While the Montreal Impact’s scoreless tie against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers provided netminder Bill Gaudette with his third clean sheet of the season — in a game that had him not have to make a single save along the way — his success was more than counterbalanced by the Impact’s continuing offensive impotence, an affliction that has plagued the club since its May 1 5-0 rout of FC Edmonton.

Coach Stephen Hart won’t have a lot of time to prepare his Canadian men’s national side for the June 1 friendly against Ecuador and the June 7 kickoff of the Gold Cup schedule. Hart named Canada’s 23-man provisional roster Monday; those players will be available for selection for the June 1 Ecuador match at BMO Field. From that, 20 will …

A 3-0 loss to FC Tampa Bay Saturday showed just how far behind schedule the Impact are when it comes to being ready for Major League Soccer. Other than keeper Bill Gaudette, who made several outstanding saves to keep the scoreline from being more severe, there wasn’t an Impact player on the pitch who looked anywhere close to being what anyone would call an MLS prospect.

In an interview today, Hill told The 11 that he welcomes the CSA or the CSL to call him to help with the inquiry — and that there is no excuse for delays. “Right now, innocent or guilty, there is a dark cloud hanging over Canadian soccer,” said Hill. “A court has identified a game that it considers suspicious. Done. Let’s get the investigation started. I am not talking about making arrests. I’m not saying that someone is guilty or innocent. But the investigation has to start right away.”

As Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps prepared for Wednesday night’s first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship final, they learned who the winner will play in the CONCACAF Champions League qualifier. The draw was held Wednesday for the 2011-12 CCL, and the Canadian championship winner will play a Nicaraguan side, either Real Esteli or Walter Ferreti, for the right to advance to the group stage.

And, while the priority is to stabilize the MISL’s American base, USL will entertain Canadian suitors, president Tim Holt stated in an e-mail to The 11. “While our immediate focus is on ensuring the strength and performance of our current seven member teams going into the 2011-12 season, there is a high level of interest in the MISL from prospective teams in the United States and Canada,” stated Holt.

FC Edmonton Lance Parker was named the NASL’s Defensive Player of the Week Monday. Parker has been a revelation for FC Edmonton since he took over in goal from Rein Baart three matches ago. He has started the last two NASL matches for FC Edmonton and the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship semifinal, allowing just two goals in that stretch, and making a series of highlight-reel saves.

“We always have a good game against this team. I really liked it,” said Barbara, who has scored in every NASL game he’s played in this season and already set the RailHawks record for most goals in a season with nine. “Any game we play against Montreal could go either way. Right now I’m on a streak and everything is happening automatically. I could have got another hat trick today.” Reminded that the Impact is moving on up next season Barbara expressed his interest in doing the same thing. “I came here with the intention of not staying in this league. Although I love playing in Carolina my aim is always to play in a higher league. I hope to make an impact because I want to play in MLS.”

A 2009 Canadian Soccer League match between the Montreal Impact’s reserve team and Toronto Croatia has been linked to a major European match-fixing ring.

But, the Montreal Impact should be the one going through. All Gerba had to do was convert what was a pretty automatic scoring chance in the dying seconds of extra time. But, with Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly at his mercy and no defender in sight, Gerba's header crashed off the post. The Whitecaps escaped with a 2-1 aggregate win; a 1-1 draw on the night.