What a boot!

A former Chico State and Chico Rooks soccer player has taken home Major League Soccer’s MVP award as a forward for the San Jose Earthquakes.

Chris Wondolowski, who played for Chico State from 2001 to 2004 and the Chico Rooks (formerly of the Men’s Premier Soccer League) during the 2004 season, led all of the MLS in scoring for the third straight year with a record-tying 27 goals, according to a Chico State Athletics Department press release. Wondolowski (pictured) became the fifth U.S.-born player to win the MVP award in the 17-year history of the MLS.

Wondolowski entered the league in 2005, receiving limited playing time with the first incarnation of the San Jose Earthquakes and then with Houston Dynamo until his breakout in 2010, when he scored 18 goals in 26 matches.