It's safe to say that many Bundesliga followers hadn't really heard of a striker named Matthew Hoppe - at least, not until last month.
On January 9th, Schalke, who have been languishing at the bottom of the table since the start of the season, surprised fans and neutrals alike with a 4-0 home win over Hoffenheim. This came a week after they lost 3-0 to Hertha Berlin, and was notable because it marked their first home win of the season.
Unfortunately, that so far also happens to be Schalke's only win in a miserable campaign that has seen them ship a whopping 52 goals and scored just 15 times.
However, despite their frustrations, there has been one positive shining light for die Konigsblauen: Matthew Hoppe.
During their 4-0 win over Hoffenheim, the 19-year-old scored three of Schalke's four goals. Not only was this his first ever hat-trick but also makes him the first American to score a hat-trick in Germany's top flight.
This also ended a 30-game winless streak for Christian Gross's floundering side.
In addition, Hoppe has scored five goals, which not only makes him his team's top goal-scorer but also means that the Californian native has netted one third of Schalke's 15 goals this season.
While he has was unable to prevent his side from slumping to a 3-1 defeat in their next match, his 29th minute goal nonetheless gave Schalke a glimmer of hope against Eintracht Frankfurt before a Luka Jovic second-half brace denied them a chance to clinch a point.
Hoppe was also on target to pull his side level in their following clash versus Cologne, but again, Schalke were unable to take advantage and were undone by a late, late goal.
Despite this, the youngster undoubtedly still has hope that his team can turn things around, but this will obviously be much easier said than done.
Schalke, who have picked up a miserable eight points so far, sit five points behind 17th-placed Mainz, and more worryingly, nine behind 15th-placed Hertha Berlin. Still, there may be some hope: their next match, sees them take on Union Berlin, who, like Schalke, have been in a slump lately with just one point picked up from their last four matches. As such, this upcoming tie, which will kick off on Saturday, February 13th, could present a golden opportunity for them to pick up some much-needed points.
Gross's men will wrap up February with clashes against Borussia Dortmund and then newly-promoted Stuttgart. Both their opponents, who sit in sixth and tenth respectively also have been in lousy form as of late, with each side winning just one of their last four league ties.
Given that they were able to beat Hoffenheim, who are just one of two teams who have defeated reigning champions Bayern Munich this season, who knows what Schalke, with their ambitious young striker, may be able to pull off over the next few rounds?
