By Matthew T.F. Harrington
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Chris Wondolowski joined MLS royalty in Sunday’s 1-1 draw between the San Jose Earthquakes and Orlando City SC at Levi’s Stadium, scoring the tying goal on a penalty kick to become just the ninth player in league history to score 100 career goals.
“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”
Wondolowski’s marker extended the undefeated run by San Jose (5-4-3) to five games after Kaka put Orlando City (3-5-4) up 1-0 with a penalty strike of his own.
The two teams battled to a standstill in the first half, but a pair of penalty kicks broke open the flood gates in the second half.
“40 yards and in we were a bit missing today,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “We had a couple of good opportunities in the first half, a couple chances off set pieces. They were well organized, we were well organized. Sometimes defense rules the day and that’s what happened.”
Despite being down a man after Brek Shea was shown the red card for a spikes-up slide tackle in the 51st minute, the Lions struck first. Goalkeeper Tally Hall lofted a long ball into the attacking penalty box. Forward Cyle Larin and Quakes keeper David Bingham collided going after the 50-50 ball. Referee Allen Chapman awarded Orlando City a penalty kick for apparent contact to the face of the Lion attacker.
“For us to allow that ball to bounce once close to our area is a definite no-no,” said Kinnear. “That five-second segment was the worst we defended all year and we got punished for it.”
After weeks of hype in the media leading up to the game, soccer superstar Kaka delivered on the pitch. The Brazilian went left as goalkeeper David Bingham went right on the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.
The name opposite Kaka on the marquee leading up to Sunday played the perfect foil, with Chris Wondolowski one-upping the former FIFA World Player of the Year by scoring a significant MLS milestone.
After Orlando committed a penalty in the box, Wondolowski lined up the penalty kick looking to draw San Jose even and pull himself into a tie with Edson Buddle as the eighth-highest scoring player in league history.
He did just that in the 68th minute, getting Hall to guess wrong on a low dribbler to the left for his 7th strike of the season.
The two-time MLS Golden Boot winner raced into the goal to retrieve the ball before being mobbed by his teammates feting him for his accomplishment. The goal scorer wasn’t doing it to soak in the moment though, he wanted to get play started as soon as possible.
“I was ready to go,” said Wondolowski. “I really wanted to get a victory, especially being up a man.”
“I talked to Chris after the game, he wasn’t happy with the result” said Kinnear. “I told him ‘Take a step back. Recognize what you’ve done’. It’s an incredible achievement, couldn’t have happened to a better guy. It’s not the end of his story, but it’s a great accomplishment for a person who has overcome a lot.”
Not too shabby for a player who, coming out of Chico State in 2005, played sparsely for San Jose after being drafted by Kinnear.
“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”
When the team moved to Houston, Wondolowski ultimately was traded by Kinnear back to San Jose where he’s scored all but 4 of his goals. Just this season Kinnear resumed duties as bench boss in Santa Clara.
“I haven’t really sat down with him and said ‘Hey, remember when I traded you’,” said Kinnear jokingly. “’What a great accomplishment.’ Looking at his career at the time, he wasn’t going to have a chance to play in Houston. I thought for him to ply his trade at home, I only made one call on Chris, and that was to San Jose.”
“He has great vision,” Wondolowski said of Kinnear with a smile and tongue firmly planted in cheek. “He knew he was coming back here. He knew he couldn’t bring me there. It was all a master plan.”
If the Danville native keeps up his pace this season, he could end the season as high as 5th on the all-time MLS scoring list. He’d pass Taylor Twellman (101), Dwayne De Rosario (104) and Jason Kreis (108) in the process.
“He’s done it not playing for the glamour team,” said Kinnear. “He’s done it with some calls not going his way. To get 100 goals as the ninth guy in the MLS, he should be really proud of himself.”
That he’d be able to do it all close to home means all that much more to the Quakes mainstay.
“It’s an amazing thing,” said Wondolowski. “I love it. I grew up with this club. To be able to do it for the hometown team in front of friends and family is pretty cool. I got to give my dad a hug after. He had tears in his eyes. It’s one of those things that he definitely appreciated, and I appreciate everything that he’s done.”
For now the season marches on, with nearly a third of the season over for a Quakes team just three points back of FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.
“We’ve had five home games out of 12,” said Kinnear on the schedule so far. “I’m happy with the guys. The competitive spirit is great. At times we look like a great team. That shows the potential that we have. To see where we’re at and the company that we’re keeping in the Western Conference, we’re doing something right.”
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