MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced on Thursday that former goalkeeper Greg Sutton will be the third Impact alumni to be inducted into the club’s Wall of Fame, joining former teammates Nevio Pizzolitto and Gabriel Gervais. Sutton will be honoured at half-time of the next home game against Minnesota United FC, this Saturday at 7:30pm, at Stade Saputo (TICKETS - TVA Sports, 98,5, TSN 690).
The Wall of Fame is a permanent space at Stade Saputo, on which are inscribed the names of players who have marked the club’s history and who distinguished themselves in an important way during their careers, both with the team and throughout the league.
The players are selected as per the following criteria: a minimum of 100 games with the Impact, has not been with the club for at least five years and played his first game with the club at least 15 years ago. Every year, one or two players will be added to the wall.
Two stints with the Impact
As part of his 14-year professional career, Sutton enjoyed two stints with the Montreal Impact, playing his first six seasons with the club between 2001 and 2006, in the North American second division. He then became the team’s all-time leader in the regular season with 67 career clean sheets, 72 wins, 132 games played and 12,309 minutes played. He was the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year for four straight seasons, from 2003 to 2006, and won the Giuseppe Saputo Trophy as the Impact’s Team MVP in 2003. He was also named League MVP and the Impact’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, after helping the team win its second championship in club history.
Following a loan from the MLS’ New York Red Bulls, Sutton rejoined the Impact for the second half of the 2011 NASL season. He then signed with the club for its inaugural season in MLS in 2012, playing one regular-season game, before retiring at the end of the season.
Sutton was drafted in the second round of the 1999 MLS College Draft by the Chicago Fire. He also played for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Cincinnati Riverhawks (A-League) before signing with the Impact in 2011. He resumed his career in MLS in 2007, playing 34 games in three seasons with Toronto FC before joining the New York Red Bulls on April 27, 2010.
Sutton played 53 career games in MLS, including 50 starts, totalling 4,636 minutes, and has a record of 14 wins, 24 losses and 15 ties. He has also earned 11 clean sheets.
He has represented Canada 16 times with the national team, playing in the 2005, 2007 and 2009 Concacaf Gold Cup. He made his debut on January 18, 2004, in a 1-0 clean sheet win against Barbados.
