Chris Pontius (soccer)
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Pontius dribbling against Ajax in May 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Richard Pontius | ||
| Date of birth | May 12, 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Yorba Linda, California, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Philadelphia Union | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2004 | Servite High School | ||
| 2005–2008 | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008 | Ventura County Fusion | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2015 | D.C. United | 152 | (31) |
| 2016– | Philadelphia Union | 7 | (3) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:04, 10 April 2016 (UTC). | |||
Christopher Richard "Chris" Pontius (born May 12, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.
Playing career
Youth and college
Pontius attended Servite High School, and played club soccer with the Irvine Strikers, who he helped win the Nomads College Showcase in 2005. 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.
Professional
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.[1][2]
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 DC United's first game of the 2009 MLS season against Los Angeles Galaxy.[3] On May 23, 2010 Pontius scored DC'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 DC United's leading goal scorer with 10 goals through the first 27 league matches. On September 14, 2012, DC 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.[4] Pontius eventually returned to the lineup as a substitute on September 10, 2014 with a mere 8 games left in the regular season.[5]
On December 7, 2015, Pontius was traded to the Philadelphia Union for allocation money. [6]
International
On December 22, 2009, Pontius received his first call up to train with the senior US 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 US National Team for friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium.
Career statistics
- As of December 17, 2015[7]
| Club | Season |  MLS |
MLS Cup | US 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 | |
| Club Total | 152 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 185 | 35 | |
| Career Total | 152 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 185 | 35 | |
Honors
Club
- UC Santa Barbara
- D.C. United
Individual
- Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year (1): 2007
- MLS All-Star (1): 2012
- MLS All-Star MVP (1): 2012
- MLS Best XI (1): 2012
See also
References
- ↑ EXCITING CHANGES FOR OPENING DAY at the Wayback Machine (archived December 20, 2008)
- ↑ "MLS Combine Initial Participants List" (PDF). USLSoccer.com. December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- ↑ http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=03222009_DCLA
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2015/12/07/union-acquire-midfielder-chris-pontius-dc-united
- ↑ Chris Pontius profile at Soccerway
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Pontius. |
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