Chris Wondolowski

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Chris Wondolowski

Wondolowski warming up at the MLS All Star Game (2013)
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Elliott Wondolowski
Date of birth (1983-01-28) January 28, 1983
Place of birthDanville, California, United States
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current clubSan Jose Earthquakes
Number8
Youth career
2001–2004Chico State Wildcats
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004Chico Rooks16(17)
2005San Jose Earthquakes2(0)
2006–2009Houston Dynamo37(4)
2009–San Jose Earthquakes133(75)
National team‡
2011–United States18(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 26, 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 1, 2014

Christopher Elliott Wondolowski (born January 28, 1983) is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer and the United States national team. Wondolowski was MLS's top goal scorer in the 2012 season and has become one of the top strikers in Major League Soccer.[1] He is known by the nickname "Wondo" and his ability to put himself into scoring positions.

Career

Youth and college

Wondolowski played high school soccer at De La Salle High School in Concord, California, where he earned All-Bay Valley Athletic League first team and all-East Bay first team honors in 2000 and 2001. He was awarded two area "Player of the Year" awards in 2001 by local media. Wondolowski played club soccer for the Diablo Valley Soccer Club (DVSC) and Danville Mustang Soccer Association.

He went on to enjoy a standout college soccer career at Chico State University, finishing with 39 goals in 84 games. He led the Chico Rooks of the then Men's Premier Soccer League with 17 goals in the 2004 season.[2]

Professional

Playing vs FC Dallas in 2013

Wondolowski was drafted 41st overall in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft by the San Jose Earthquakes. Although he made only two MLS appearances for San Jose in 2005, he led the Earthquakes reserve team in scoring with eight goals in 12 games.

Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season and once again led the reserve team in scoring, tallying 13 goals in 11 games. He scored his first MLS goal 30 August 2006 against the Chicago Fire.

In 2007, Wondolowski scored against Pachuca in the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, although Houston was eliminated in the second leg. He scored his second career MLS goal – a tap-in against Chicago – on July 12, 2007, and his 4th career goal for Houston against New York Red Bulls on May 16, 2009 was also the 7000th goal in Major League Soccer history.

Wondolowski was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Cam Weaver in June 2009.[3] With the move to San Jose, Wondolowski began to receive more playing time and appeared in 14 games in which he scored 3 goals for San Jose. Wondolowski had a break-out season in 2010 in which he led Major League Soccer in scoring with 18 goals in 26 matches, leading San Jose into the MLS Playoffs.[4] He scored his first playoff goal with the series winning goal against New York in their playoff game, propelling San Jose to a 3–2 aggregate win.

Wondolowski’s first brace of 2011 started in the fifth minute of play against F.C. Dallas. After receiving a ball in the box, Wondolowski took the ball off a volley with time to turn and punch the shot past a helpless Kevin Hartman. His second goal would come in just the 23rd minute after Dallas was unable to clear the ball on a set piece.[5] He finished the season with 16 goals.

San Jose signed Wondolowski to a new contract in February 2012.[6] Terms were undisclosed.

Wondolowski was elected to the 2012 MLS All-Star Game versus Chelsea F.C.. He was defended by John Terry, and managed to score in the 21st minute. NBC Sports Network aired an episode of MLS 36 following Wondolowski for 36 hours through his arrival in Philadelphia for the All-Star festivities and the game itself. It shows Terry personally complimenting Wondolowski at halftime on his movement, adding that it was a "nightmare" to cover him.

On October 6, 2012, Wondolowski became the San Jose Earthquakes' all-time leading goal-scorer at Colorado Rapids, a night where he notched his fourth career hat-trick. That season he also matched Roy Lassiter's MLS record of 27 goals in a season.

International

Following his successful stint with the Earthquakes during the 2010 season which included winning the 2010 MLS Golden Boot, Wondolowski was called up to Winter Training Camp with the United States men's national soccer team. At the conclusion of the three-week camp, his first cap with the national team came in a January 22, 2011 friendly against Chile at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

On May 23, 2011, Wondolowski was named to the United States roster for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.

In 2012, Wondolowski was called into the United States' initial 27-man roster for a series of three friendlies and the first two World Cup qualifiers for the US. Wondolowski made the 23-man roster but only appeared once as a sub in a friendly 0–0 draw against Canada.

