NEW YORK - New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel was named MLS Player of the Month for June after scoring six goals in five matches. This is the second consecutive Player of the Month award for Angel, who scored in four of the Red Bulls five matches in June.
During his torrid goal-scoring run, the Colombian striker set a club record by scoring in six consecutive matches dating back to May. He has helped lead the Red Bulls within two points of the Eastern Conference lead.
Angel wasted little time opening his account for the month, scoring with a sliding volley in the 4th minute of a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards on June 2. Four days later, Angel had arguably his best game to date as he struck twice in a 90-second span to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 comeback victory in front of a raucous crowd of more than 20,000 at BMO Field.
On June 10, Angel scored a late consolation goal against D.C. United in a 4-2 loss, and just six days later he had his second multi-goal game of the month, bagging two in an exciting 3-3 tie with Kansas City. He struck early against the Wizards rising above Jimmy Conrad to power home an off-balance header in the 6th minute. The goal earned Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors in Week 11. Late in the game, trailing 3-2, Angel calmly tucked away a stoppage-time penalty to give the Red Bulls a hard-fought tie.
In just his first MLS season, Angel has nine goals and two assists in eight games. He arrived in New York as a Designated Player following a transfer from English Premiership club Aston Villa where he scored 65 goals in 205 games. Angel won the MLS Player of the Week award in Week 7 and was today named to the MLS All-Star First XI.
The MLS Player of the Month is selected following the last game of each month throughout the regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA). The PSRA votes among players nominated by their respective teams.
2007 MLS Player of the Month Awards
April: Eddie Johnson - Kansas City Wizards
May: Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls
June: Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls
