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Chris Pontius (soccer)

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Chris Pontius
Pontius with D.C. United in 2011
Personal information
Full name Christopher Richard Pontius
Date of birth (1987-05-12) May 12, 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Yorba Linda, California, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
Irvine Strikers
2001–2005 Servite High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 86 (29)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Ventura County Fusion 0 (0)
2009–2015 D.C. United 152 (31)
2016–2017 Philadelphia Union 63 (14)
2018–2019 LA Galaxy 44 (7)
Total 259 (52)
International career‡
2017 United States 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 29, 2019
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 29, 2019

Christopher Richard Pontius (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player.

Early life and education

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Pontius attended and played central midfield for Servite High School.[1] He played club soccer with the Irvine Strikers.

He played college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2007, and Hermann Trophy candidate in 2008. In 2006, Pontius and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos won the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

Pontius and the 2006 UCSB Gauchos soccer team honored at the White House

Playing career

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Warming up before a Philadelphia Union game

Despite being originally named to Ventura County Fusion's roster in 2008 along with several other Gauchos, he did not appear in any matches for the club.[2][3]

D.C. United

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Pontius was drafted in the first round (7th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United. He made his professional debut, and scored his first professional goal, on March 22, 2009, in D.C. United's first game of the 2009 MLS season against Los Angeles Galaxy.[4] On May 23, 2010, Pontius scored D.C.'s 2nd goal in the 3–2 victory against Italian giants A.C. Milan. On July 25, 2012, he scored the MLS All-Star's 2nd goal against Chelsea F.C. to equalize their eventual 3–2 win. Also in 2012, Pontius emerged as D.C. United's leading goal scorer with 10 goals through the first 27 league matches. On September 14, 2012, D.C. United announced Pontius' signing to a long-term contract extension with the club (terms of the extension are as yet undisclosed).

Pontius has had a career riddled with injuries. In September 2010, he had a hamstring injury that required surgery and ended his season. Again in 2011, his season ended early with a fractured tibia. In 2012, his first injury-free season since his debut, he scored a career-high 12 goals. Injuries again plagued Pontius in 2013 and he only played in 22 of the 34 matches that year. D.C. United announced in April 2014, that Pontius would again undergo hamstring surgery and would likely miss most of the 2014 season.[5] Pontius eventually returned to the lineup as a substitute on September 10, 2014, with a mere 8 games left in the regular season.[6] He played 182 games, scored 37 goals, and recorded 23 assists for DC.

Philadelphia Union

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On December 7, 2015, Pontius was traded to Philadelphia Union for allocation money.[7] Pontius saw a resurgence to form and became a major contributor to the Union's 2016 season as he led the team in scoring with 12 goals from 34 appearances on the left wing. This return to form earned him the 2016 MLS Comeback Player of the Year.[8]

LA Galaxy

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Pontius signed as a free agent with LA Galaxy in January 2018.[9] Pontius's contract with LA Galaxy concluded at the end of their 2018 season.[10] He re-signed with the club on December 19.[11] Pontius announced his retirement from professional soccer on October 29, 2019.[12][13]

International

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On December 22, 2009, Pontius received his first call-up to train with the senior U.S. national team. Training in Carson, California began for Pontius and the other players called up on January 4, 2010, leading up to a friendly match against Chile. On August 29, 2011, Pontius was called up by the U.S. National Team for friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium. Pontius debuted for the national team on January 29, 2017, as a substitute in a friendly against Serbia.[14]

Career statistics

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As of January 2, 2017[15]
All-time club performance
Club Season MLS MLS Cup U.S. Open Cup CONCACAF Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
D.C. United
 2009 28 4 - - 3 0 5 2 36 6
2010 17 2 - - 4 0 - - 21 2
2011 25 7 - - 2 0 - - 27 7
2012 31 12 3 0 0 0 - - 34 12
2013 22 2 - - 5 1 - - 27 3
2014 8 1 2 0 0 0 - - 10 1
2015 23 3 1 1 0 0 6 0 30 4
Philadelphia Union
 2016 34 12 1 0 2 2 - - 36 14
Club Total 186 43 7 1 16 3 11 2 221 49
Career Total 186 43 7 1 16 3 11 2 221 49

Awards and honors

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UC Santa Barbara

D.C. United

United States

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Boehm, Charles (March 22, 2013). "The Word: DC United's Chris Pontius, from meager beginnings to MLS stardom – and maybe beyond". Major League Soccer. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  2. ^ "EXCITING CHANGES FOR OPENING DAY". Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "MLS Combine Initial Participants List" (PDF). USLSoccer.com. December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2014. [permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main". Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  5. ^ Golf, Steven (April 23, 2013). "Chris Pontius of DC United will miss four to size more months after hamstring surgery". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  6. ^ Maurer, Pablo (September 11, 2014). "D.C. United take heart from long-awaited Chris Pontius return in acrid defeat to New York Red Bulls". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  7. ^ "Union Acquire Midfielder Chris Pontius from D.C. United". Philadelphia Union. December 7, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Union's Chris Pontius wins MLS Comeback Player of the Year". MLSsoccer.com. November 16, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "LA Galaxy sign midfielder Chris Pontius | LA Galaxy".
  10. ^ "LA Galaxy exercise 2019 contract options on four players". LAGalaxy.com. November 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "LA Galaxy re-sign midfielder Chris Pontius | LA Galaxy".
  12. ^ "Login • Instagram". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  13. ^ "Longtime MLSer Chris Pontius announces retirement | MLSSoccer.com".
  14. ^ "Chris Pontius makes USMNT debut against Serbia". Brotherly Game. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. ^ Chris Pontius at Soccerway
  16. ^ "U.S. men's national team defeats Jamaica to win CONCACAF Gold Cup". USA Today. July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
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