Final – Montreal 2-1 FC Cincinnati

MONTREAL – CF Montréal defeated Cincinnati FC 2-1 in its home opener at Stade Saputo on Saturday night, its 150th MLS regular season victory in its first sellout of the season.

After 45 minutes, in the 26th minute, substitute striker Josef Martinez broke through the visitors' defense just before half-time to finish off Raheem Edwards and Mathieu Choignier.

Yuya Kubo then answered for Cincinnati in the 58th minute. Four minutes later, winger Ariel Lassiter scored his first goal of the season to seal the win.

Montreal next plays next Saturday against Orlando City SC at Stade Saputo (MLS Season Pass, RDS, TSN, BPM Sports, TSN 690).

SUCCESS NOTES:
-Bryce Duke earned his 50th MLS start.
– Joseph Martinez's goal was the fifth goal of the season.
– This is the second time in MLS history that the home opener at Stade Saputo has been sold out.
– Mathieu Chaunier had two assists in an MLS game for the first time in his career.

Laurent Courtois
“I'm really happy with the three points for the fans and the guys tonight after the last three games. I'm proud of what we did tonight because that's how we want to be known. We kept our composure even after Cincinnati equalized. I was nervous that we couldn't replicate the energy of the fans, but it's our “Playing a home game is certainly a factor, but we know what we're going to do during the week. The mysterious end product that we're going to do step by step is what we're looking forward to.”

ARIEL LASSITER
“Everything went well today. I felt comfortable in my position tonight, reading the gaps and allowing Raheem to get up the pitch and find the forwards. My instruction was to find pockets behind the defensive midfielders and center backs. My connection with Joseph dates back to our days in Miami. I know his inclinations. I always try to eat what they give me. I try to adapt my game to their game. The chemistry was positive tonight, which we haven't seen much of in previous games. I hope we can continue in this direction.”

MATTHEW CHOINIER
“Being able to go out in front of the fans and listen to the crowd gives us an extra boost. We wanted to step up and control the pace of the match. Matias Coccaro and Josef Martinez are two great players. We will adapt to them. This week we have focused on what we have to do and that is our opponents and their taking into account their threats, we can neutralize their attacks.”