FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In recent weeks the New England Revolution’s attack has been operating kind of like that oft-parodied episode of Oprah.
“You get a goal! And you get a goal! And you get a goal!”
In fact, New England’s last 11 goals have been scored by eight different players, some you’d expect to be scoring goals on a regular basis (Lee Nguyen, Charlie Davies, Diego Fagundez) and some you wouldn’t (Jose Goncalves, Andy Dorman).
It’s a result of how the team has been built. Davies leads the team with nine goals, but Nguyen (5), Juan Agudelo (5), Kelyn Rowe (4) and Teal Bunbury (4) reflect the balance that is the Revolution attack.
“We are a balanced team,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “We’re not totally built to have an 18- or 20- or 30-goal scorer. You’re going to have them here or there, but I think we’re definitely more of a balanced team and we’re trying to be that way.”
Perhaps no player is benefiting more from that balance than Nguyen, who broke the mold by scoring an MLS-record 18 goals out of midfield last season, but has had more modest numbers this year.
Nguyen’s MVP-caliber 2014 campaign earned him plenty of attention from opposing defenses early this season, as teams focused on limiting his impact. While he still contributed in more subtle ways, his statistics suffered, and he racked up just one goal and two assists through the first 14 games.
But as Nguyen’s teammates consistently found the back of the net, focus shifted away from the talismanic midfielder. The result: four goals and three assists in New England’s last 10 games.
“The guys are playing well attacking-wise, and it’s creating space in those pockets,” said Nguyen. “I’ve been able to find it with great service in the midfield.”
Nguyen isn’t the only Revolution attacker benefiting from the club’s varied strike force. A balanced attack is a boon for everybody, as opposing defenses are essentially forced to pick their poison.
“It makes us harder to defend and it opens up space for a lot of players,” said Nguyen. “At the same time, it motivates people to want to attack and help support the guys up top.”
