New England Revolution win thanks to Lee Nguyen

FOXBOROUGH – The ball appeared to be stuck to Lee Nguyen’s laces with every touch. And then it dropped to his feet in the middle of the box, as if fate had blown a gust of wind to deliver a momentum-changing goal for the well-traveled, oft-doubted midfielder with a smaller frame than that of Dustin Pedroia.

Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the team that released him in early March, was Nguyen’s night, and it would be hard to argue that he didn’t deserve it. Nguyen scored his first two MLS goals, one gift-wrapped and one that could be in the running for league goal of the year, as the Revolution stomped Vancouver, 4-1, at Gillette Stadium.

“Anyone who’s ever been let go from their team, they want to show that [the team] made a mistake,’’ said Nguyen, who took just two steps into the Revolution locker room before being mobbed by teammates and reporters.

The 25-year-old Nguyen, who is known for his creativity and speed from the outside midfield, has played on three different continents and for five professional clubs, but couldn’t seem to find a home, maybe until now.

“We all knew the situation coming into the game,’’ said Revolution defender Chris Tierney. “We’d be lying if we said we didn’t. And we’ve known that he’s been capable of that. So, we’re happy he’s here and hopefully he stays here for a while.’’

After Eric Hassli put Vancouver (5-3-2) on the board in the fifth minute, the Revolution (4-6-0) gained possession and crowded the 18-yard box. After Blake Brettschneider let a shot rip, the ball bounced around off defenders before landing at the feet of Nguyen, who buried it into the far corner in the sixth minute.

Nguyen was at it again in the 24th minute when he settled a ball off his chest and danced around a few defenders before placing a pass on the cleats of Saer Sene, who turned and fired a left-footed shot into the right corner for a 2-1 lead.

Shalrie Jospeh scored in the 33d minute with a fine shot from the penalty mark.

Then came Nguyen’s goal to remember. In the 72d minute, he took a throw-in from Tierney, made one touch, and fired a volley from 25 yards into the far corner, leaving Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon shaking his head in disbelief.

“Lee can shoot,’’ said Revolution coach Jay Heaps. “We work on that stuff in training, so you see Lee once in a while put a shot on like that.’’

Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie insisted he doesn’t regret letting Nguyen go.

“We basically saw that we had a lot of players similar to him, and I feel like we wanted to make sure he ended up somewhere where he could play,’’ said Rennie. “We could have easily kept him. He was on a salary that was easy for us to keep him. But he’s taken that chance and done really well with it. If he plays like that every night, he’ll be an All-Star. It just shows you soccer is like that.’’

via Revolution win thanks to Lee Nguyen – The Boston Globe.