New England Soccer Today

Player Ratings: New England Revolution vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Lee Nguyen put in a fantastic performance in the Revs 4-1 win over Vancouver. (Photo: Tony Biscaia/RevsNet)

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O’Connell and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6, Sean 6.5)
Weary Whitecaps’ didn’t present many challenges, but looked stout throughout the night. Best save came on Le Toux’s 4th minute breach. (Brian) … Made a few huge saves, including one early on Le Toux, but will probably want the goal – which snuck through his legs – back. (Sean)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 6.5 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6.5)
Good passes, worked well with Nguyen, and put in a solid performance after the early hiccup on LeToux’s assist to Hassli. (Brian) … First five minutes, along with the rest of the defense, were worrying, but Tierney stepped up the rest of the game and provided some nice width and sharp passing going forward. (Sean)

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
Exposed early on LeToux and Hassli efforts, but tightened up as the game progressed. Worked well with McCarthy. (Brian) … Caught napping, along with the rest of the defense, early, but stepped it up to shut down Vancouver after that. Passing wasn’t great, however. (Sean)

Stephen McCarthy – Average: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Positioning was excellent, distribution not the best, but good tackle on Chiumiento despite the yellow card. (Brian) … Caught out a bit on the goal and like Soares, passing wasn’t great, but after the first five minutes kept the Whitecaps at bay. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 7, Sean 6.5)
Made some nice early runs, but most importantly, silenced Salgado. (Brian) … Great effort all night on both sides of the pitch, but still some indecisiveness in the final third. (Sean)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 9 (Brian 9, Sean 9)
Two goals and an assist made it one of the best performances in Revs uniform in recent memory. (Brian) … In actuality, he probably didn’t touch the ball as much as we’ve seen in some games, but he made the most of it when he did. Two goals, including what may be goal of the week, an assist, 80% passing accuracy and some solid defensive work. (Sean)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 7.25 (Brian 7, Sean 7.5)
Good effort on the 33rd minute goal, and kept the Revs attack organized for much of the night. (Brian) … It may have gone unnoticed, but Joseph put in perhaps his strongest performance of the season. Put in the effort on both sides of the pitch, score his first goal of the season and completed an impressive 88% of his passes. (Sean)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Gave it a couple of goes early, but chipped in wherever/whenever needed. (Brian) … Simms has definitely had better games this season, but he was still all over the pitch made some important plays in midfield. (Sean)

Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Went right at ‘Caps defense and active in the attack early, but committed more to the defensive effort as the game progressed. (Brian) … Heavily involved in the attack early with mixed results. His pass to Sene helped lead to Joseph’s goal. (Sean)

Saer Sene – Average Rating: 6.75 (Brian 7, Sean 6.5)
Strong and slick with the ball at his feet; great finish on the 24th minute goal. (Brian) … Great finish on his goal, but other shots still seemed targeted right for the goalkeeper. He’s clearly not the same caliber as Taylor Twellman when it comes to finishing, but the skill he continues to show should lead him to be the Revs first double-digit scorer since Twellman in 2007. Caught in possession a few times, but otherwise a solid outing. (Sean)

Blake Brettschneider – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Seemed to stay wide a lot and looked a little out of rhythm paired with Sene. (Brian) … Surprisingly, seemed more comfortable as the lone striker in Salt Lake. Effort was clearly there, but struggled to combine with his teammates going forward. His blocked shot led to Joseph’s goal, perhaps his biggest contribution of the night. (Sean)

Diego Fagundez – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
A few good touches, but didn’t make much of an impact off the bench with the game already decided. (Brian) … Had a little trouble breaking free of some physical defense and his only shot was blocked, but he worked hard off the bench and made smart passes the few chances he had. (Sean)

Fernando Cardenas – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Antsy to make a big play, but had his only shot blocked in limited duty. (Brian)  … Similar showing to Fagundez. Only shot blocked and perhaps tried to do a bit too much himself on the rare chance he got. (Sean)

Alec Purdie –  Average Rating: N/A (Brian 5.5, Sean N/A)
Contributed a handful of good passes as the Revs brought the game to the final whistle. (Brian) … Not enough time to make a real impact, but passing was good the few times he did see the ball. (Sean)

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