Minnesota United’s impressive month of July saw the Loons claim four wins out of six matches to inch near the Western Conference playoff places. A big reason for their success was the breakout play of Colombian winger Darwin Quintero.

Quintero scored six goals and registered six assists in the Loons’ 4-2-0 record in July, earning SBI’s Player of the Month recognition.

After three goals in his first three months in Major League Soccer, Quintero kicked off July with a bang netting a hat trick in the Loons’ 4-3 home success against defending MLS champs, Toronto FC.

Despite being shut down in Houston four days later, Quintero responded against Real Salt Lake on July 15th, scoring one goal and chipping in two assists in a 3-2 home win. His strong play carried over against New England the following week, scoring the winner in a 2-1 success against the Revs.

A goal and an assist in a 5-1 rout of LAFC on July 22nd continued the 30-year-old’s impressive run of form, while he added another pair of assists last weekend despite a 4-2 road defeat in Vancouver.

Quintero leads the Loons with nine goals and six assists this season and has been a huge success playing with fellow forward Christian Ramirez. Minnesota United (9-12-1) is currently eighth in the Western Conference, but only three points out of the final playoff spot. Adrian Heath will certainly hope Quintero can carry his stat-racking month over to August when the Loons face four very tough Western Conference rivals.

Quintero beat out Josef Martinez for this month’s honors in a very close vote. Martinez tied the MLS record for goals in a month with an impressive nine, but Quintero got the nod for almost single-handedly carrying the Loons to their best month in the team’s short history. Zlatan Ibrahimovic also had a big month, tallying six goals and three assists to help the Galaxy finish unbeaten in July.

Who do you think was the best player in MLS in July?

Share in the comments section below.