Major League Soccer’s record goal scorer leads the San Jose Earthquakes into the District on Saturday in the final match before the Gold Cup break for D.C. United. The Black-and-Red remained at the top of the Eastern Conference with their 3-3 draw against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, but the pressure to secure three points against the Quakes will be on after a winless run of four matches with the Philadelphia Union, Montreal Impact, and Atlanta United all nipping at their heels.

To pick up three points will require stopping a team that has won three of its last four matches and veteran striker Chris Wondolowski, who has rediscovered his scoring touch by way of six tallies in the last two matches. The 36-year-old entered the season just one goal behind Landon Donovan’s record of 145, but a bit of patience was needed to finally claim the top spot as his own.

A slow start to the campaign in front of goal and four straight losses for San Jose forced new head coach Matías Almeyda to make changes, and Wondolowski found himself on the bench while the team attempted to implement a new style of play and get moving in the right direction.

They appeared to be coming to terms with Almeyda’s high-pressure system in the months of April and used it to great effect in producing blowout wins over the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City, before holding Seattle to a draw at CenturyLink Field. Overall, since  the 0-4-0 start, the 'Quakes have gone 5-2-2, putting themselves in contention for the playoffs.

On May 18th, Wondolowski was given his first start in over a month and returned to full action in dramatic fashion by capturing the record for most goals in league history with a near flawless four-goal performance against the Chicago Fire.

THE ALL-TIME SCORING RECORD BELONGS TO @CHRISWONDO! #Quakes74 https://t.co/MXZoyTUMA0

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 18, 2019

“It was fun,” Wondolowski said following the standout performance. “I didn’t necessarily think four goals coming in, but driving I had a special feeling. I really thought today it could’ve been the day.”

Keeping a prolific goal scorer on the bench no matter his age is a bold and difficult move, but Almeyda’s decision to start Wondolowski paid dividends and a little premonition was allegedly at play in the hours before kickoff.

“I can’t say because it’s going to seem odd to you guys,” Almeyda told media following the match. “I was speaking to my interpreter and one of the staff, and I said, ‘Maybe he’ll score four goals today.”

The emotional highs of breaking Donovan’s record could have resulted in a letdown performance in the subsequent match against Toronto FC, but Wondolowski had no such plans. Almeyda’s men left BMO Field will all three points after goals in the 37th and 81st minutes flipped the script for a 2-1 result.

Right place. Right time.

That's No. 150 for Wondo! #TORvSJ pic.twitter.com/93NqiwGSb3

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 27, 2019

“Right place, right time” certainly seems to be the motto of Wondolowski’s prolific career. He has always had acute positional awareness and the ability to find pockets of space to carve out scoring chances from seemingly harmless situations.

The United back line will have its hands full dealing with his movement and tenacity to get on the end of any cross or lose ball in the box, as an upstart San Jose team looks for a win to take them into the playoff picture.