Mission accomplished, as the visitors scored first, allowed the opponents to draw even but, unlike the recent past, hung on to pick up the first MLS road point in team history. The result — a 1-1 draw.

Going into Saturday’s match in Frisco, Tex., FC Dallas had yet to lose a game at home this season while the Montreal Impact was still in search of its first point on the road.

Montreal coach, Jesse Marsch, fielded a reworked starting XI to begin the game against Toronto FC. The decisions paid off as the Impact got off to a good start, grabbed a lead in the early going and held it — despite giving up a goal in the late going — to put its historic first MLS win into the books.

A nearly full house of 58,912 fans, the most to ever turn out for a pro soccer game in Montreal, showed up for the Impact’s MLS home opener at Olympic Stadium, with very few of them returning home disappointed after seeing their team put on a solid performance against the visiting Chicago Fire.

The Montreal Impact held its pre-season open house on Thursday evening in front of about 2,000 of its most devoted fans at a poster-festooned Olympic Stadium, many drawn by the news that 1,000 tickets for Saturday’s opener were to be given away to the first folks turning up.

It took just three minutes and seven seconds for the Renniessance to officially take hold in Vancouver.

Asked to comment on the trade that sent French striker Sebastien Le Toux to Vancouver Montreal coach Jess Marsch said that the Impact had made an offer to the Philadelphia team but that Vancouver had made a better one.

The Montreal Impact has added two veteran presences to the roster, and has created what should be a heck of an interesting competition for the No. 1 keeper’s job.