Chris Pontius (soccer)

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

For the cast member of the MTV series Jackass, see Chris Pontius.

Chris Pontius
Pontius dribbling against Ajax in May 2011
Personal information
Full name Christopher Richard Pontius
Date of birth (1987-05-12) May 12, 1987
Place of birth Yorba Linda, California, United States
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)
National team‡
2017 United States 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 29, 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 29, 2019

Playing career

Youth and college

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.

Professional
Warming up before a Philadelphia Union game

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

D.C. United

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

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

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

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 made his debut for the national team on January 29, 2017 as a substitute in a friendly against Serbia.[14]

Career statistics
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 Total186437116311222149
Career Total186437116311222149

Honors

Club
UC Santa Barbara
D.C. United

Individual

References
  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.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "MLS Combine Initial Participants List" (PDF). USLSoccer.com. December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  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. https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2018/01/22/la-galaxy-sign-midfielder-chris-pontius
  10. "LA Galaxy exercise 2019 contract options on four players". LAGalaxy.com. November 26, 2018.
  11. https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2018/12/19/la-galaxy-re-sign-midfielder-chris-pontius
  12. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4NS8M8J3JB/
  13. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/10/29/longtime-mlser-chris-pontius-announces-retirement
  14. "Chris Pontius makes USMNT debut against Serbia". Brotherly Game. January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  15. Chris Pontius at Soccerway
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