’Quakes star Wondolowski announces his retirement
SAN JOSE » Chris Wondolowksi announced his retirement Sunday, minutes after the San Jose Earthquakes ended its season with a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas at PayPal Park.
The leading goal scorer in MLS history took the mic after the game to make the announcement. Earlier he gave fans one last highlight to remember him by, scoring his 171st career goal in the 34th minute by slotting a cross by Marcos Lopez into the left side netting from the center of the box. He finishes with 26 more career goals than Landon Donovan.
The 38-year-old Danville native was drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft and started 313 games with the Quakes, 85 more than any other player.
Wondolowski had considered retiring after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but decided to come back in 2021, partly so he could play in front of fans one more time.
But Wondolowski took on a sharply reduced role this season. He made just nine starts and scored five goals.
Wondolowski had scored double-digit goals every season from 2010-19, and then had a team-high nine goals in all competitions for the Earthquakes in 2020.
But unfortunately for San Jose, all the goals didn’t translate to team success. The Quakes haven’t finished the regular season with a winning record since 2013 and last won a playoff game in 2012. Both the Quakes (10-13-11) and FC Dallas (7-15-12) had been eliminated from playoff contention before Sunday.
Though Wondolowski didn’t talk about his future leading up to the game, there were hints Sunday that it would be his last appearance.
A video montage for the captain was shown before the game, fans received a Wondo hat as a giveaway and the forward was led onto the field by his young daughters Emersyn and Brynlee.
At halftime and again in the 70th minute, fans were told to stay in the seats for a special presentation immediately after the game.
The crowd chanted “Wondo” and “One More Year” but Wondolowski soon told them that his 17year career was coming to an end.