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Lee Nguyen (left) nearly netted his second goal of the season on a 37th minute free kick against Houston on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

The Revs beat Houston 2-0 last night, adding a critical three points to their total. Considering both teams' respective positions in the standings, the win was more important to the Revs than the loss was to the Dynamo.

Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen, seen here taking on Dynamo forward Calen Carr last season, will need point the attack in the right direction in Houston on Saturday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

It's often said that in life, timing is everything.

A guy catches the elevator just before it closes, meets his future wife on the way up to the fifth floor.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

When Lee Nguyen made the decision to leave the Vietnamese league and join MLS prior to the 2012 season, he did so with one goal in mind: prove to everyone that he is capable of playing in the league.

With that now crossed off his to-do list, Nguyen has set his sights on accomplishing more this year.

Lee Nguyen scored his first goal of the season against the Union on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

In an emotionally-charged game played under nearly ideal conditions, the New England Revolution beat the Philadelphia Union cleanly, 2-0, on Saturday night.

The Revs had the better of the game after the first seven minutes, scoring two sweet and well-deserved goals in the second half.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Diego Fagundez and Lee Nguyen scored ten minutes apart in the 2nd half and the Revolution recorded their fourth shutout of the season, downing the Philadelphia Union 2-0 at Gillette Stadium, snapping their five game winless streak.

After a scoreless first half, the 18-year-old Fagundez sent 18,383 Revolution fans into a frenzy, scoring just the team's third goal this season in it's seventh game.

The New England Revolution picked up their first home win of the season on Saturday as they beat the Philadelphia Union 2-0 in front of 18,383.Diego Fagundez and man-of-the-matchLee Nguyen scored the two Revs goals.

After getting thumped in New York last week, Revs boss Jay Heaps switched formations tonight.

I could forgive you all if you fell asleep, unless you're an FC Dallas fan, in which case you're wondering what else you'll have to do to score a goal. The New England Revolution are playing an absolutely awful game of soccer, though it does appear that things aren't being helped by a pitch surface that is in desperate need of some new carpet.

When FC Dallas faces New England on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, FCD will face a player local soccer fans and Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman are both more than a little familiar with in midfielder Lee Nguyen, a Richardson native and Plano East product.

After a stellar collegiate career at Indiana, Nguyenheaded abroad, playing in the Netherlands and Denmark before spending the next few years in Vietnam.

Lee Nguyen was a big part of the little offense the Revolution had on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

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).

It was a wet and sloppy 90 minutes that saw the Philadelphia Union the victors yet again, winning 1-0 against the virtually punchless New England Revolution. The Revs showed great resolve for the majority of the game, defending well for the most part and getting a bit lucky for the rest. But, in true Revolution fashion, a late goal after the 75th minute found its way past Bobby Shuttleworth, courtesy of Jack McInerney, to seal the win for the Union.

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! IT'S REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY HERE! THE REVS' SEASON HAS STARTED!

Be sure to discuss the New England Revolution's upcoming victory (knock on wood) in the comments section below!

Lineups

Revolution: Matt Reis; Andrew Farrell, A.J. Soares, Jose Goncalves, Kevin Alston; Donald Smith, Clyde Simms, Kalifa Cisse, Juan Toja; Lee Nguyen, Jerry Bengtson

Bench: Shuttleworth, Barnes, Caldwell, Dorman, Rowe, Barrett, Fagundez

Fire: Sean Johnson; Steven Kinney, Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry, Gonzalo Segares; Patrick Nyarko, Jeff Larentowicz, Joel Lindpere, Dilly Duka; Chris Rolfe, Sherjill MacDonald

Bench: Tornaghi, Videira, Paladini, Thompson, Atouba, Alex, Santos

What can we expect from Jay Heaps' Revolution in 2013? (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

With the 2013 season set to kick-off on Saturday, the staff ofNew England Soccer Todaytook our best guess at how the New England Revolution will fare in 2013.

Where will the Revs finish in 2013?

Lee Nguyen and A.J. Soares battle for the ball in a preseason scrimmage earlier this winter. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -While the rest of MLS gets set to kick off the regular season this weekend, the New England Revolutionquietly wrapped upits preseason campbehind closed doors on Saturday.

By MICHAEL KLINE

The New England Revolution will attempt to push last year's rocky season to the back of their memory, as the second year of their rebuilding phase begins.

Manager Jay Heaps' first season with New England saw few tangible improvements, as the Revs started 2012 promisingly, but finished with only three wins in their last 17 matches to close out the season.

The New England Revolution scored three unanswered second-half goals to erase a halftime deficit and claim a 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Lee Nguyen – from the penalty spot – and Jerry Bengtson scored just six minutes apart early in the second half to put the Revolution in front, while training camp invitee Marko Jesic added an insurance strike in the late stages.

Revolution striker Jerry Bengtson, seen here in a July match against New York, scored the game winner against the Red Bulls on Saturday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

The New England Revolution recovered from a sloppy first half to defeat the New York Red Bulls, 3-1, in the Desert Diamond Cup on Saturday night in Tucson, Arizona.

Revolution midfielder scored two goals and added an assist against the Whitecaps on May 12th. (Photo: Kari Heistad)

(Editor's note: With the end of the calendar year upon us, New England Soccer Today is taking a look back at the most memorable moments of 2012. In this edition, Brian O'Connellreviews the top fiveNew England Revolutionmoments)

Twenty-twelve was a season of change across the board for the Revolution.

