Alhassan Yusuf's First Career Hat Trick Powers Revolution Past D.C. United 3-0

Alhassan Yusuf needed five shots to do something no New England Revolution player had done in a regular-season match since 2017. The midfielder scored with a header, a close-range finish and another header, and every one of them came from inside the box, where he kept showing up like he had a key to the place.

The New England Revolution beat D.C. United 3-0 on Wednesday night at Audi Field behind Yusuf's first career hat trick. Jack Harrison set up two of the goals, Matt Turner made three saves for the clean sheet, and the Revs snapped a three-game winless skid while ending D.C.'s six-game unbeaten run, per the AP.

D.C. Starts Hot, Yusuf Turns It Off

For the first 20 minutes, D.C. United looked like the team with momentum. Matti Peltola and Jackson Hopkins had early efforts blocked, and Kimito Nono glanced a header just wide off a direct free kick in the seventh minute. In the 20th, the Black-and-Red strung three attempts together: Silvan Hefti blocked, Hopkins blocked, and then Nono's header from point-blank range forced Turner into a strong save toward the top corner.

Three minutes later, New England punished them. Harrison swung a ball to the back post, Peyton Miller headed it back across the six-yard box, and Yusuf nodded in from close range in the 23rd minute.

D.C. kept coming. Lucas Bartlett headed wide in the 30th, and Louis Munteanu twice went close, first firing over from the left side of the box in the 35th and then putting another chance high from inside the six-yard box in the 39th. Sean Johnson held off Carles Gil at the other end in the 42nd. Then, in the 45th minute, Harrison delivered a cross and Yusuf finished from point-blank range for 2-0. That one stung, coming right as D.C. had gathered itself.

Weiler Rolls the Dice, Yusuf Finishes the Job

D.C. head coach René Weiler made a double change at halftime, sending on Brandon Servania and Nathan Ordaz for Sean Nealis and Hopkins. Nono nearly made it count in the 49th minute, sending a shot just past the top right corner after a Tai Baribo lay-off.

That was as close as D.C. got to a comeback. New England took over the middle of the half. Yusuf had a shot blocked in the 62nd, and Johnson was suddenly the busiest man in Washington, stopping Dor Turgeman twice in the 63rd and 65th minutes and then denying Gil in the 66th. Moments later, Harrison crossed again, and Yusuf headed it into the center of the goal for his third.

D.C. did not quit. Ordaz forced a save out of Turner in the 71st, Baribo headed wide off the ensuing corner, and Bartlett tested Turner with a header in the 87th. Turner was equal to all of it. New England lost Turgeman to an injury in the 77th minute, with Wilson Harris replacing him, and head coach Marko Mitrović emptied the bench late to see it out.

The Hat Trick Man and His Supply Line

Alhassan Yusuf finished with three goals on five shots, all three of his on-target attempts ending up in the net. According to the AP, it was his first multi-goal game in MLS, and he became the eighth player in franchise history to record a regular-season hat trick and the first since Kei Kamara on Sept. 2, 2017. The AP added that his five goals this season are a career high.

Jack Harrison was the engine. ESPN's data credits him with two assists, with Miller getting the first; the AP and mlssoccer.com credited Harrison on all three goals. Either way, his deliveries from the right were the difference. "The good thing is that very quickly, we started to get from Jack what we want to get," Mitrović said, per mlssoccer.com.

Peyton Miller, the 18-year-old U.S. youth international, set up the opener and kept D.C. busy from the left side. "Peyton is really doing a great job, and I can say I'm really proud of him and nothing else," Mitrović said.

Matt Turner made three saves, the biggest on Nono's close-range header with the game still scoreless, and kept a clean sheet. Sean Johnson made four saves for D.C. in ESPN's count and did not deserve to concede three.

The Turning Point

Turner's 20th-minute save on Nono. D.C. had been the better team for 20 minutes, and that header from very close range was the hosts' best chance of the night. Turner kept it out, and three minutes later Yusuf scored at the other end. Everything that followed was New England playing with a lead and D.C. chasing.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: New England 18 (7 on target), D.C. United 15 (3 on target).
• Possession: New England 60.2 percent, D.C. United 39.8 percent.
• Passing: New England completed 494 of 547 passes; D.C. completed 293 of 354.
• Saves: Johnson 4, Turner 3.
• Yusuf: 3 goals from 3 shots on target.

The Revs Reset, D.C. Regroups

New England improved to 10-3-7 with 33 points, and mlssoccer.com had them fourth in the Eastern Conference. The win came after back-to-back losses to Houston and Toronto. Per the AP, the Revs are unbeaten in four straight against D.C. United and lead the regular-season series 39-37-16. They also beat D.C. 1-0 at home on April 11. New England hosts New York City FC on Sunday.

D.C. United dropped to 5-9-6 with 24 points, a team mlssoccer.com described as ninth in the East and chasing a playoff spot. The loss ended a six-match unbeaten run that included a win over Toronto and five draws. D.C. visits Charlotte FC on Saturday.

Time Is on Their Side

Mitrović is a first-year head coach, and he did not pretend everything is solved. "For certain things, I'm very aware that we need time," he said. "What I feel is that with time, the understanding is higher and higher, and it's clearer for them what they have to do. I think we are seeing results in our performance." On Wednesday, the results looked a lot like a guy collecting the match ball.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by mlssoccer.com. Match notes from the AP recap via ESPN and D.C. United (dcunited.com).