“Piscu” spent less time in the game than Schallibaum had expected he would. Turfed in the 45th minute for a late, studs-up, tackle from behind on Cordoba, his absence forced Montreal to send in Hassoun Camara and pull Felipe from the midfield as it became a 10-man side for the balance of the match.

“We know that Marco and Felipe have been going through a bit of a rough spell. We were lucky that Marco made the difference tonight with his two goals. Overall, I think that we played very well,” said Schallibaum. “We applied immense pressure on the sides with Justin (Mapp) and Romero. We were very much at ease both offensively and defensively too. D.C. plays an intelligent game and is a tough team to play.”

Challenging to the very end, Montreal’s last attempt came on a set play in the third of four minutes of added time. Romero’s cross sailed into the six-metre box and was met by Matteo Ferrari. The Italian central defender headed it towards the inside of the near post, picking a spot that was defended by five-foot-eight, 146-pound Rolfe rather than Johnson, a six-foot-three, 217-pounder.

“We had to do what was best for our club. We’ve played three games in eight days,” Watson said before mentioning that the lineup Schallibaum sent out came as a bit of a surprise. "We didn’t expect them to field their A-team.”

If Marco Di Vaio and co. are facing the league’s top teams, they don’t lose. And, a stretch of the schedule filled with games against Columbus, FC Dallas, Chivas USA and Toronto FC is more deadly for the Impact than a stretch of games against the top two teams in each conference.

The Swiss defender, although not the only man to contribute to the loss, turned in a performance that will have fans and critics asking why local products Maxim Tissot and Karl Ouimette are not seeing more minutes.

But, the bulk of the Impact supporters in the stands when the team goes on the road Aug. 21 to face CD Heredia will likely be from a little closer to Guatemala City than to La Belle Province.

“It was a happy ending,” offered head coach Marco Schallibaum, who managed to remain on the sidelines for the entire game rather than making an early exit as he has in both games against SKC played earlier in the schedule. “When you change someone to bring on fresh legs and the guy you send on gets the goal, there’s a bit of luck involved. We deserved it because we dominated the second half and managed to defeat the team that, I think, is, at the moment, the best team in MLS.”

The Montreal Impact has announced the signing of “Piscu” — Spanish central defender Adrian Lopez Rodriguez.

“I come to MLS to stay in MLS, not to go back to Europe because I think MLS is going to be amazing and in a few years it will be a top league,” Lopez Rodriguez said. “I’m looking forward to staying here and to belong to that period to become one of the best leagues in the world.”