Impact clinch postseason berth with inspired win over New England

The Montreal Impact have clinched a spot in the 2015 MLS playoffs after defeating the New England Revolution 1-0 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.

It was a wonderful strike by Ignacio Piatti in the 55th minute that secured the win for Montreal. Piatti cut through the entire Revolution midfield and wriggled past a pair of defenders before unleashing a looping chipped shot past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.

With the win, Montreal also leapfrogged New England in the standings, and are now tied with D.C. United for fourth in the Eastern Conference with 48 points. They're still six points behind first-place New York Red Bulls, but are just two back of second-place Columbus Crew with one game to play. Columbus qualified for a playoff spot earlier in the day by defeating Toronto FC 2-0.

Montreal will now switch their focus to the final match of the regular season, where seeding for wild card and bye-week spots remain up for grabs. The Impact will host their bitter rivals from Toronto in one final grudge match that will determine exactly where these two teams finish in the East.

No matter where they finish, though, both Montreal and Toronto, along with the Vancouver Whitecaps, can look forward to some playoff soccer in November - the first time that all three Canadian MLS outfits have qualified for the postseason in league history.