Scally's First Bundesliga Goal

On This Day in 2021, the Long Island Native Made History at the Volkswagen Arena

When Joe Scally signed his first professional contract with New York City FC on March 21, 2018, he became the second-youngest player in United States soccer history to turn pro, trailing only the legendary Freddy Adu. Three months later, the 15-year-old made his debut in a U.S. Open Cup defeat to the New York Red Bulls, earning a brief cameo as a late substitute. It was a humble beginning, but the trajectory was clear.

By November 2019, European suitors had taken notice. Borussia Mönchengladbach secured the teenage defender's signature in a groundbreaking deal—the highest transfer fee ever paid for a 16-year-old MLS player, with potential add-ons that could elevate it to one of the league's most lucrative sales to Europe. The Lake Grove, New York native would remain with NYCFC through the 2020 season before making the transatlantic leap in January 2021.

"Our expectations in him are high," Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl declared upon Scally's arrival. "We plan that he'll be part of the first team. We are very excited—he has strong defensive abilities but also speed, stamina and guts."

Yet the path to the first team wasn't immediate. Scally spent the spring of 2021 with Gladbach's reserves, adjusting to German football and acclimatizing to his new surroundings. The teenage defender would have to wait for his chance. That opportunity arrived in the summer when an injury to first-choice left-back Ramy Bensebaini created an opening during preseason. Scally seized it emphatically, impressing new manager Adi Hütter enough to earn a starting role for the 2021-22 campaign opener. On August 13, the 18-year-old was thrown directly into the fire, making his Bundesliga debut in a 1-1 draw against defending champions Bayern Munich.

From that moment, Scally never left the lineup. Through the opening six matches, he started every game, operating seamlessly at both left and right back while helping to control some of the Bundesliga's most dangerous attackers, including a victory over Borussia Dortmund on September 25. But it was on October 2 that he etched his name into the Bundesliga history books.

The venue was the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, where Gladbach hadn't claimed a Bundesliga victory in nearly 18 years—a drought spanning 16 consecutive visits. The stage was set for the 18-year-old American to break through in the most dramatic fashion possible.

Gladbach exploded from the opening whistle with two goals in the first seven minutes. Breel Embolo stunned the home crowd with an acrobatic overhead kick in the fifth minute, then turned provider moments later, winning possession at midfield and releasing Jonas Hofmann for an easy finish into an empty net. Though Luca Waldschmidt pulled one back for the hosts midway through the first half, Gladbach maintained control throughout the match.

The breakthrough moment for Scally arrived deep into stoppage time. With Wolfsburg reduced to ten men after Maxence Lacroix's second yellow card and desperately pushing for an equalizer, goalkeeper Yann Sommer launched a clearance downfield. Scally, positioned perfectly, found himself with acres of space and a clear path to the goal.

"I always tell Yann that he should play it high to me when I'm free," Scally recalled afterward. "When I got the ball, I saw that I had a clear path to goal, so I got a bit nervous and just sprinted off."

The nerves didn't show. The American defender surged forward and finished clinically, sending the ball into the back of the net in the 95th minute to seal a 3-1 victory.

"When the ball hit the back of the net, what I really wanted was to do it again; it was unbelievable," Scally said. "It's a feeling I'll never forget."

At 18 years old and in just his seventh Bundesliga appearance, Scally had become the 33rd American to score in Germany's top flight, joining fellow teenager Gio Reyna among the compatriots finding the net that season.  The goal carried significance beyond the record books. Scally had not only scored his first professional goal but had done so in a match that ended Gladbach's 18-year winless streak at the Volkswagen Arena—their first victory there since November 2003. His full 90-minute performance showcased the two-way abilities that Eberl had praised upon signing, as he won duels, made tackles and clearances, and contributed to both the defensive solidity and attacking threat that defined Gladbach's display.

For American soccer, the moment represented another milestone in a golden generation establishing itself across Europe's elite leagues. While Scally hadn't been included in Gregg Berhalter's USMNT squad for the October international window, his performances were impossible to ignore. The teenager was thriving in one of Europe's top leagues, operating in multiple positions with a maturity that belied his years. The remainder of the first half of the 2021-22 season validated Scally's emergence as a rising star. He started all 17 Bundesliga matches in the Hinrunde, logging an impressive 1,482 minutes of playing time while scoring that goal and adding two assists. His versatility proved invaluable—starting at left-back, right-back, and as a wing-back on either flank as Hütter's tactics required.

"The young kids are the winners of the season," Eberl said in December, singling out Scally alongside fellow newcomers Luca Netz and Manu Koné as the foundation for the club's future.

Recognition at the international level arrived in November 2021 when Berhalter named Scally to the senior USMNT squad for crucial World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Jamaica. Though he remained an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Jamaica, the call-up confirmed what his club performances had already demonstrated—the teenage defender had arrived on the international stage.

But it was that October afternoon at the Volkswagen Arena, sprinting clear onto Sommer's clearance with a clear path to goal, that Scally truly announced himself as American soccer's newest European export. The wait was over, the doubts were silenced and the future looked remarkably bright.