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 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos won the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

Despite being originally named to Ventura County Fusion's roster in 2008 along with several other Gauchos, he did not appear in any matches for the club.

[5] Pontius eventually returned to the lineup as a substitute on September 10, 2014, with a mere 8 games left in the regular season.

[7] Pontius saw a resurgence to form and became a major contributor to the Union's 2016 season as he led the team in scoring with 12 goals from 34 appearances on the left wing.

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.