
Montreal beats New York City FC 1-0 on Victor Loturi's goal to net first home win
MONTREAL (AP) — Victor Loturi scored in the 23rd minute and Montreal won its first home game this season in nine attempts with a 1-0 victory over New York City FC on Saturday night.
Montreal (3-12-5) completed the season sweep over New York (8-7-4) for the first time ever.
Dante Sealy found himself isolated with a defender on the right side of the 18-yard box and he sent in a powerful shot that was spilled to Loturi for a one-touch finish. It was Loturi's first goal for the club.
Montreal had two other good opportunities to double the lead in the second half.
Luca Petrasso was left unmarked in front of the goal following a corner kick, but he was unable to control the bouncing ball. Moments later, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint was denied by a fingertip save from Tomas Romero.
Jonathan Sirois secured his fourth clean sheet of the season.
Montreal will face Inter Miami on July 5 if the Florida side is eliminated from the Club World Cup.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Matt Freese shined in his shootout moment, and the Americans are moving onto the Gold Cup semifinals
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After losing a second-half lead to Costa Rica, this young U.S. side was forced into a shootout with the daunting task of facing goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Matt Freese studied for this. Literally. The late-blooming national team rookie, who made a costly mistake in the previous match, actually conducted an in-depth research project in college at Harvard about penalty kicks. Freese spent the flight to Minneapolis reviewing his findings and examining Costa Rica's tendencies, time well spent that fueled his steely performance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal victory on Sunday night. 'To be able to rely on that type of thing and deal with a lot of statistics and read the game and read their hips, things like that, is massive,' Freese said after making three saves in the six-round shootout won 4-3 by the Americans after a 2-2 tie in regulation. The Americans play Guatemala in the semifinals on Wednesday in St. Louis. If the U.S. can rely on Freese like this moving forward, that too would be an enormous boost. The 26-year-old native of Pennsylvania, who has displaced for now 2022 World Cup and 2023 Gold Cup starter Matt Turner, knocked away shootout attempts by Juan Pablo Vargas, Francisco Calvo and Andy Rojas. Calvo scored on Freese in the 12th minute on a penalty kick. Freese, a little-used backup for Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union before a trade to New York City FC in 2023 jump-started his career, has had little time with the national team for training. His path was only cleared this spring by injuries to Patrick Schulte and Zack Steffen. But new coach Mauricio Pochettino has been determined to push his young players into the deep end during this biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with Freese at the forefront of the experiment. 'I've just got to be ready for whatever game I get, for whatever moment is there for me,' said Freese, who gave up one goal in three group stage matches. 'He's shown a lot of faith in me. That's something I'm really grateful for, and it's my job to repay him and help the team win.' The goal Freese gave up during the group stage was quite a gaffe, a misfired clearing attempt against Haiti that set up the tying goal in a game the U.S. won 2-1. But Pochettino and his staff had no problem sending Freese back to the net for the knockout rounds. 'It's an opportunity to show you can bounce back, an opportunity to learn and quickly move on to the next,' Freese said. Turner played only three club matches in the recently ended season for Crystal Palace, all in the FA Cup and none since March 1. The critical position is wide open for Freese — or anyone — to seize it with the North American World Cup looming next summer. 'I think it's good for Matt, for the rest of the keepers, to see that they can have the possibility and deal with the pressure,' Pochettino said. 'Because you never know what's going to happen in one year. Now is the moment to test or to give the possibility to show that they can deal with that stress and perform.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Pochettino didn't directly answer a question about whether Freese has passed Turner on the depth chart. But the native of Argentina, who began his playing career with the same club that Navas stars for and briefly managed him with Paris Saint-Germain, was clearly pleased by the way his keeper stepped up with one of the best in the world during the dramatic shootout. After each save, Freese told himself he wanted another one. After the third diving stop, he became especially demonstrative — nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield. 'He's done extremely well. He's worked extremely hard,' said Diego Luna, who scored his first international goal for the U.S. in the first half. 'These are the type of moments that we live for.' ___ AP soccer:


Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Whitecaps 1, LAFC 0: Vancouver spoils Olivier Giroud's farewell match
LOS ANGELES — Emmanuel Sabbi scored on Vancouver's only shot on goal, Yohei Takaoka made four saves and the Whitecaps spoiled Olivier Giroud's farewell match with a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles FC on Sunday night. Giroud started and played 60 minutes in his final appearance for LAFC. The famed French forward is expected to sign with Lille after one disappointing year in Los Angeles during which he was largely an unproductive substitute, scoring just five goals in 38 matches. Giroud had a chance to go out with a bang when Denis Bouanga fed him an exceptional cross while he was unmarked deep in Vancouver's penalty area in the 50th minute, but Giroud volleyed it over the bar. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Giroud still left the field to a standing ovation 10 minutes later, but LAFC failed to equalize without him in its first match back from a winless three-game stint at the Club World Cup. LAFC scored one goal in the entire FIFA tournament, but still netted at least $9.5 million for earning the final spot in the field. Back in Los Angeles, its nine-match unbeaten run in league play ended with even more offensive frustration against Vancouver. Takaoka secured his 10th clean sheet for the depleted Whitecaps, who won for just the second time in six matches while falling out of first place in the Western Conference. Vancouver doesn't have key contributors Brian White, Jayden Nelson and Sebastian Berhalter due to Gold Cup international duty. Sabbi scored in the 20th minute with an exceptional effort, starting a counterattack with a midfield steal before controlling Jeevan Badwal's pass in midair on the run and scoring his first goal since April 12. Backup goalkeeper David Ochoa made his first appearance for LAFC in place of Hugo Lloris, who got the day off after playing the entire Club World Cup.


Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Aryna Sabalenka's Wimbledon foe is Carson Branstine, a qualifier from California, Canada and Texas A&M
LONDON (AP) — There are plenty of tennis players who might be daunted by the prospect of making their Grand Slam debut against someone ranked No. 1 and in a big stadium — in this case, Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon's No. 1 Court. Carson Branstine, though, is embracing the circumstances she'll find herself in Monday. Branstine, 24, is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen — she was born in California and represents Canada, where her mother is from — and helped Texas A&M win the 2024 NCAA title. She is ranked just inside the top 200, but made it into the women's bracket at the All England Club by winning three matches in qualifying last week.