In no particular order, here are ten pressing questions for the New England Revolution:

1. Who is Sainey Nyassi and what does he do?

He costs a pretty penny and due to injury, contributed minimally in 2012. Nyassi saw plenty of time in the playoff years of 2008 and 2009. Many assumed he'd be out of a job come this off season with a midfield boasting Lee Nguyen, Scott Caldwell, Juan Toja, Andy Dorman, Kalifa Cisse, Clyde Simms, Ryan Guy and Kelyn Rowe.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

The writing was on the wall as the New England Revolution added midfielders after the 2012 season, but it was still bit of a head-turning development to see the Revs part ways with midfielder Benny Feilhaber.

New England declined to pick up the option on Feilhaber's contract, with sources telling SBI that Feilhaber's large contract option make it unlikely that he returns to MLS in 2013.

The Brotherly Game: Lee Nguyen is apparently one of the best midfielders in Major League Soccer, if Revolution head coach Jay Heaps is to be believed. What's your take on Nguyen this season?

The Bent Musket: I believe he is one of the best midfielders in Major League Soccer, or at least one of the best creative ones.

Blake Brettschneider came in late for the Revolution on Saturday, but did little to point his team in the right direction. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

By now, it's clear that the Revolution have quite a few areas to address this winter.

For starters, they've gotto finda set piece specialist.

Released in preseason from Vancouver, Lee Nguyen has played well for the New England Revolution as a midfield creator. However, his 2012 has come to a close as the Revs announced Monday that he had season-ending shoulder surgery.

After sitting out the last month with a thigh injury, Michael Bradley has resumed full training with his new club AS Roma.

Lee Nguyen provided some spark against D.C. on Saturday, but it wasn't enough as the Revolution fell 2-1 at RFK Stadium. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

Let the dress rehearsal begin. Again.

In what's becoming an annual rite of autumn, the local XIwere doomed to playing out the string again after D.

The New England Revolution tweeted and later reported in their weekly update that Juan Toja joined the Revolution for his first training session since signing with the squad a couple weeks ago. The former MLS All-Star arrived in the States on Sunday and it looks like promising for him to be available on Saturday against D.

Kevin Alston and the Revolution defense grabbed their second straight shutout on Wednesday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass – The Revolution used two second half goals to down the Columbus Crew and snap their 10-game winless streak – their longest since 1999. Striker Dimitry Imbongo slotted home his first MLS goal and Chad Marshall scored an own goal as the Revolution won for the first time since July 8th.

The New England Revolution snapped their winless streak and ended their three game home-stand on a high note tonight with a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew. With tonight's win the Revs have exceeded their 2011 point total by one point, bringing them to 28 points (7-14-7).

With international duty and injury-related absences for Saer Sene and Jerry Bengtson, Jay Heaps was forced to alter his starters at forward, opting for Diego Fagundez and Dimitry Imbongo.

With the entire country enjoying a long weekend filled with barbecues, fireworks, and running for the ice cream truck, the New England Revolution puttered along on their march towards the end of the season with two very different looking draws at home.

While the offensive renaissance continued on Wednesday night against Chivas USA (the Revs scored 3 first half goals), it all came to a screeching halt on Saturday night with an indescribably poor 0-0 draw against Eastern Conference rival, Philadelphia Union.

The Union midfield did well to silence Fernando Cardenas and the Revolution's midfielders. (Photo: Walter Silva)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. A game to forget for the both the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union. A dour 0-0 draw where neither team really showed a desire to score a goal or put the opponent on the back foot.

The New England Revolution will play their third match in seven days on Saturday night as they welcome the Philadelphia Union to Gillette Stadium. The Revolution managed to halt a five-match losing streak on Wednesday when they drew 3-3 with Chivas, but are still struggling through a nine-game winless run.

Shalrie Joseph helped tilt the midfield battle on Wednesday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

For 21 minutes, the New England Revolution played and looked like the team  Jay Heaps envisioned. New England pressed. It attacked. The ball moved quickly and players whipped in early crosses.

The New England Revolution are back home on Wednesday night, welcoming an old friend as Shalrie Joseph returns to Gillette Stadium with Chivas USA. The Revs are still mired in an eight-game winless run that has now featured five straight losses. The Goats, on the other hand, are in the thick of a playoff race, but haven't won in their last three, and in fact have conceded eleven goals in that span.

A list of DFW connected players in MLS.

With the Revolution's 2012 season now firmly in the rear-view, we here at The Bent Musket decided to reflect on the season and each select our favorite starting XI from this past year. It wasn't the easiest task, but a fun an interesting exercise nevertheless. Selections include one goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders, two forwards, and three bench players.

In what can only be described as a tight and tense affair, both the Revs and Union have found it rather difficult to orchestrate any semblance of rhythm in the first half.

The first half was mostly void of solid offensive output, but it was Lee Nguyen giving Revolution fans the first moment of excitement in the 22nd minute when his seemingly harmless, long free kick continued to knuckle and caught Zac MacMath off guard, causing the Union keeper to unconvincingly parry the shot away.

With the draft taking place in Indianapolis tomorrow afternoon, you can certainly feel the sense of excitement as the 2013 MLS season draws ever closer.

Perhaps a subject just as exciting is the current state, and potential, of the Revolution midfield. The Revs enter the new season with a little bit of everything in their midfield: youth, experience, pace, power, and even a little bit of attitude.

Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen will miss the duration of the season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Monday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

After playing in every Revolution game this season, midfielder Lee Nguyen will be forced to miss the final four due to right shoulder surgery, theclub announced on Monday.