Chris Wondolowski

Chris Wondolowski

Wondolowski with the Earthquakes in August 2010
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Elliott Wondolowski
Date of birth	January 28, 1983 (1983-01-28)
Place of birth	Danville, California, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	San Jose Earthquakes
Number	8
Youth career
2001–2004	Chico State Wildcats
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004	Chico Rooks
2005	San Jose Earthquakes	2	(0)
2006–2009	Houston Dynamo	37	(4)
2009–	San Jose Earthquakes	72	(37)
National team‡
2011–	United States	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 23, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 22, 2012

Christopher Elliott Wondolowski (born January 28, 1983 in Danville, California) is an American soccer player of Polish descent who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.

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, and led the Chico Rooks of the then Men's Premier Soccer League with 17 goals in the 2004 season.

Professional

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. 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. 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. He finished the season with 16 goals.

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.

Other Accomplishments

Wondolowski was a stand-out middle distance runner while at De La Salle: he earned his way to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State track meet in both his Junior and Senior years. His accomplishments caught the attention and interest of several track schools, including UCLA: Chris' recorded bests were 1:57 in the 800 and 4:15 in the 1600 during his senior season. Chris was also an outstanding middle infielder throughout his youth baseball career. The highlight was starting at second base for the Danville Rockies baseball team, a club that went on to capture the 1997 PONY League (13-14 yr. old) World Series Championship He was eventually persuaded to give up baseball after completing his JV Baseball season to try his hand at distance running. The DLS track coach "discovered" Chris after he recorded a time of 10:20 for a two-mile "fitness run" that was administered to all of the varsity soccer players.

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. His paternal grandfather arrived to the United States in the age of seven with family and originated from Warsaw, Poland.

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	2	0	0	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	3	0
Houston Dynamo	2006	6	1	0	0	3	1	-	-	-	-	9	2
	2007	16	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	1	21	2
	2008	8	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	6	2	16	2
	2009	7	2	-	-	0	0	-	-	0	0	7	2
San Jose Earthquakes	2009	14	3	-	-	0	0	-	-	-	-	14	3
	2010	28	18	3	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	32	19
	2011	30	16	-	-	2	0	-	-	-	-	32	16
Career total		111	41	3	1	8	1	3	0	9	3	134	46

Statistics accurate as of match played 22 Oct 2011

Honors

Club

Houston Dynamo

• MLS Cup (2): 2006, 2007

Individual

• MLS Golden Boot (2): 2010, 2011
• MLS Best XI (2): 2010, 2011

See also

• List of current MLS players

External links

• MLS player profile
• Athlete Chat: MLS Players Chris & Stephen Wondolowski
• Chris Wondolowski at National-Football-Teams.com