Julian Hall scored three times Wednesday night to lift New York past the Columbus Crew 3-2 and become the youngest player in MLS history to record a hat trick. Hall, 18 years and 50 days old, broke the mark set by U.S. striker Ricardo Pepi in 2021.
Hall opened the scoring by dragging his back leg to reach a pass that was slightly behind him at the top of the six-yard box, then doubled the lead in the 40th minute by getting on the end of a Cade Cowell cross inside the area. He finished the hat trick in the 79th minute by cleaning up a rebound after a corner kick, giving New York the margin it needed to hold on for the 3-2 win.
The performance was the latest step in a rapid rise for Hall, who now has nine goals in 13 MLS games and three more in U.S. Open Cup play. Pepi had owned the previous record since 2021, when he scored a hat trick at 18 years and 195 days. Major League Soccer marked the moment on Thursday, calling it a historic night for the 18-year-old.
Hall’s breakout came on a busy midweek slate that produced 58 goals across 14 matches, with 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan scoring his first career MLS goal and 19-year-old Zavier Gozo scoring twice against the Houston Dynamo in the later window. The scoring surge gave the league an unusually young cast of headline acts, but Hall’s three-goal outing stood apart because of the age record attached to it.
His age also keeps the longer conversation alive. Hall remains eligible to represent the United States or Poland, and the latest burst of production may strengthen the case for late consideration in Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup plans. For now, though, the immediate answer is simpler: on a night packed with goals, Hall delivered the one performance no one else in the league could match.
