MONTREAL – Hassoun Camara scored on a header in the first half Wednesday night as the Montreal Impact edged the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in a CONCACAF Champions League group stage opener.
Camara jumped to redirect Hernan Bernardello's free kick past goalkeeper David Bingham 16 minutes into a rainy game before a crowd of 15,115.
Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush stopped a penalty kick by Alan Gordon in the 11th minute and got the shutout for Montreal, which played its first Champions League game in five years.
The 24 teams in the tournament are divided into eight groups of three, with the winner of each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
Newcomer Bernardello started in his Impact debut and made his presence felt early at both ends of the field. The Argentine midfielder headed clear a ball in the defensive box seven minutes in.
Impact captain Matteo Ferrari headed a shot off the top of the crossbar in the 65th minute on Justin Mapp's centering pass from the right corner.