The expansion USL Pro side FC New York registered a memorable 3-0 victory in the club’s US Open Cup debut with Jhonny Arteaga recording a hat trick for the first time in his professional career. It was bad news for the Western Mass Pioneers, who were unable to find the same production from the Colombian three years ago.
The Pioneers were also making a tournament debut of sorts, reaching the Open Cup for the first time since joining the PDL in 2010 after playing in what is now USL Pro since its founding in 1998.
The result left Western Mass scoreless in its last two outings after suffering their first two years ago in a scoreless draw against league rival Harrisburg City Islanders, who knocked the Pioneers out on penalties. The second round stalemate in 2009 ended a run of 10 games with a goal in six appearances for Western Mass, including one contest against the Chicago Fire (3-1 loss) in the 2005 Third Round and two against USL First Division opponents.
Arteaga tallied the opener in the first half and added two more in the second, surpassing his goal total of two in nine regular season appearances for the first-year franchise. Only Graciano Brito has more goals on the squad (4) for the season for FC New York, who sits fourth in the National Division with a 3-5-4 record.
| Western Mass Pioneers (PDL) 0:3 FC New York (USL PRO) Met Oval – Queens, NY – 7 p.m. |
| Scoring Summary NY: Jhonny Arteaga NY: Jhonny Arteaga NY: Jhonny Arteaga |
Born in Cali, Colombia, Arteaga grew up in nearby Stamford, Connecticut and was an award-winning striker at Dominican College located just 17 miles outside New York City in Orangeburg. Prior to graduating, he played in the PDL with the Albany BWP Highlanders in 2007, scoring only twice in 12 appearances.
Arteaga then moved onto the Pioneers in 2008, but failed to crack into the club’s starting lineup, logging only 75 minutes of play and no goals in nine appearances for the mid-table campaign. He would return to New York a year later, but only played three matches for the Westchester Flames in the PDL.
A trip to Poland though looks to have been what Arteaga needed to transition to the professional level. After a trial with top-flight Lechia Gdansk in early 2010 he signed on with LKS Lomza of the third division where he notched eight goals in 14 games.