San Jose Earthquakes and US National Team forward Chris Wondolowski has been nominated for an ESPY in the Best MLS Player category after his meteoric rise to become the top goal scorer in the league over the last two seasons.
In 2010, Wondolowski won the Budweiser Golden Boot and was a finalist for the Volkswagen MVP award.
The Danville, Calif. native's career-high 18 goals in 28 games played helped the Earthquakes to their first playoff appearance since the team rejoined MLS in 2008. Wondolowski trailed Los Angeles Galaxy forward Edson Buddle in the Golden Boot race by six goals (14-8) with eight games to play (through games on September 11).
Wondolowski was the first player to win an MLS goal-scoring title, either jointly or outright, by erasing a deficit of five or more goals in his last 10 games. He was also the first player in San Jose franchise history to win the award.