American forward Matthew Hoppe is bright light for Schalke
File---File picture taken Jan.24, 2021 shows Schalke's Matthew Hoppe eying the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The 19-year-old American forward scored a hat trick in his third start for Schalke and followed up by scoring in each of his next two games. With those five goals, Hoppe is already Schalke’s leading scorer this season. Nine points from safety with 14 games to play, Schalke needs a win at Union Berlin on Saturday to rekindle any hope of survival. Hoppe, who has not yet played for any U.S. youth national team, has taken an unusual route to the Bundesliga.