Preview: Supporters' Shield quest continues at Montreal

Sporting KC (16-7-6, 54 pts) at Montreal Impact (12-15-3, 39 pts)
Saturday, September 22, 2012 – 12:00 p.m. CT
Stade Saputo | Montreal, Quebec
English TV: KCTV5
Spanish Radio: La Gran D 1340 AM
MLS MatchCenter | Game Notes | Soundbytes | Media Guide
(September 21, 2012) – Sporting Kansas City will take on the Montreal Impact at 12:00 p.m. CT on Saturday at Stade Saputo in the third and final meeting with the expansion side this season. The match will air live on KCTV5, with pre-game coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT, as well as over the air on La Gran D 1340 AM.
Three days after extending the team’s lead to four points atop the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win at New York on Wednesday, Sporting Kansas City continues the road trip with their third game in a nine-day span on Saturday.
The match-up features Sporting Kansas City, unbeaten in the past seven MLS matches, against a Montreal side that has lost two straight after winning their previous five games. The Impact currently sits in seventh place in the East and will need to overcome a seven-point deficit in the playoff race with four games remaining to reach the postseason.
The clubs split the previous two match-ups this season with each team earning a two-goal win on the road. The last meeting, a 3-1 victory for Sporting Kansas City in their first trip to Stade Saputo, was the last time Montreal dropped points at home. The Impact, who are tied for the MLS lead with 10 home victories, have since won six straight at the venue, marking the second longest home winning streak of the year in MLS.
In the midfield, Sporting Kansas City will be without Honduran international Roger Espinoza on Saturday while he serves a one-game suspension for caution accumulation. However, the team’s attack is led by three players in top form late in the season.
Reigning MLS Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong has scored in back-to-back matches and is second on the team with seven goals, behind only Kei Kamara who has set a single-season career high with 11 goals this season. U.S. Men’s National Team newcomer Graham Zusi leads MLS with 14 assists in 2012 and has earned assists in five of his last six games.
Manager Peter Vermes’ squad has been the best team on the road in MLS this season with an 8-4-2 record. The eight road victories are the most in regulation in team history and for the second time this year, Sporting Kansas City has won three straight MLS matches on the road. A fourth consecutive win would set the mark for the longest streak in MLS this season and the three points would see Sporting KC match the team’s 2000 season for the most points in a season in club history.
The visitors lead Major League Soccer with the stingiest defense, allowing only 25 goals in 29 matches this season. Team captain Jimmy Nielsen has played every minute in net and his 0.86 goals against average is on pace to break the club’s single-season record. His 12 shutouts and 16 victories are most among all MLS goalkeepers, and the Denmark native is two wins shy of the all-time MLS record for wins in a season by a goalkeeper.
Montreal is led by Patrice Bernier with nine goals and eight assists this season, making him one of only four players in MLS this year to have eight in both categories along with Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry. Fellow midfield playmaker Felipe Martins has contributed a team-high 10 assists, while Designated Player Marco Di Vaio has scored in four straight matches for Montreal.
The Impact have made three notable moves to bolster their defense since the last time Montreal Manager Jesse Marsch sent out his squad to face Sporting KC in July. Alessandro Nesta, a former Italian World Cup champion and four-time Serie A Defender of the Year, and Dennis Iapichino, a 22-year-old Switzerland native, were added to the roster on July 13. The Impact starting lineup has featured one of those two players in each of the team’s last nine games, in which the club is 6-3-0.
Most recently, Montreal acquired starting goalkeeper Troy Perkins in a trade with the Portland Timbers. The former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year has recorded two shutouts in his first five games for the club, replacing Donovan Ricketts who had earned three clean sheets in 24 starts.
Sporting Kansas City supporters can follow Saturday’s game online via @SKCGameday on Twitter and the MLSSoccer.com MatchCenter, or on mobile devices with Sporting Explore and MLS MatchDay apps.