Lee Nguyen is Player of the Month, September 2013

September was one of the worst months for the New England Revolution since the season began. In four games, they finished the month 1-2-1, conceding nine goals while scoring eight. Part of it was luck; a fifth-minute red card made it exceedingly difficult on the Revs early in the month against Montreal, and awful work from the assistant referees against Chicago turned what should have been a 3-2 victory into a 2-3 loss.

Regardless, September was a month where the Revs found themselves in a position to secure an iron grip on a playoff spot in the East, and they failed. Their playoff hopes are down to the last game of the season, and looking back, September is the month where they dug that hole. That said, it was not a month bereft of good performances. Driving the Revolution forward from the middle, ranging all over the pitch to get the ball, and showing an unexpected bite to his game, midfielder Lee Nguyen was an outstanding performer.

As the season has worn on, Nguyen has morphed from the slashing, finesse-oriented creator of 2012 into a ranging, box-to-box true midfielder. Absent a true physical presence in the middle, the Revs needed someone willing to mix it up to fill the gap, and Nguyen has done that admirably. He doubles up as the…

via Revolution Player of the Month, September 2013: Lee Nguyen – The Bent Musket.