CF Montreal beats New York City 1-0 to net first home win

By Canadian Press on June 28, 2025.

MONTREAL — It took CF Montreal nine games, but the Major League Soccer squad finally won a home game, beating New York City FC 1-0 on Saturday evening.

Victor Loturi was the lone goal scorer for Montreal (3-12-5), which completed the season sweep over New York (8-7-4) for the first time ever.

Montreal started the game at Stade Saputo on the front foot, looking to progress from the wide areas of the field and break down a resolute New York low block. Dante Sealy on the right wing was particularly potent in the opening stages of play, driving most of Montreal’s attack.

In the 23rd minute, he found himself isolated with a defender and let off a powerful shot that was spilled to Loturi, who made no mistake and scored his first goal for the club. With momentum and the lead, Montreal continued to press for a second goal but to no avail.

New York responded in kind, closing out the half with an attacking stint of its own, forcing Montreal to drop deep and absorb pressure for the first time. They continued the pressure in the second half in search of an equalizer, but a solid and collective Montreal defence was able to withstand the attack and generate attacking threats.

Around the hour mark, Montreal had two golden opportunities to double the lead.

An intricate sequence from a corner kick left Luca Petrasso completely unmarked in front of the goal, but he was unable to control the bouncing ball. Moments later, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint was played through on goal, only to be denied by a fingertip save from Tomas Romero.

As the game continued, New York became increasingly desperate and threw more players forward as Montreal dropped into a defensive shell. However, Montreal saw out the closing stages comfortably, denying any real scoring threat and maintaining its shape until the final whistle.

UP NEXT

New York City: Hosts Toronto FC on Thursday.

Montreal: Will face Inter Miami on July 5 if the Florida side is eliminated from the FIFA Club World Cup. If Miami advances, Montreal’s next game will be the second leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinals against Forge FC.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press