Eight-goal thriller in Toronto: Sargent's hat-trick and Lewandowski's goal not enough for a win
Toronto FC and Chicago Fire played out a 4-4 draw at BMO Field on Saturday, with Josh Sargent scoring his first MLS hat-trick, but a late-game goal from substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. denied Chicago the win despite a goal from Robert Lewandowski.
Eight goals at BMO Field
Toronto FC and visiting Chicago Fire played to a 4-4 draw in an MLS regular-season match on Saturday. Eight goals were scored in total, although, as SportoweFakty notes, the overall quality of play did not match the drama of the scoreline.
Chicago midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie opened the scoring in the 13th minute, finishing off a corner kick. Toronto responded quickly: in the 27th minute, Josh Sargent, set up by Djordje Mihailovic, beat defender Jack Elliott and leveled the score at 1-1. Sargent struck again in the 38th minute after the ball ricocheted off Chicago defenders, putting Toronto ahead 2-1.
Early in the second half, in the 49th minute, Toronto defender Walker Zimmerman turned the ball into his own net attempting a clearance, making it 2-2. But in the 54th minute Sargent completed his first MLS career hat-trick, restoring Toronto's lead at 3-2 — also the club's 12th hat-trick in its history, according to OneFootball.
Chicago fought back again: Haile-Selassie scored his second goal of the match in the 58th minute (3-3), and in the 63rd minute Robert Lewandowski, assisted by Philip Zinckernagel, put the visitors ahead 3-4 — his fifth goal of the MLS season. It appeared Chicago would take the win, but substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. curled home a shot from the edge of the box in second-half stoppage time (90+2') to make it a final 4-4.
Context and standings
According to Yardbarker, the result leaves Toronto with a 5-7-11 record (26 points), while Chicago sits at 11-6-5 (38 points). Polish outlets Przegląd Sportowy and SportoweFakty report that Chicago had previously won six matches in a row — a run the club hadn't seen in 26 years — before going three straight games without a win, including a 1-2 loss to CF Monterrey in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal; this draw extended that winless run to four matches. Yardbarker, however, states that both teams extended their unbeaten runs in MLS play to six matches — a discrepancy in how the two sources describe the teams' recent form.
Per Przegląd Sportowy, referee Tori Penso opted not to issue a second yellow card to Chicago defender Sam Rogers for a foul on Sargent late in the first half, and head coach Gregg Berhalter substituted him at halftime as a precaution. Chicago handed debuts to Noah Allen and Johan Gomez, while Toronto gave one to Lewis Morgan. Matheus Pereira made his first start for Toronto since April.