On July 5, 2013, Wondolowski scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Guatemala at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, and four days later, wearing a jersey on which his name was spelled "Wondowlowski", he scored a hat-trick in the first half against Belize at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon. He continued his scoring run with a brace against Cuba at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. On February 1, 2014, Wondolowski added two more goals to his tally, by scoring a brace against South Korea at StubHub Center in Carson, California.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. 5 July 2013 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States  Guatemala 3–0 6–0 Friendly
02. 9 July 2013 Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, United States  Belize 1–0 6–1 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
03. 2–0
04. 3–1
05. 13 July 2013 Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, United States  Cuba 3–1 4-1 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
06. 4–1
07. 1 February 2014 StubHub Center, Carson, United States  South Korea 1–0 2-0 Friendly
08. 2–0

International appearances

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 22 January 2011 The Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, United States  Chile 1–1 Draw Friendly
2. 4 June 2011 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States  Spain 0–4 Loss Friendly
3. 7 June 2011 Ford Field, Detroit, United States  Canada 2–0 Win 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4. 11 June 2011 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States  Panama 1–2 Loss 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
5. 14 June 2011 Livestrong Sporting Park, Kansas City, United States  Guadeloupe 1–0 Win 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6. 21 January 2012 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States  Venezuela 1–0 Win Friendly
7. 25 January 2012 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama  Panama 1–0 Win Friendly
8. 3 June 2012 BMO Field, Toronto, Canada  Canada 0–0 Draw Friendly
9. 29 January 2013 BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States  Canada 0–0 Draw Friendly
10. 5 July 2013 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States  Guatemala 6–0 Win Friendly
11. 9 July 2013 Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, United States  Belize 6–1 Win 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12. 13 July 2013 Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, United States  Cuba 4–1 Win 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
13. 16 July 2013 Rentschler Field, East Hartford, United States  Costa Rica 1–0 Win 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
14. 21 July 2013 M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, United States  El Salvador 5–1 Win 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
15. 24 July 2013 Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States  Honduras 3–1 Win 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
16. 15 November 2013 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 0–0 Draw Friendly
17. 19 November 2013 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria  Austria 0–1 Loss Friendly
18. 1 February 2014 StubHub Center, Carson, California  South Korea 2-0 Win Friendly
Last updated February 1, 2014[7]

Other Accomplishments

In 2013 Wondolowski was named to the Division II 40th Anniversary Tribute Team, honoring his time spent at Chico State.[8]

Personal

Chris is the brother of fellow professional soccer player Stephen Wondolowski. He is half-Native American through his mother who was born into the Kiowa tribe, of which Chris himself is also a member.[9] His paternal grandfather arrived to the United States at the age of seven with family and originated from Warsaw, Poland.[10]

Career statistics

Club Season League MLS Cup Playoffs U.S. Open Cup SuperLiga Champions League Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
San Jose Earthquakes 2005 200010----30
Houston Dynamo 2006 610031----92
2007 16100101031212
2008 8000002062162
2009 72--00--0072
San Jose Earthquakes 2009 143--00----143
2010 28183110----3219
2011 3016--20----3216
2012 32272010----3527
2013 2911--10--423413
Career total 17279511013013520386

Statistics accurate through October 28, 2013

Honors

Club

Houston Dynamo
San Jose Earthquakes
  • MLS Supporter's Shield (1): 2012

International

United States

Individual

See also

  • List of current MLS players

References

  1. ↑ Creditor, Avi. "MLS mid-season Awards....and some second-half questions". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 July 2012. 
  2. ↑ http://socceroutsider.com/c/national-premier-soccer-league/2004/
  3. ↑ BERNARDO FALLAS, Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle (2009-06-09). "Dynamo send Wondolowski to Earthquakes". Chron.com. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  4. ↑ Wondolowski 2010 MLS Golden Boot
  5. ↑ Brownlee, Jay (2010-01-02). "San Jose Earthquakes 2 vs FC Dallas 0 – 3RD Degree – FC Dallas Blog – ESPN Dallas". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  6. ↑ http://www.sjearthquakes.com/news/2012/02/Wondolowski-inks-new-contract-earthquakes
  7. ↑ "US Men's National Team lineups". USSoccer.com. Retrieved 07-09-2013. 
  8. ↑ http://chicowildcats.com/news/2013/2/15/MSOC_0215133820.aspx?path=msoc
  9. ↑ "The MNT Blog". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  10. ↑ "Wondolowski chce grać dla Polski". sport.pl. Retrieved 2011-12-07. 

External links

San Jose Earthquakes – current squad
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