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MONTREAL - That Wandrille Lefevre and Maxim Tissot played a hand in the Montreal Impacts 2-2 draw at Chicago last week was not big news around Major League Soccer. But it was significant for Montreal, as both are graduates of the Impact Academy, which was set up in 2010 to develop mainly local talent for the pro team. Lefevre, and possibly Tissot, may see more action in Houston tonight when the third-place Impact (13-9-7) take on the fourth-place Dynamo (12-10-8) in a key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race. "Weve always had a good pool of players in Quebec," assistant coach Mauro Biello said Thursday. "Now that we have the academy, we can mould them the way we want. "Itll be an advantage to us. I think well see the results over the next five to seven years." Against Chicago, Lefevre had a strong game replacing injured central defender Alessandro Nesta. Tissot substituted for Andrew Wenger in the midfield in the 67th minute. Twenty minutes later, he headed in the equalizer. The 23-year-old Lefevre, a native of France who moved to Montreal as a teenager, and 21-year-old Tissot, of Gatineau, Que., are among five academy graduates to sign with the MLS team. The others are defender Karl Ouimette of Repentigny, Que., Morocco native Zakaria Messoudi of Montreal and goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau of Greenfield Park, Que. Tissot has appeared in three MLS games and has a goal and an assist, both in matches against Chicago. Lefevre has played two. "Tissot had a very good training camp but then got injured," said Biello. "He came back and started a game against Salt Lake, but then broke a toe. "Hes shown good things. Hes got his rhythm back. He had a solid game against C.D. Heredia (in the CONCACAF Champions League) and then he got into the game in Chicago and scored. "Lefevres a little older. He had a solid game against Chicago." Before they joined MLS last season, the Impact were a power in various leagues for most of the previous 18 seasons, always with a strong core of local players. Some now coach or manage the club, including Biello, sporting director Nick De Santis, director of soccer operations Matt Jordan, team manager Adam Braz and academy coaches Jason DiTullio and Simon Gatti. But the calibre of play is higher in MLS, and the Impact have imported most of their starters from Europe and South America, plus Americans like goalie Troy Perkins, fullback Jeb Brovsky and midfielder Justin Mapp. The only local in the starting 11 is 34-year-old Patrice Bernier. The midfielder from Brossard, Que., began his pro career with the Impact in the A-League from 2000 to 2002, played nine seasons in Europe and returned when the club entered MLS in 2012. They hope to produce more and get back to that local flavour under Impact assistant coach Philippe Eullaffroy, the Frenchman who has been director of the academy since its inception. His work is beginning to pay off. "Were very happy with the progress of our young players," said Biello. The 37-year-old Nesta, nursing a groin injury, and midfielder Hernan Bernardello, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, did not make the trip to Houston. Bernardello has resumed practising with the team and may be ready for a home game next week against New England. Coach Marco Schallibaum keeps his starting 11 secret, but it is likely that Lefevre will be back in Nestas spot, with Tissot on the bench. Midfielder Felipe Martins will return after serving a one-game suspension for accumulating five yellow cards, which will bump a player, likely Wenger, from the formation. The Impact beat Houston twice at home this season 2-0 and 5-0, but they expect a tougher match at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo have found their legs of late, with two wins and a draw in their last three games. "As a coach, when you get beat by a team by zero, thats always the first reminder," said Biello. "Theyll be ready to make amends. "We expect a playoff-type game." Marco Di Vaio, the MLS leader with 19 goals, has three against Houston this season. Felipe has two goals and a pair of assists. The Dynamo are starting a run of three home games against the best of the Eastern Conference and hope to use that to nail down a playoff position. After Montreal, striker Will Bruin and his Houston teammates will face second-place Kansas City and first-place New York. Montreal, which has a win and two draws in its last three road games, holds a two-point lead on Houston with a game in hand. The Impact have five games left to play in the regular season, only two of them at home. "This is a good opportunity for us," Dynamo captain Brad Davis told the clubs website. "This Friday is the most important one. "We can jump Montreal in the standings and, hopefully, give ourselves room." Notes _ The game was to have aired in French on TVA Sport, but was bumped by an Ottawa Senators hockey game to RDSinfo, which normally runs sports news in a 30-minute loop. . . The Impact opened its new FieldTurf practice pitch next to Saputo Stadium this week. The field will also be used by the academy and some neighborhood teams, and will be home field for the University of Quebec at Montreal varsity squad. Michael Strahan Youth Jersey . