Leonardo Di Lorenzo's 88th minute goal helped the Montreal Impact steal a 1-0 road win over the Portland Timbers Thursday night and strengthen the club's lead atop the USL first division standings.

Goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who faced five shots, registered his eighth shutout of the season.

``It was a hard fought match and there weren't too many scoring chances'', said Impact head coach Nick De Santis in a statement. ``We congested the midfield and kept fighting. The guys really believed they could get a win. David (Fronimadis) served a beautiful ball to set up the game-winning goal.''

With the win, the 14-5-8 Impact clinch at least second place in the standings and earn a bye into the semifinal round.

``It's great to get a bye,'' De Santis added. ``It's another year that we make it to at least the semi-finals. We're definitely in a good position and it's all about attaining objectives. Now that we are qualified, we also want to finish the season on a good note, at home next week, and clinch first place overall.''

The Rochester Raging Rhinos, which trail the Impact by 10 points, must win their last four games to pass the Impact.

The game also included a couple of milestones. Captain Mauro Biello surpassed the 25,000 minutes-played mark in his USL first division career, while midfielder Patrick Leduc became the eighth player in Impact history to play 10,000 minutes.

The Impact next and final game of the season is on Sept. 8 at home against the Toronto Lynx.