Pontius attended Servite High School, and played club soccer with the Irvine Strikers, who he helped win the Nomads College Showcase in 2005. He played college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2007, and Hermann Trophy candidate in 2008. In 2006, Pontius and the University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men"s Soccer Championship.
Youth and college
Professional
Despite being originally named to Ventura County Fusion"s roster in 2008 along with a number of other Gauchos, he did not appear in any matches for the club Pontius was drafted in the first round (7th overall) of the 2009 Master of Library Science SuperDraft by District of Columbia United. He made his professional debut, and scored his first professional goal, on March 22, 2009, in District of Columbia United"s first game of the 2009 Master of Library Science season against Los Angeles Galaxy.
On May 23, 2010 Pontius scored District of Columbia"s 2nd goal in the 3-2 victory against Italian giants A.C. (before Christ) Milan.
Also in 2012, Pontius emerged as District of Columbia United"s leading goal scorer with 10 goals through the first 27 league matches. On September 14, 2012, District of Columbia United announced Pontius" signing to a long-term contract extension with the club (terms of the extension are as yet undisclosed).
Pontius has had a career riddled with injuries. In September 2010, he had a hamstring injury that required surgery and ended his season.
Again in 2011, his season ended early with a fractured tibia.
In 2012, his first injury free season since his debut, he scored a career high 12 goals. Injuries again plagued Pontius in 2013 and he only played in 22 of the 34 matches that year. District of Columbia United announced in April 2014, that Pontius would again undergo hamstring surgery and would likely miss most of the 2014 season.
Pontius eventually returned to the lineup as a substitute on September 10, 2014 with a mere 8 games left in the regular season.
On December 7, 2015, Pontius was traded to the Philadelphia Union for allocation money. International
On December 22, 2009, Pontius received his first call up to train with the senior United States national team
Training in Carson, California began for Pontius and the other players called up on January 4, 2010, leading up to a friendly match against Chile. On August 29, 2011, Pontius was called up by the United States National Team for friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium.
Pontius attended Servite High School, and played club soccer with the Irvine Strikers, who he helped win the Nomads College Showcase in 2005. He played college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2007, and Hermann Trophy candidate in 2008. In 2006, Pontius and the University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos won the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men"s Soccer Championship. On July 25, 2012 he scored the Master of Library Science All-Star"s 2nd goal against Chelsea F.C. to equalize their eventual 3-2 win.
