Ding dong, the witch is dead. That’s how FC Edmonton’s players and supporters feel after they broke their jinx against the Montreal Impact, winning 1-0 at Foote Field Sunday on the strength of a Kyle Porter wonder goal.

FC Edmonton midfielder Shaun Saiko hopes that he can appeal the second yellow card he received in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with the NSC Minnesota Stars.

FC Edmonton took advantage of a travel-weary Puerto Rico Islanders side, winning 3-0 Wednesday at Foote Field. FCE simply dominated, outnumbering Puerto Rico midfield and bossing possession. Puerto Rico, which played Sunday night and then had to make the 5,600-km trek from the Caribbean to Edmonton, didn’t look like it could keep up with Edmonton’s pace.

FC Edmonton’s 1-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks was made all the more painful due to a serious injury suffered by keeper Lance Parker. Parker was carried off a stretcher, right arm immobilized, to a waiting ambulance on the sidelines after colliding with Carolina striker Etienne Barbara and falling awkwardly to the hard Foote Field artificial surface.

FC Edmonton coach Harry Sinkgraven will be missing a key part of his regular starting XI when his club heads to Montreal to face the Impact Saturday. Forward Kyle Yamada, who plays on the left side of the 4-3-3, hurt his ankle in the second half of Tuesday’s 4-0 win over FC Tampa Bay. Yamada had scored earlier in the game — and he unintentionally set up Kyle Porter’s opening goal, ringing the initial shot off the post, then seeing Porter tuck the rebound into an empty net.

Chris Kooy had two great chances to get FC Edmonton a last-gasp equalizer in Tampa. After being denied by an outstanding piece of goalkeeping by FC Tampa Bay’s Jeff Attinella with his first chance, Kooy was able to score in injury time, canceling out Chad Burt’s opening goal in a 1-1 draw.

Alex Surprenant’s audacious chip and a last-second diving stop from Rein Baart were the two defining moments of FC Edmonton’s 1-0 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks in NASL action Saturday. FC Edmonton is now 2-0-0 in its first season of Div-2 soccer, and will go for a sweep of its three-game road trip Wednesday when the club visits the Carolina RailHawks.

FC Edmonton wants to prove all the naysayers wrong. The club made an impressive statement Saturday, going on the road and beating the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-1 in their NASL opener. Substitute Dan Antoniuk scored the winner off a scramble in the box. “We’re confident, we’re a little bit cocky,” said midfielder Shaun Saiko, who scored on a 25-yard screamer to draw FCE level in the second half.

Program the PVR. Make sure your Internet connection is fast enough to allow for multiple streams. This weekend marks a landmark in Canadian soccer. Four professional clubs are in action; FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact kick off their NASL campaigns Saturday with road games in Florida. And MLS? Toronto FC visits the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. And the Vancouver Whitecaps head to Texas to take on the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Of the weekend’s action, only Montreal and FC Edmonton overlap.

FC Edmonton wrapped up its Arizona preseason schedule with a 5-0 win over a bunch of trialists looking for work with the PASL expansion club, the Phoenix Monsoon.