Idan Toklomati's hat trick powered Charlotte FC over 10-man Inter Miami 3-0 on Saturday as the hosts stretched their MLS win streak to a record-tying nine games.
The 21-year-old striker scored in the 34th and 47th minutes and netted his third goal on a penalty kick in the 84th minute as Charlotte matched the non-shootout era MLS record win streak set by Seattle in 2018.
Toklomati, who has 11 goals on the season, worked his magic while Miami went down to 10 men after Argentine defender Tomas Aviles was shown a red card in the 79th minute.
It was Inter Miami's first match without suspended striker Luis Suarez, an Uruguayan standout for Liverpool and Barcelona before joining the MLS side.
He was issued a three-match ban by MLS for spitting on a Seattle Sounders staff member after Inter's loss at Seattle in last month's Leagues Cup final.
FC Cincinnati clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 home victory over Nashville on Brazilian midfielder Evander's goal in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time.
New England eliminated visiting Toronto from playoff hope when they played to a 1-1 draw while Atlanta's hopes ended with a 5-4 home loss to Columbus.
Uruguay striker Diego Rossi had a hat trick with goals in the 14th, 17th and 39th minutes with Wessam Abou Ali scoring in the 25th and Andres Herrera in the 30th for a 5-0 Crew lead.
Paraguay's Miguel Almiron netted a penalty in first half stoppage time, then Portugal's Pedro Amador scored seconds into the second half and Senegalese striker Jamal Thiare scored in the 50th and 88th minutes but Atlanta could not equalize.
Norwegian midfielder Conrad Wallem scored in the 11th minute and German Marcel Hartel added another in the 55th for a 2-0 St. Louis win at Montreal that kept the US club in the playoff chase.
South Korean star Son Heung-min, who arrived at LAFC last month from England's Tottenham Hotspur, scored in the first minute and Gabon's Denis Bouanga had a hat trick in a 4-2 triumph over San Jose.
Bouanga added goals in the ninth, 12th and 87th minutes to spark the visitors at the home stadium of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
LAFC's victory clinched a playoff berth for Vancouver, which got a hat trick from newly arrived Germany and Bayern Munich star Thomas Mueller in a 7-0 home rout of Eastern Conference leader Philadelphia.
Mueller scored on penalty kicks in the 29th minute and the first minute of first half stoppage time and netted the last in the 88th minute.
With AFP
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