Two-goal performance earns Juan Agudelo MLS Player of the Week honors

For the second time in his MLS career, Juan Agudelo has earned MLS Player of the Week honors.

The award recognizes Agudelo’s standout performance vs. Minnesota United on Saturday, when the Revolution forward scored a pair of goals and drew a penalty kick. The Revs ultimately won the match, 5-2.

Following the win, Head Coach Jay Heaps commented on the importance of strong performances from Agudelo, saying, “...when Juan is at his best, he makes Lee [Nguyen] and Kei [Kamara] even better. I think he’s the pivot person. When he’s a little bit better, Lee starts to play better and then Kei starts to play better.”

Against Minnesota, Heaps flip-flopped Agudelo and Nguyen in his lineup, featuring Agudelo as a forward and Nguyen as an attacking midfielder. Heaps said he wanted Nguyen “doing a lot of the work” while tucking underneath Agudelo and Kamara.

“Today, we [made the switch] by design just to get a little bit more for Lee underneath and we felt like there was going to be gaps in the midfield. I thought we had a really good first half and it put Juan into a position to score a couple of goals.”

Agudelo last won MLS Player of the Week honors on March 24, 2013, as a member of Chivas USA.

The Colombian-born forward will hit the field again on Sunday, when the Revolution visit the ever-dangerous Portland Timbers. The match kicks off at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.