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Impact advance to CONCACAF Champions League semifinals thanks to dramatic stoppage time goal

You had to see it to believe it. Down 1-0 to Pachuca and on the brink of elimination, the Montreal Impact got a goal from Cameron Porter right at the bitter end of stoppage time that tied Tuesday night's game 1-1 and booked the Impact's place in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.

On top of being a huge goal for his team, it was Porter's first career professional marker.

From the Canadian Press:

"Sheer ecstasy," was how beaming Porter described the feeling. "I didn't even know how to celebrate so I just started running, basically. And everyone piles on top of you and you find it hard to breathe."

Montreal's chance to progress looked slim after defender Laurent Ciman gave up a penalty in the 80th minute and German Cano converted from the spot to put Pachuca up 1-0. The Impact pushed for a tying goal and saw their dream come true when Porter was able to get on the end of a long ball from Callum Mallace and score four minutes into added time, just seconds before the final whistle.

A week ago Montreal came away with a 2-2 draw in the first leg against Pachuca in Mexico, putting them in position to move on with a 0-0 or 1-1 draw because of the away goals rule. They become the first Canadian team to make it past the CCL quarters and just the third MLS team to beat a Mexican league team in a two-game series.

The Impact will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between D.C. United and Costa Rican side Alajuelense. The second leg goes Wednesday from RFK Stadium in D.C. with Alajuelense holding a 5-2 aggregate advantage.

With Montreal's spot in the CCL semis now secured, the attention turns to the current labour dispute between MLS players and owners. The regular season is set to start on Friday, but there isn't a collective bargaining agreement in place and a work stoppage looms.

Canada's three MLS teams aren't scheduled to play until Saturday. The Impact are slated to begin on the road at D.C. United while Toronto FC is supposed to make the trip to Vancouver to face the Whitecaps.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter.