Not many people gave Lee Nguyen a chance, but the New England Revolution did. After going to school at Indiana, the attacking midfielder bounced around the Netherlands, Denmark and Vietnam. He arrived in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps, but they waived him before the season even started. Nguyen had yet to play 30 games with a single team. That all changed when Revs selected him second overall in the 2012 Waiver Draft. He saved his first pair of MLS goals for the matchup with Vancouver. He scored an incredible revenge goal, volleying a Goal of the Year candidate into the top right corner. His first two seasons yielded 9 goals and assists each.
In 2014, the starting point of this series, Lee Nguyen set MLS on fire. In the MVLee campaign, he fell just short of Robbie Keane in the 2014 MVP race. In March, he ran in behind to score a 93' match-winner against San Jose. His penalty against Chicago earned the Revs a point. In the following match, Nguyen placed his penalty into the bottom corner to ensure all three against SKC. His deflected strike played a role in the 5-3 victory over Philadelphia. In July, he scored a brace against the Rapids. Charlie Davies laid it off for him in the box for the first, then destroyed a screaming free kick into the top left corner. He stung the hands of Dan Kennedy to score on a dying Chivas USA side. Nguyen scored a solo goal in Toronto, wallking in behind and placing it into the bottom left.
On September 3rd, Nguyen scored two more against Sporting Kansas City. He opened up his hips to meet the top right for the first goal, before hitting a Trivela volley at the death. He went on a tear in the last four games of the regular season. In Montreal, he scored one of his very best. He used an outrageous quick chip from outside the box that nestled in the corner, a goal that would likely take hundreds of attempts to recreate. In an ESPN-televised match, he cut it on the right and planted a shot into the top bins against Houston. Ultimately, he put one home in the 87th minute to snatch the win. On Decision Day, he added one more strange goal that ended up counting. Nguyen finished with 18 goals and 5 assists. In the playoffs, he continued to do damage. In the first leg against Columbus, he scored another solo goal. In leg two, he closed the deal with a nice volley. He then assisted a goal in both legs with the Red Bulls, including a secondary assist on a Jermaine Jones goal. Nguyen did the hard part of getting the Revs back to the cup, but the curse remained as his side was unable to knock down the Galaxy in the big game. Nguyen was named to the 2014 MLS Best XI.
In 2015, Nguyen doubled his assist number and fell in goal scoring. After 2014, he went into more of a playmaking role, but he was absolutely immense at it. His stutter step penalty style opened his account in Colorado. He sprinted to the top of the D and scored from distance in Columbus, as he had done so many times before. In the summer, he found some goal scoring consistency. A lovely phase of play turned into a Nguyen shot to the bottom right corner versus NYCFC. In the next match, he turned one in against Sean Johnson. He scored in a third straight match, from the spot. During his time with the Revs, Nguyen scored 18/19 penalties he attempted. He opened the scoring in an October match at Yankee Stadium. In a heartbreaking knockout round loss, DC United sent the Revs packing.
Lee Nguyen registered 10 assists for a second straight season in 2016. He earned a pair of assists against Orlando City, helping out Diego Fagundez, then feeding Kelyn Rowe, who found Juan Agudelo. In May, Nguyen posted a sastisfying three game stretch of scoring once and assisting once in all three games. In the first of those matches, he scored a curler off the post and in on a play straight off the training ground. Nguyen set up an Agudelo diving header against Dallas, before scoring his own from the spot. He found another against the Sounders, then assisted a crazy Femi Hollinger-Janzen match-winner. He continued to get his revenge on the Whitecaps, sending a perfect free kick onto the head of London Woodberry. He controlled one down with his chest before hitting a worldie of a volley into the top corner. The Revs made the 2016 US Open Cup Final, but FC Dallas was too much to handle. A Diego Fagundez dummy set up a nice dribbling showcase against NYCFC, his sixth goal of the season.
