Patenaude's historic day came on July 17, 1930, as the United States played Paraguay in the inaugural World Cup. Patenaude scored the opening goal in the tenth minute. A second goal in the fifteenth minute had been credited several different ways: as an own goal by Aurelio González (according to the RSSSF), a regular goal by the U.S.'s Tom Florie (according to the official FIFA match record), or as Patenaude's second goal (according to the United States Soccer Federation). A fiftieth-minute goal by Patenaude gave the U.S. a 3–0 win over the South Americans.