Player of the Matchday

San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski named Player of the Week

Chris Wondolowski’s magical week just got even better.


After leading the San Jose Earthquakes into the MLS Cup Playoffs in dramatic fashion, the veteran striker was named the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week for Week 33, as voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR).


With the Quakes needing a Decision Day victory to keep their season alive, Wondolowski assisted on Marco Ureña’s dramatic stoppage-time winner vs. Minnesota United as Avaya Stadium erupted in celebration.


Wondolowski also scored a goal earlier in the second half of the Quakes’ thrilling 3-2 win, finding space in the box and one-timing home a 55th-minute cross from Danny Hoesen.


The goal was the 13th of the season for Wondolowski, as well as his 134th in MLS, putting him into a second-place tie with Jeff Cunningham on the league’s all-time scoring charts. The only player in league history who’s scored more goals than Wondolowski is Landon Donovan with 145.


Wondo and the rest of the giddy Quakes — who snuck into the playoffs at the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with a 13-14-7 overall record — now face Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Knockout Round on Wednesday (10:30 pm ET | UniMás in the US, TSN, TVA Sports 2 in Canada).


The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.