Photo by Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports
By AARON CRANFORD
Cameron Porter only signed a professional contract in February, but his name will forever be known in Montreal Impact folklore with his last-minute, game-tying goal against Pachuca.
The Impact advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals over Pachuca on the away-goals rule with an aggregate score of 3-3. Montreal are just the third MLS team to advance over a Mexican club in two legs of CCL play.
For a majority of the match, the 21-year-old forward, selected in the third round of the 2015 MLS Draft, was highly unlikely to see playing time, but being down a goal, Klopas sent the rookie on with five minutes remaining plus stoppage time.
Cringeworthy defense from Laurent Ciman allowed Pachuca to take the lead from the penalty spot in the 80th minute, silencing the crowd of more than 30,000 in the Olympic Stadium. But one spectacular run from a rookie and one perfect pass from Calum Mallace saw the MLS club advance.
After 75 minutes of decent defensive play, especially from Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush who made a spectacular reflex save in the 71st minute, things looked bleak.
New Impact signing Ciman was all over German Cano in the penalty area, and when the Pachuca forward went to ground, the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Cano subsequently blasted the penalty past Bush, who dove the correct way, but could not save Cano’s sizzling shot.
The match was tight throughout, and as things wore on both sides got a bit chippy. Overall, five yellow cards were shown, and Justin Mapp will miss the first leg of the semifinal due to yellow card accumulation.
With the clock winding down and the dream of an MLS side advancing far into the CCL fading away, Mallace sent a soaring pass up field toward the direction of the rookie running toward goal. Porter trapped the incoming pass perfectly into his run and shrugged off a defender, leaving him one-on-one with the Pachuca goalkeeper. He coolly slotted the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs and into the net, sending Olympic Stadium into a frenzy.
The Impact will await the winner of Wednesday’s CCL match between D.C. United and L.D. Alajuelense, who hold the 5-2 advantage over the MLS side.
And yet, the SBI Politburo predicts Montreal will finish 10th in the East for the 3rd or 4th year in a row. Go figure.
…I’ll kill the suspense, MLS is a business…
OMG, this picture verifies that Justin Mapp still plays professional soccer?! OMG!
Justin Mapp is only 30… has played professionally for nearly 15 years and has represented his club at the senior level 8 times… show some respect… He is one of the guys that has made MLS what it is… a pretty good league that is growing in respect internationally…
his *country at the senior level 8 times
Easy bro, I know who he is, I watched him several times in Chicago…he might be 30, but appears a lot older. Also, if you figure out what MLS is (or is trying to be) please let others know, including a Mr. Donald Garber, who is in need of this information.
Best part of this piece, “…but his name will forever be known in Montreal Impact folklore”…there are layers of absurdity within it this statement. First, the MI will someday have folklore? Fables and myths passed down from generation to the next? Perhaps, the better chance of a conversation taking place about folklore will be that the MI even existed as a professional club? 🙂
I thought these guys were on strike?…
We need trolls like Joe Below to go on strike.
“layers of absurdity” ??? Joe you are a troll, stick to “Don su cks”
Bravo! To the writer of the article, It painted a picture. Amazing game.
Fun. Fun!
Is the mexican population big in Montreal, or should I ask, which Canadian city has the most Mexicans. I saw flags and the famous chant Mexicans do after the goalkeeper kicks the ball.
From what I know, all the rich mexican kids attend college all over the world but USA and Canada are one of their top choices, just like Europe.
I remember my brother telling me, for some reason a lot of Mexicans go to Montreal for college.
Phenomenal moment…savvy toe poke meg to finish it…dagger to the heart…the keeper collapses…
Well done Montreal…I’m pulling for you.
incroyable!
One sub, Mallace, with the bomb on a dime to the other sub, a rookie in his second game, with a spectacular touch and nutmeg finish in the closing seconds of the elimation match in front of a huge crowd!
Wow, It does not get much better than that!
Wow
If you like soccer and are not watching CCL….go to a shrink ASAP.
Incredible pass, incredible finish, incredible game.
Along the same lines, I was thinking – how many people are NOT watching this? And what a shame. That was as fantastic a pass and finish, in as big a pressure situation, as the game can produce. And the crowd reaction was worthy of the moment.
So cool that so many were rewarded. Big crowd, didnt see the total, but it was big.
38 000 +
+1 Couldn’t agree more. The crowd reaction made me proud to be an MLS fan. Real passion on display up north tonight.
I was there with my daughter, everybody was high-fiving their neighbors in our section, it was crazy, And it lasted until the last player left the field after the game. The party continued on the wait out, in the underground parking everybody was using their car horn.
What channel are these games on now?
FoxSports 2 for this round.
What a great crowd from Montreal. That has to be one of the most attended CCL matches for a MLS side.
Well, pachuca is the youngest team in ligaMX and has a new coach. They were aiming for champions instead of the league since they know they are full of youth. Pachuca thought they would get to the final and play club America , where anything could happen because they know each other good.
Now impact has the chance to make history by making the final and playing club America in Mexico City at azteca, but club America is definitely the favorite to win concacaf champions. Apparently club America are calling themselves the best concacaf team and want to win champions no matter what. Their payroll is crazy and their owner is super loaded and they got the trophies to show it
Buy, If you ask me, Montreal is the perfect team to beat America in the final. Take them to the cold outside or to the concrete turf with a pack house but first Montreal must win the semifinal.
One last thought, we just saw parity-single structure vs free agency open structure. The real test would be club America,
Marsch was one of the coaches at Princeton last year where Cameron scored 15 goals in 17 games. I was surprised the RedBull did not take Porter earlier. It is a little early to anoint him rookie of the year, but Porter is clearly a great pick so late in the draft.
That was a hell of a pass.
That was a hell of a goal.
That was a hell of ending.
That was a hell of a comment. Le french win
Oh Canada?
If its Club America and Montreal in the final, 70k will show up at Olympique stadium
I believe the only team in the tournament that can beat club America is Montreal.
They have the cold weather,concrete turf, and rowdy fans. I say play outside in the cold and make them suffer.
He’s having a nice preseason could be a rookie to look out for.