June 3, 2002

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Major League Soccer announced today that New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman has been selected as May's MLS Player of the Month by the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA). Twellman, 22, scored five goals in four matches, in the process cementing his position as a starter on a roster full of veterans and proven goal-scorers.

In his first MLS season, Twellman becomes only the second member of the Revolution to win Player of the Month honors, and the first since Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga captured the award for his performances in September of 1997. Since joining the League after playing two seasons with the reserve side of TSV 1860 Munich in the German Bundesliga, Twellman has climbed to fourth on the League's scoring charts with 14 points (7g) and ranks second in points per game with an average of 1.82 points per 90 minutes.

The St. Louis native began the month in style, netting a pair of goals in a 2-0 victory against the Dallas Burn in the Revolution's home opener at CMGI Field. Thrilling the home crowd before most had even reached their seats at the state-of-the-art facility, Twellman knocked home a left-footed volley in the sixth minute. Just before halftime, the former University of Maryland standout was credited with a goal when his challenge forced Dallas goalkeeper Matt Jordan to misplay a corner kick into the goal for a 2-0 Revolution lead.

His goal-scoring prowess no longer a secret, Twellman was back on the attack against Chicago the following weekend when his brilliant piece of skill in the 64th minute sliced a two-goal deficit in half. In the second half of a doubleheader that also featured the men's national teams of Holland and the United States, the 5-11 Twellman fought off a challenge from 6-4 defender Jim Curtin, before he sent a shot past goalkeeper Zach Thornton into the roof of the net. The strike was arguably the most skillful of the afternoon at CMGI on a day that also featured a hat trick from Chicago's Ante Razov, appearances by the Dutch National Team's amazing collection of world stars and the best attacking players from the U.S.

Twellman continued his string of impressive performances in Colorado on May 22, when he countered two Rapids goals with a strike of his own in the 33rd minute of an eventual 5-2 loss. The defeat also signaled the end of Fernando Clavijo's stint as head coach of the Revolution and prompted a trade that established Twellman's value to the club, as Mamadou Diallo and Andy Williams were dealt to the MetroStars. Twellman's emergence as an offensive threat even forced last year's Honda MVP Alex Pineda Chacon to a reserve role for much of the month.

In the Revolution's last match of the month against the Galaxy on May 25, Twellman again jump-started the team's offense by giving New England a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. The goal extended Twellman's goal-streak to a League-high six games, putting him one game shy of the MLS record currently co-held by Wolde Harris and Raul Diaz Arce.

After garnering Player of the Week honors in Week Eight, Twellman outdistanced Colorado's Chris Henderson, the Columbus Crew's Jeff Cunningham, Dallas' Joselito Vaca and Chicago's Zach Thornton in voting for the award. The MLS Player of the Month is selected by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA).