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Tim Howard's a goalie ... so, unlike everyone else, he's allowed to use his hands -- even at the strip club!

The Team USA soccer legend was living it up at the legendary V Live over the weekend -- where we're told the dancers and the staff FREAKED OUT (in a good way) when they saw him walk in!

Side note -- apparently, soccer is huge in the Texas stripper community.

He bumped, he grinded ... he threw out thousands of dollars in cash -- everyone had a great time!

Howard and the Colorado Rapids were in Texas to face FC Dallas on Saturday ... and even though the game ended in a draw, Howard was clearly in the mood to celebrate.