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Saquon Barkley Youth Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/customized.html . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Lawrence Taylor Youth Jersey .S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon. Dexter Lawrence Giants Jersey . Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday.SAN FRANCISCO -- Two key players are finding their way for the San Francisco Giants. Pablo Sandoval homered for the first time in more than a month and Ryan Vogelsong won for just the second time in nine starts, leading the San Francisco Giants past the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Sunday to salvage a split of their four-game series. Manager Bruce Bochy never doubted these two would get on track. "Theyre two guys we need to have success," Bochy said, "Vogey being a starter and Pablo hitting in the heart of the order." Buster Posey returned from a day off to hit a sacrifice fly, while Tyler Colvin and Brandon Hicks each hit RBI singles in a stretch of four straight base hits with two outs in the first against Jacob Turner. Staked to an early lead, Vogelsong (2-2) struck out six in seven innings as the Giants concluded a season-long stretch with 17 games in as many days. San Francisco avoided its first three-game home losing streak. Turner (0-2) is still searching for his first road win, falling to 0-11 in 18 career road starts. "All I can do is go out and give it everything I have," he said. "Wins, losses, those are things I cant control." Sandoval connected for his third home run with two outs in the fifth, his first since April 13 against the Rockies. He has struggled so far in a contract year. Christian Yelichs RBI groundout off Jeremy Affeldt in the eighth accounted for Miamis run. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 15th save. A day after San Francisco was shut out 5-0 -- its second shutout in five games -- and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine, the Giants jumped on Turner right away. The right-hander hit Gregor Blanco to begin the bottom of the first and Blanco stole second, then Poseys sacrifice fly two batters later put the Giants on the board. Eight of San Franciscos 15 runs in the series came with two outs. Vogelsong did his part, and got some help from the defence with a double play and caught stealing. The pitcher also had his third hit of the year with a second-inning single. Vogelsong allowed five hits, struck out at least six for the third tiime in four May outings, and walked one for his second win of the season.dddddddddddd His other victory came May 3 at Atlanta -- and the right-hander stayed optimistic. "You have to believe that youre going to turn it around and get it going," Vogelsong said. "Thats what my hope was. You have to believe that. If you dont, youre behind the 8-ball to begin with. ... Ive read some of the stuff he was saying about Pablo and other people and a lot of it was mental, and its true. "First of all, you have to stop digging a hole, to get out of it. Second of all you have to believe that you can do it. When they believe in you, too, that goes a long way. That helps a lot." Sandoval has raised his batting average to .220 by hitting .389 during a nine-game hitting streak. Both teams ended grueling May stretches, and Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton didnt play until late. The Marlins wrapped up their season-long 11-game road trip out West with just their third loss in the past 15 meetings at AT&T Park, where Miami has its best road record since 2011. The club heads home to put its 17-5 record at Marlins Park on the line against the Phillies. Giants centre fielder Angel Pagan had an MRI on his bruised left shoulder that showed a sprained AC joint, which he hurt trying for a diving catch Saturday. The hope is after sitting out Sunday coupled with Mondays day off he could be ready to play Tuesday at Colorado. "Im not really concerned," Pagan said. "Two days off will be good for me." Injured Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro will have a platelet-rich plasma injection Monday in Miami. NOTES: San Francisco RHP Tim Hudson threw at a higher intensity off flat ground as he nurses a strained left hip that forced him to miss his Friday start. He will have a bullpen session Tuesday ahead of his scheduled start Thursday at Coors Field. ... Giants RF Hunter Pence became the active leader in games played when Texas slugger Prince Fielder sat out Saturday to have his streak end at 547. Pence has appeared in 351 straight games with 216 consecutive starts. He leads the majors in innings played with 409 2-3. ' ' '