MLS All-Stars 3, Chelsea 2: Chris Pontius shows why he's a badass

A substitution in the 45th minute gave the MLS All-Stars youngest player a shot.  He didn't disappoint.  The UCSB alumnus, the first round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Chris Pontius used his 45 minutes very wisely.  Coming on for Landon Donovan to start the second half, the DC United forward and former Gaucho made his presence known immediately.  After fellow Gaucho, GK Dan Kennedy, gave up a difficult goal after making a great save, the All-Stars stepped it up.  In the 71st minute, David Beckham sent a long cross down to Dwayne DeRosario.  DeRosario held and waited on the edge of the box, then fed it back to Chris Pontius who put the ball on the line for the goal.  He wasn't finished however: in the 91st minute, just into stoppage time, Pontius battled out for a ball that he flicked back to Kyle Beckerman.  Beckerman flinged it forward to Eddie Johnson who finished with a shot that bounced in.  For his efforts (1 G, 3 S, 1 SOG, 1 A) he was named the Volkswagon MVP of the game.


A final note about this game: yes, it is international friendly; yes, the game doesn't mean a thing; realize however, that even though we are still a long way off from the rest of the world in soccer, last night's game showed that we are making efforts to close the gap.