Player of the Month, August 2014: Choices abound in strong month

August has been a successful month, even with a loss to FC Dallas and a draw against San Jose. But it's hard to find consensus about who might be the best player we've had this month.

With that in mind, I've asked some RSL Soapbox writers (including myself) to pitch in with their thoughts.

Kreg Asay: Nick Rimando

There were several excellent performances last month - Borchers, Schuler, Plata, Morales, Beckerman... But all also had games where they disappeared or had errors. That leaves Rimando as the obvious candidate.

To start off the month he set the new MLS shutout record; won SOTW for Wk. 21, and was nominated for Wk 22. He made 8 saves many of which could have also been SOTW in any other week. Of the 4 goals scored against RSL last month, most can be put down to defensive lapses that Rimando couldn't do much about. Without Nick's stalwart performances each week RSL certainly wouldn't be in the Supporter's Shield race.

Charles Barnard: Chris Schuler

With RSL playing so many games in August there were many players that I could have picked as my MVP of the month. Luis Gil dominated in the match against Tijuana and scored one of the best goals I have ever seen. Joao Plata and Javier Morales both had a good months Even Carlos Salcedo crossed my mind by playing in four different positions over the course of a couple of matches.

But there was one man that stood head and shoulders above everyone else for the month. Chris Schuler.

Schuler has been RSL's best defensive player all season. This past month was no different. RSL only gave up a goal every 90 minutes over the course of the month and Schuler played a big part in that. He is dominate in the air on defensive set pieces and plays the type of defense that helps everyone around him. Not only did he have a great month defensively, he also scored two great goals against DCU. He is only the RSL defender with a goal this season.

But the play of the month had to be Schuler drawing the second yellow against Blas Perez. Schuler blowing kisses towards Perez while Perez was being shown a red card might be the highlight of the season for me. That alone earns Schuler the August MVP in my mind.

Trevor Brady: Joao Plata

Honestly, Matt is probably right choosing Luke Mulholland. He's had a great month, but differing opinions is what we're all about here, so I've gotta to go with Joey Platter. As a reminder, Joao is 5 foot 2. That's shorter than you (probably). Despite that size, Joao scored 2 goals this month WITH HIS HEAD. How can you argue with that? He has looked great all season, and doesn't appear to be slowing down one bit. In my book, he's been the most consistently good player on the team this entire season, and his play throughout the month of August has only built on that.

Jason Greenwood: Sebastian Jaime

My player of the month for August is none other than RSL's new forward, Sebastian Jaime. Has he played a minute for the club yet? No. Then why does he deserve this award? Because I said so. Because he gave us hope. For a few weeks, we ignored what was happening on the pitch and actually had fun as a fan base off of it. Twitter was abuzz with #JaimeWatch and people were genuinely excited and enthusiastic about him coming here. That's why he deserves it. Because he's not the hero we deserve, but he's the one we need right now.

Honorable mention: Luis Gil.

Matt Montgomery: Luke Mulholland

He hasn't been the best player in every game he's played, but August was the month that Luke Mulholland went, to my mind, from having merely a strong start to his season to having consistent success in his play. He's been involved in goals, been strong defensively, and even played 90 minutes a few times without struggling. He's keeping out an improving Luis Gil, and that's a feat on its own, too.

Randal Serr: Javier Morales

It is easy to look at Joao Plata as the player of every month this year, but the stats don't lie in August. Javier Morales ended up with two goals and two assists whereas Plata ended up with two goals and one assist. Morales was the creative mastermind in August, particularly towards the beginning and end of the month. He missed the match vs. Tijuana which is basically a meaningless game as well as the match vs. Seattle, but when he was on the field, he was leading the charge to earn valuable points heading towards the end of the season.