Hall, 18, becomes youngest to score MLS hat-trick

Hall, 18, becomes youngest to score MLS hat-trickImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Julian Hall was born in New York but is of Polish descent through his motherByLorraine McKennaBBC Sport JournalistPublished48 minutes agoTeenage forward Julian Hall made Major League Soccer history by becoming the youngest player to score a hat-trick in Red Bull New York’s 3-2 win over Columbus Crew. Hall – aged 18 years and 50 days – scored twice in the first half and once in the second at Sports Illustrated Stadium to take his tally to nine league goals in 13 appearances this season. Former FC Dallas striker Ricardo Pepi was the previous record holder – aged 18 years and 196 days when he scored a hat-trick against LA Galaxy in 2021. American Hall, who made his MLS debut at the age of 15 in 2023, has been capped by the United States at under-15 and under-17 levels – and is also eligible to represent Poland internationally. After the game, Hall mentioned he “got kind of emotional” when told about his new hat-trick record. “It just makes me think about all the times I was working so hard to make memories like this,” he added. Head coach Michael Bradley mentioned he has enjoyed “every second” of working with Hall, calling the teenager “a great kid”. Bradley added: “Nothing’s going in his head. He comes in every day ready to work, ready to train, ready to listen. He has great personality.” Red Bull are sixth in the Eastern Conference, level on 18 points with New York City – with the local rivals facing each other on Saturday (00:30 BST, Sunday). Messi remains top MLS earner with salary of £18.5m