Moments of Matchday 18 – OurSports Central

Matchday 18 comes to a close on Sunday as Atlanta United hosts southeastern rival Charlotte FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (4:45 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / FOX). Each side has walked away with two victories in four all-time meetings between the two clubs in MLS play.

Late-Night Magic Lifts New York City FC to 5-1 Win on Friday

Under the Friday night lights, New York City FC scored four goals in the 80th minute and beyond – including a hat trick from forward Alonso Martínez with scores in the 85th, 92nd, and 95th minutes (Watch Hat Trick Here) – in a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes at Yankee Stadium. New York City has won five consecutive games for the second time in club history, matching the previous record set between Aug. 17 and Sept. 7, 2019 – a season where they finished atop the Eastern Conference and second in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 64 points (18-6-10).

Santiago Rodríguez broke a 1-1 draw in the 80th minute, giving New York City a 2-1 lead before Martínez turned in a final 10 minutes to remember. With his trio of late-game goals, Martínez became the first player in MLS history to score three goals in the 85th minute and later. Only one other player in league annals — Harut Karapetyan of the LA Galaxy (June 4, 1998) – has scored three goals in the 80th minute of a match and later.

Martínez became the fifth different player in NYCFC history to record a hat trick, joining Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos (two, April 17, 2022, and Nov. 1, 2020), Alexandru Mitrita (Sept. 25, 2019), David Villa (Aug. 6, 2017), and Frank Lampard (July 30, 2016).

Chicho Makes History with Hat Trick, Real Salt Lake Extends Unbeaten Run in 5-1 Win

Real Salt Lake scored four first-half goals and never looked back, as the club cruised to a 5-1 win over Austin FC. The victory extended RSL’s unbeaten streak to 13 matches, which is the second-longest single-season streak in club history, and they will enter their next match looking to tie the club record of 14, set from July 24 to Oct. 23, 2010.

A trio of Real Salt Lake’s goals were scored by Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango, who now leads MLS with 16 goals this season after his second hat trick of the season (Watch All Three Goals Here). Arango eclipsed 15 goals in his 17th game of the season, tying for the fifth-fastest player to reach 15 goals in MLS history, and trailing only Josef Martínez (14 games in 2017), Carlos Vela (15 games in…