Former UC Santa Barbara soccer star Chris Pontius made his international debut on Sunday, Jan. 29, coming on as a second-half substitute in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 0-0 draw against Serbia in San Diego. He becomes the first Gaucho to ever be capped with the senior national team.
Bruce Arena, in his first game since re-assuming coaching duties for the national team, inserted Pontius into Sunday’s contest in the 65th minute. Pontius had previously been on the roster for the USMNT in 2010 and 2011, but never received a cap.
The Philadelphia Union midfielder had arguably the best chance of the game for the red, white, and blue. With only seconds remaining in the contest and everyone pushing forward, the ball fell to Pontius inside the 18, but his close-range shot went inches wide of the far post.
The squad will next play on Friday, Feb. 3 against Jamaica in Chattanooga, Tenn. in the final exhibition tune-up before World Cup qualifying matches against Honduras and Panama in March.
In an eight-year Major League Soccer career, Pontius has totaled 43 goals and 23 assists over 185 games. He was the seventh overall selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and was an MLS All-Star and Best XI selection in 2012. He is coming off arguably his best season, matching a career-high with 12 goals over 33 games in 2016 en route to MLS Comeback Player of the Year honors.
Before going to the pros, he had a standout career at Harder Stadium under head coach Tim Vom Steeg. The forward’s 29 career goals still rank sixth all-time in UCSB history, and he turned in two of the best offensive seasons in program history as a junior in 2007 (11 goals, Big West Offensive Player of the Year) and a senior in 2008 (14 goals, Mac Hermann Semifinalist, All-American).