Bernier was named Player of the Month based on second-place votes cast by the members of the North American Soccer Reporters. Both he and Seattle Sounder Fredy Montero, who scored six times in August, got eight first-place votes.

Renteria was left wide open in the penalty area to direct Higuain's cross over Impact keeper Troy Perkins in the 92nd minute. And Higuain was given acres of space down the left side in which to engineer a cross, as veteran Alessandro Nesta inexplicably decided to lay off rather than take away the Argentine's space on the wing. It

And, on Wednesday, the team announced that it would be dropping ticket prices for the 2013 season, something owner Joey Saputo hinted at on Twitter the day before. Tickets have dropped 15 per cent on average, while season-ticket holders will get what the Impact is calling a “10 per cent rebate” on 2012 packages.

Local product, Patrice Bernier, had a red-letter day on the pitch, earning Player of the Game notice for his efforts, which included a brace and an assist for a scoring line that he probably hasn’t put up since his days in junior hockey.

Suspensions will force both Montreal Impact coach Jesse Marsch and Whitecaps’ boss Martin Rennie to make some adjustments in the coming weeks.

“A lot of it depends on the stadium because we’re building a stadium in San Jose,” San Jose Eartquakes President Dave Kaval explained. “The stadium here (in Montreal) has been renovated recently so I wanted to sit down with Joey Saputo and with all the team here and discuss with them what they built. There are lessons here for us and our design as we move forward with our construction and so that’s the key reason.”

The Montreal Impact continued its drive toward the playoffs this evening with a decisive 3-1 victory over the league-leading San Jose Earthquakes in front of a sold-out house of 19,441.

FC Edmonton holding midfielder Bryan Arguez dominated the middle of the park in Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders; and, his yeoman’s work has been recognized league-wide.

Whether credit for the 1-0 win should go to midfielder Sanna Nyassi, or the 75-strong group of supporters who made Gillette Stadium sound like Saputo Stadium is a question of debate, but there is no doubt that the Impact stole one tonight as it won its second road game of the year.

“Finally! I'm so happy! Now back with so much enthusiasm to my new adventure with my team the Montreal Impact! Thank you all for the support!” wrote Di Vaio on his official Twitter account Friday morning.