Josh Sargent Hat Trick, Late Etienne Stunner Earn Toronto FC a 4-4 Draw With Chicago Fire

Eight goals. A hat trick, a brace, an own goal, a Robert Lewandowski finish and a 92nd-minute curler into the top corner. If you left BMO Field early on Saturday night, you missed approximately half of an entire season's worth of chaos.

Toronto FC and Chicago Fire FC played to a 4-4 draw, with Josh Sargent scoring three times for Toronto and substitute Derrick Etienne Jr. rescuing a point in stoppage time after Chicago had stormed back to lead 4-3. Maren Haile-Selassie scored twice for the Fire, and Lewandowski added a goal and an assist.

Haile-Selassie Strikes, Sargent Answers Twice

Chicago landed the first punch. After Luka Gavran saved from Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel early, the Fire won a corner in the 12th minute, and in the 13th Haile-Selassie hit a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner. Toronto's recap says it took a deflection on the way in.

Sargent had already been busy, and Chris Brady denied his close-range header in the 17th minute. Ten minutes later, he made no mistake. Djordje Mihailovic slipped a through ball into the box, and Sargent finished left-footed into the bottom right corner. 1-1.

Chicago had its chances to restore the lead, including a Haile-Selassie effort saved by Gavran in the 31st and a Lewandowski miss in the 32nd. Instead, Toronto went ahead in the 38th minute off a corner, with Sargent pouncing in the middle of the box and finishing right-footed into the bottom left corner. Per Toronto, the chance came after a Mihailovic shot was deflected into his path. Toronto led 2-1 at halftime.

The Second-Half Shootout

The second half was absurd. Chicago leveled four minutes after the restart when Walker Zimmerman turned a Zinckernagel cross into his own net in the 49th minute. Five minutes later, Sargent completed his hat trick. Mihailovic laid the ball off and Sargent ripped a right-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner. 3-2.

Chicago answered in four minutes. In the 58th, Haile-Selassie finished from the center of the box for his second of the night, with Lewandowski credited with the assist. Then, in the 63rd, Lewandowski got his own. Zinckernagel worked a pass into the box, Haile-Selassie let it run through his legs according to the Fire's account, and Lewandowski finished from the middle of the box. Chicago led 4-3.

Toronto spent the rest of regulation chasing. Sargent forced a save from Brady in the 67th, Mihailovic left injured in the 79th with Etienne coming on in his place, and Brady stopped Lewis Morgan in the 87th and Zimmerman in the 89th. Seven minutes of stoppage time went up. In the second of them, Toronto broke, Dániel Sallói found Etienne, and Etienne cut in from the left before curling a right-footed shot into the top right corner. 4-4. BMO Field lost its mind.

Sargent's Night, Haile-Selassie's Night

Josh Sargent finished with three goals on seven shots, five of them on target. Toronto says he is the fifth player in club history to score three goals in a single MLS match, following Sebastian Giovinco, Justin Morrow, Ayo Akinola and Federico Bernardeschi. Sargent called it his first professional hat trick, and MLS notes he has four goals and an assist in his last four games.

"I'm naturally a very hard worker, and days like this, where I feel like all my hard work kind of pays off, it's very gratifying," Sargent said.

Maren Haile-Selassie scored twice on five shots. The Fire say it was his first multi-goal game since Oct. 4, 2023, and that his second goal was his seventh of 2026, a new single-season career high.

Robert Lewandowski had a goal and an assist on three shots. The Fire note the goal was his fifth in MLS.

Djordje Mihailovic set up two of Sargent's goals before his injury exit, and Derrick Etienne Jr. needed just two shots off the bench to deliver the moment of the night.

Dániel Sallói set up the equalizer, and Toronto says he has now recorded a goal contribution in five consecutive MLS matches. Alonso Coello, who combined with Sallói on the late break, made his 100th MLS appearance for the club.

The Comeback Within the Comeback

The turning point was really two moments. Chicago's quick-fire goals in the 58th and 63rd minutes flipped a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. But Robin Fraser's bench changed the ending. Etienne and Morgan were part of a late flurry, and Etienne's strike in the 92nd minute meant Sargent's hat trick did not end up in a losing effort.

Fraser was not going to let the result overshadow his striker. "I've been saying all along, I think Josh is absolutely fantastic," he said. "I think you saw so much of what Josh brings to us tonight, not just in the three goals, but the work that he did outside of it."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Toronto 18, Chicago 15. On target: Toronto 8, Chicago 6.
• Possession: Chicago 56.8 percent, Toronto 43.2 percent.
• Saves: Brady 4, Gavran 3.
• Clearances: Chicago 30, Toronto 17.
• Crosses: Toronto attempted 24, completing 5.

Two Streaks Survive

Nobody's run ended here. Toronto moved to 5-11-7 with 26 points and, per the club, extended its unbeaten run to six matches. MLS says the Reds are now within a point of a playoff spot. Toronto hosts Nashville SC on Wednesday.

Chicago moved to 11-5-6 with 38 points and finished a four-game league road trip. The Fire say they have gone six straight MLS matches without a loss, their longest such streak since 2017. Gregg Berhalter's side hosts Inter Miami at Soldier Field on Wednesday. There were debuts, too: Toronto's Morgan, who joined the club on Sept. 2, made his first appearance for the Reds, while Chicago's Noah Allen and Johan Gómez debuted for the Fire, Gómez in his first MLS match.

A Movie Nobody Wanted to End

This was a summer blockbuster that showed up in September: too long, too loud and impossible to look away from. Both teams leave with a point and an unbeaten run intact. Sargent leaves with his first professional hat trick and his coach's full-throated endorsement.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and match notes as reported by MLSsoccer.com, Toronto FC (torontofc.ca) and Chicago Fire FC (chicagofirefc.com).