Seventeen-year-old U.S. midfielder Gio Reyna dazzled his way to Man of the Match honors, dishing all three assists in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 win against Freiburg on Saturday.
According to TruMedia’s Paul Carr, Reyna is likely just the second U.S. male to record three assists in a match for a European club after Steve Cherundolo did so for Hannover 96 in May 2008.
Here’s how it happened:
In the 31st minute, veteran attacker Marco Reus forced a turnover in midfield. Reyna ran on to the loose ball and took two touches before threading a weighted pass to Håland who finished inside the far post.
👀 Gio Reyna with a 🔥 assist to Erling Håland to put @BlackYellow up 1-0 vs. @scfreiburg!
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) October 3, 2020
🎥: @espn pic.twitter.com/pxmPIZkBD4
With Dortmund earning a corner kick just after halftime, the son of former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna swung his take onto the head of the unmarked Emre Can, who headed his effort into the upper right corner in the 47th minute.
And Gio Reyna has another!
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) October 3, 2020
It's the first multi-assist game of the 17-year-old's 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 career!
🎥: @espn pic.twitter.com/oWIHl4HwXr
The hat trick of assists was completed in the 66th minute when Reyna dribbled around a Freiburg player at midfield before sending Håland through the back line. The Norwegian made no mistake from there, slotting home his second of the match to send Dortmund on to the 3-0 shutout.
HAT TRICK OF ASSISTS FOR GIO REYNA!
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) October 3, 2020
🎥: @espn pic.twitter.com/K0REiN1juI
Reyna departed the match in the 80th minute with an 89 percent pass completion rate. Dortmund added a fourth goal via Felix Passlack in second-half stoppage time.
The three assists were the 17-year-old’s first of the young Bundesliga campaign. Overall, Reyna has now connected with Håland on five different occasions since his promotion to the first team last season. In June, the star Norwegian striker hailed Reyna as “The American Dream”.
“He is 17 years old and what he was doing on the pitch today was amazing," Håland said following BVB’s 2-0 win at RB Leipzig on June 20. "He has a huge future in front of him."
The assist hat trick goes along with two goals Reyna has already scored this season. He tallied in BVB’s 5-0 first round DFB Pokal win against Duisburg on Sept. 14, before registering his first Bundesliga goal five days later in the club’s 3-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach on the opening day of the season.
Reyna captained the U.S. at last year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil and was set to earn his first USMNT call-up in March before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the camp’s cancelation. Should the team play matches in Europe next month, he seems a safe bet for inclusion in Gregg Berhalter’s side.