FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Three months ago, Juan Agudelo appeared poised for a big summer.
The young New England Revolution forward registered two goals and one assist through a four-game span in late May, prompting another call to the U.S. National Team for a pair of friendlies against the Netherlands and defending World Cup champion Germany. The Americans won both games.
But Agudelo picked up a knee injury during that stint with the USMNT, and while he played through the pain upon his return to the Revolution, it affected his fitness and ultimately, his performance.
“He was definitely feeling the pain, but grinding through it,” said head coach Jay Heaps.
Struggling at times for peak fitness and top form, Agudelo eventually found himself limited to a substitute’s role, appearing off the bench in six of New England’s last seven games.
That form, however, has returned in recent weeks. Agudelo played a key role in setting up Kelyn Rowe’s late equalizer three weeks ago in Chicago, and he snapped an 11-game goalless streak with a late insurance strike in this past weekend’s victory over the Houston Dynamo.
“I think Juan is finally feeling really good,” said Heaps. “He’s starting to feel his full self again and his fitness is much better now.”
Agudelo has played the majority of his minutes this season on the wing, but on Saturday night against the Dynamo he replaced Charlie Davies to play as the target striker.
“I like Juan in all three of those attacking positions,” said Heaps, “but I really like him when he’s playing his best as a number nine.”
Rowe taken off against Houston after feeling “a little tightness”
The stop-start nature of Saturday night’s meeting with the Houston Dynamo – which featured a pair of weather delays totaling almost three hours – forced both sides to take a cautious approach with regards to muscle injuries. That’s the case any time players warm up, then cool down, then repeat the cycle.
So when Kelyn Rowe felt a bit of tightness in his leg midway through the second half – at that point, past midnight on Saturday – Heaps didn’t hesitate to replace the young midfielder with Teal Bunbury.
“We were trying to manage bodies,” Heaps said. “You don’t want any injuries. Kelyn’s (knock) is definitely minor, but definitely enough that we needed to get him off the field.”
The bye week, then, comes at a beneficial time for Rowe; the Revolution won’t return to action until Saturday, Aug. 29, when they’ll visit the Philadelphia Union.
Jones nearing full fitness after returning to the starting lineup
Jermaine Jones made his long-awaited return to the Revolution’s starting lineup against Houston – his first start since May 31 – playing the opening 45 minutes in central midfield. The Revs improved to 5-1-5 with Jones in the lineup this year, as opposed to 4-8-2 when he’s unavailable.
“I feel good,” Jones said. “The day after I was a little bit tired, a little sore, but I think it’s normal. But I was happy to make that 45 minutes.”
The initial plan was for Jones to play into the second half, approximately 60 minutes, but the pair of weather delays derailed that plan as the Revs took a cautious approach with the veteran midfielder as he works his way back from bilateral sports hernia surgery.
Now with another two weeks to continue building fitness before the Revs are back in action, Jones is hoping to be 90 minutes fit by the time Aug. 29 rolls around.
“It comes at the right moment right now that we have the weeks off,” Jones said. “For me, I can get back in fitness and do a lot in training.”
With a goal or assist in five straight, Nguyen hitting peak form
Lee Nguyen isn’t concerned with statistics.
The 28-year-old midfielder was saddled with high – almost impossible – expectations by the media this season after registering 18 goals and five assists during an MVP-caliber campaign in 2014. But Nguyen was never concerned with replicating those numbers in 2015.
“The main goal was to get back to where we were last year and that’s making the MLS Cup final, and giving ourselves another chance to try to hoist the Cup,” Nguyen said. “We were there, we were close, but now that’s the goal this year. It’s always been the same.”
Of course, it was Nguyen’s remarkable contributions which helped push New England to the brink last season, and there are signs the playmaker is rediscovering that form at the perfect time.
After notching just two goals and three assists through his first 18 appearances, Nguyen has registered either one goal or one assist in each of the past five games – a total of three goals and two assists.
That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t contributing earlier in the season – quite the contrary – but those contributions have taken on a more tangible form in recent weeks.
“I don’t judge Lee on how many goals and how many assists (he has),” said Heaps. “I’m looking at what he’s creating, the shot creation, what he’s doing off the ball and the space he’s creating for other players.
“For me, Lee’s play this year has been excellent. There were times there where he wasn’t getting goals or assists, but that wasn’t lack of effort and it wasn’t lack of work.”
