The Legend of Andy Mate: A Historic Night in Guadalajara

By Steven Torres - ANCCIF President   (Posted on 15 March 2026)

Midfielder Andrew “Andy” Mate secured his place in the soccer record books in this region on 15 March 1963, when he registered the first hat-trick by a U.S. player in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Scoring all three goals in a stunning 3:2 victory, Mate led New York Hungaria SC to an upset over the hosts, CD Oro, at Guadalajara’s Estadio Jalisco.

The match marked the tournament debut for a U.S. club. At the time, NY Hungaria was a member of the German American Soccer League (GASL), a semi-professional circuit founded in 1923. In 1977, the GASL was renamed the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, the name it still carries today.

Founded in 1920, NY Hungaria was a six-time Cosmopolitan Soccer League champion until 2000 when it disbanded. 

Under the guidance of former Hungarian international goalkeeper Géza Henni, the club qualified for the 1963 Concacaf tournament by capturing the 1962 U.S. National Challenge Cup (now U.S. Open Cup).

The first leg of the ’63 Concacaf tournament drew a massive crowd of 35,000. CD Oro—the defending Mexican champion who had recently toppled Chivas Guadalajara for the league title—took an early lead through Mexican international defender Gustavo Peña in the 10th minute.

However, eight minutes later, the Hungarian native who later became a U.S. citizen Mate began his historic display. "It was a full stadium, which was very unusual for us as we normally played in front of 2,000 at most," Mate recalled in 2011. "It was a big thing for us. We were amateurs compared to the Mexican side who had professionals. They didn't acknowledge us as players and underestimated us, which worked to our advantage."

While Brazilian forward Amaury Epaminondas restored Oro's lead (2:1) just before halftime, Mate struck again to equalize in the 54th minute. With only two minutes remaining, Mate notched the game-winner, completing the third-ever hat-trick in Champions Cup history.

Reflecting on his clinical finishing before his passing in 2012, Mate noted: "It was natural for me to score. My success was due to my quickness and ability to battle for every ball and shoot from different angles. Our Coach Henni always told the team, 'Give the ball to Andy, he'll score, and we'll win.'"

In the return leg on 17 April 1963, at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, CD Oro fought to force a playoff. Leading 2:1 with ten minutes left, Oro seemed poised for a comeback until Mate netted his second goal of the match. The 2:2 draw secured NY Hungaria’s berth in the second round. It would take 48 years for a U.S. club to win again on Mexican soil in a Concacaf tournament (FC Dallas’s 1–0 win over Pumas UNAM in 2011).

NY Hungaria’s run eventually ended in the second round against Chivas, the inaugural Champions Cup holders. After a scoreless first leg at Gaelic Park, the Guadalajara side won the second leg 2:0. “Chivas played a good game; they were ready for us compared to CD Oro,” Mate commented. “They were the defending champions of the region and proved it.”

Mate finished as the tournament's joint top scorer with five goals, alongside Salomón Santvil of Racing Club Haïtien. The following year, he earned a cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

His storied career later took him overseas to Germany’s Hamburger SV and Colombia’s Deportivo Cali, before he returned to the U.S. to join the New York Cosmos for their inaugural 1971 NASL (North American Soccer League) season. Mate eventually returned to the Cosmopolitan Soccer League to suit up for NY Hungaria once more, finally closing out his career with the New York Greek-American AA at the age of 41.