Major League Soccer announced today that New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel has been voted the MLS Player of the Month for October. It is the first time this season that a Red Bull has won Player of the Month honors and the third time in Angel’s career that he has earned the award.

Angel scored three goals and one assist in four games in October, as he helped lead the Red Bulls to their sixth-straight MLS playoff berth. The Colombian forward and 2008 MLS Fair Play Award finalist recorded his seventh multi-goal game as a Red Bull in a vital 3-1 win over Supporters’ Shield winner, the Columbus Crew, on Oct. 18. Less than a week later, Angel again found the back of the net in a 5-2 loss at Chicago. Most recently in the Red Bulls’ 1-1 tie against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Nov. 1 in the first leg of the teams’ Western Conference Semifinal Series, Angel tallied his first career postseason goal to put New York ahead, 1-0, three minutes into the second half.

After missing a month of action in June due to hamstring and back injuries, the Red Bulls Designated Player was one of the hottest players in the League in the second half of the season. Since July 1, Angel scored 12 goals in the Red Bulls’ last 15 games – a mark that led MLS. With 14 total goals, Angel, a 2007 MLS MVP finalist, was the Eastern Conference’s leading scorer and MLS’ fourth-leading scorer in 2008. The two-time MLS All Star and Red Bulls captain was also the MLS Player of the Week for Week 20 in 2008 and won MLS Player of the Month honors for May and June in 2007.

In less than two years, Angel, signed on April 17, 2007, has scored 33 goals in 47 games, which puts him third all-time in the club’s scoring annals.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Month is selected following the last regular season game of each month by a panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership guidelines can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.

The Red Bulls will be playing the second leg of its Western Conference Semifinal Series against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, Nov. 9 at Robertson Stadium at 3 PM ET (TV: MSG Plus, TeleFutura; Radio: WADO 1280 AM). The winner of the match will face the winner of the Chivas USA-Real Salt Lake series in the Western Conference Final.

2008 MLS Player of the Month Awards

April: Landon Donovan – Los Angeles Galaxy
May: Cuauhtémoc Blanco – Chicago Fire
June: Luciano Emilio – D.C. United
July: Nick Rimando – Real Salt Lake
August: Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Columbus Crew
September: Darren Huckerby – San Jose Earthquakes
October: Juan Pablo Angel – New York Red Bulls

— newyorkredbulls.com —