In 2017, Lee Nguyen returned to double digit goal scoring, while also assisting a career-high of 15 goals. He scored New England's first goal of the season in Frisco. He placed a penalty past Bobby Shuttleworth in a 5-2 win over Minnesota. Just five minutes into a game with DC United, Nguyen scored an extremely rare header. In May, he scored and assisted two goals against Real Salt Lake. Nguyen teased Luis Robles and passed up a wide open net just to chip him. He curled one to the back stick to open the scoring in a 4-3 win over the LA Galaxy. He used his shiftiness to put off the Montreal defenders and score. In the 82nd minute, he defeated Toronto FC. On September 27th, Nguyen scored what he thought was his final goal for the club, a great free kick during a 6-1 loss to Orlando.
Lee Nguyen was absent from Revs preseason in 2018. His actions were of a contract dispute, one that left a very sour taste in Revolution fan's mouths, despite all the success he brought the team. On May 1, 2018, LAFC acquired Lee Nguyen for a total of $700K in allocation money. A great trivia question asks what team Nguyen notched his first LAFC goal contributon against, and the answer would be Borussia Dortmund. In MLS, it was San Jose, a secondary assist on a 97' Joao Moutinho winner. He picked out Adama Diomande for another helper. Two matches later, he got the pass to assist on a Latif Blessing goal. He saved his first LAFC goal for a great moment, curling a free kick over the wall in El Trafico. A massive amount of skill saw him score against Colorado, using a supreme amount of control. Nguyen scored off a setup by Carlos Vela at BMO Field. LAFC's playoff run ended quickly at the hands of Real Salt Lake, in a 3-2 loss that Nguyen registered an assist in.
In 2019, Nguyen assisted 4 goals for LAFC. He did score one last goal for the club, a US Open Cup tally against RSL. He posted a double assist day versus Houston. Nguyen served up a cross that only Adama Diomande could reach. He set up Diomande for their second connection of the day later on. LAFC won the 2019 Supporters' Shield. Their first playoff matchup was against LA Galaxy in the cross-town rivalry. Nguyen was immense, assisting 3 goals. His ball was worked around to find Carlos Vela for the opener. Then, his work with Vela turned into a Diego Rossi goal. Once again, his play with Rossi ended up as a Diomande goal. LAFC won it 5-3. Seattle ended up defeating the Black and Gold, and Nguyen's time with the club ended.
In November, expansion side Inter Miami CF selected Nguyen in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft. His time there did not last long at all. He never even made a start. After making six substitute appearances amounting to one full game, and Miami losing all of those games, Nguyen departed rather quickly. The destination? New England. The Revs brought Nguyen back in 2020, giving up $50K in GAM. He was integrated back into the team, and ended up contributing to two goals, both in the same match. Teal Bunbury played a one-two with Nguyen, which ended in a Bunbury breakaway goal. In the 80th minute, Lee brought back his stutter step to slot home a penalty, his real last goal for the Revs. He wore the No. 42, his previous 24 flipped. In the magical playoff run, Nguyen played 39 minutes as they lost in the ECF.
After the 2020 season, Nguyen departed back to Vietnam to play for Ho Chi Minh City. The season ended prematurely during the pandemic, bringing him back to the States rather quickly. On February 4, 2022, Lee Nguyen retired from professional soccer. He became an assistant coach for the NWSL Washington Spirit. He could not stay away from the game, coming out of retirement to play for Ho Chi Minh again. In June of 2023, his re-retirement was clear when he was named an assistant coach for a different NWSL team, the Kansas City Current. He continues to work as a coach with the Current, remaining involved in soccer. He also played in a 7v7 tournament called The Soccer Tournament. Lee Nguyen's years with the New England Revolution were tremendous, earning him the #24 spot on the list.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2020 | NE/MIA | 814 | 1 | 1 |
2019 | LAFC | 1,170 | 0 | 4 |
2018 | LAFC | 1,833 | 3 | 5 |
2017 | NE | 2,542 | 11 | 15 |
2016 | NE | 2,900 | 6 | 10 |
2015 | NE | 2,706 | 7 | 10 |
2014 | NE | 2,750 | 18 | 5 |
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