Oct. 6, 2004 – Chris Cleary first U.S. player to score FA Cup hat trick

Chris Cleary went from Boston College to play in England and Germany. Cleary was 25 when he scored all the Worksop Town goals in a 3-2 win over Droylesden FC. Cleary, born in Washington, D.C., resided in Milton and performed for South Shore United in Hingham, Charles River United, Greater Boston Eagles (now Greater Boston Bolts), Catholic Memorial and Noble & Greenough. Cleary won the 2000 Big East title at BC under the coaching of Ed Kelly, a former U.S. national teamer and member of the Rhode Island Oceaneers and Hartford Bicentennials. Cleary’s BC teammates included former Colorado Rapids Guy Melamed and Casey Schmidt, Revolution midfielder Bobby Thompson and current Harvard women’s team coach Chris Hamblin. Cleary played for Karlsruhe and SVL Ludwigswinkel in Germany. Worksop Town FC was in the Nationwide Conference North, equivalent to the sixth division.

Worksop Town 3:2 Droylesden FC, FA Cup third qualifying round (Att.: 485)

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY