NEW YORK
(Monday, May 20, 2019)
– San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 12
th
week of the 2019 MLS season.
Wondolowski scored four goals in the Earthquakes’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday, becoming the all-time MLS goalscoring leader in the process. With 148 career goals in regular season play, Wondolowski surpassed Landon Donovan in the record books. San Jose sits eighth in the Western Conference with 14 points (4-6-2 overall record).
The U.S. Men’s National Team veteran needed one goal to tie Donovan’s mark and etched his name into the record books with a goal in the 21
st
minute to give San Jose a 1-0 lead (
watch goal
). Wondolowski then broke the record in the 48
th
minute to give San Jose a 2-0 advantage with a left-footed shot directly in front of the goalkeeper (
watch goal
).
Wondolowski netted his fifth career hat trick, tied for second-most in MLS history, with a goal from the center of the box in the 74
th
minute (
watch goal
). The all-time goalscoring leader capped his record-breaking day by finishing again in the 76
th
minute for his first ever four-goal game and only the second in MLS since 2010 (
watch goal
).
San Jose returns to action on Sunday when traveling to face Toronto FC at BMO Field (7:30 p.m. ET, TSN / ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
