a loose ball and fed the young midfielder.

Marco Donadel picked up a yellow card in the 23rd minute for the Impact, and he received his marching orders after a poor challenge on Matt Polster earned him a second booking in the 38th minute.

The Fire doubled their lead just before halftime when David Accam was brought down inside the penalty area by former Fire defender Bakary Soumare, with Jeff Larentowicz keeping his nerve from the spot to make it 2-0.

Montreal had quite a mountain to climb in the second half down two goals and down a man, and the hosts added a third goal in the 72nd minute when a one- touch pass from Razvan Cocis picked out Igboananike, allowing him to fire home his first MLS goal.

"For sure, we could have done better," Impact head coach Frank Klopas said. "I think there were moments where we turned the ball over a lot in the midfield. We weren't sharp, turned the ball over through our mistakes and they had opportunities in the open field."

Vancouver, meanwhile, snapped a two-match losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake at BC Place.

Gershon Koffie opened the scoring in the 36th minute as a clearance fell to him 30 yards from goal and he unleashed a rocket into the top right corner of the net.

Kendall Waston went close with a header from six yards in the 41st as the hosts tried to extend their lead, but Javier Morales came up with a blockbuster of his own to level the match on the stroke of halftime.

The RSL midfielder lined up a free kick 25 yards from goal and curled his shot around the wall and inside the right post past diving goalkeeper David Ousted.

Nick Rimando saved a shot from Octavio Rivero in a one-on-one situation, yet he was left frustrated in the 79th when defender Elias Vasquez took a ball off his chest and waited to Rimando to claim it, only for Cristian Techera to sneak in and score.

"I thought we were absolutely excellent in the first 45 minutes, said Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson. "When you give away silly free kicks, Morales can score, so I was disappointed, but pleased. It was a good win."