Toronto FC striker Josh Sargent might not have the same pedigree as Chicago Fire counterpart Robert Lewandowski, but it’s TFC’s number nine putting on a show at BMO Field. Sargent found the back of the net twice in his best half in a Toronto FC kit yet, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 halftime lead.
Sargent’s first came after a chipped pass into the box from Djordje Mihailovic, which Sargent brought down well before smashing the ball past goalkeeper Chris Brady, who had no chance to get across quickly enough.
The goal sparked life into Toronto FC, who then created a second goal for Sargent at almost the exact same position in the box.
After Mihailovic’s shot following a set piece was blocked, the ball fell to his fellow designated player, and Sargent made no mistake — volleying it into the bottom left of the net this time. It’s his first brace in TFC red, with 45 minutes left to find his first MLS hat trick.
A couple of defensive breakdowns from Toronto FC led to the opening goal for Chicago. After the ball was given away in midfield, Walker Zimmerman bailed his teammates out when he cleared the ball off the line after it had ended up on the wrong side of Luka Gavran. The Fire scored from the ensuing corner kick, with Maren Haile-Selassie collecting the ball at the edge of the penalty area and rifling a shot into the bottom-left corner of the net
Sargent could’ve had a first half hat trick. He forced a save at the other end of the pitch with a header from close range when Theo Corbeanu floated a cross to the back post. Chicago countered quickly but Puso Dithejane couldn’t quite steer his shot on target, watching it dribble wide of the post.
Lewandowski already has four goals after his midseason transfer that resulted in the Fire parting ways with Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers. That was the same number Sargent had before Saturday’s match, despite being with TFC all season, but he is now tied with Daniel Salloi for the team lead with six on the season.
Sargent has been one of TFC’s key contributors offensively and defensively this season, despite it not necessarily showing up on the Golden Boot leaderboard. Ultimately — as he said himself — strikers are judged on goals, and now he has two more for his tally.
Chicago was one of the teams he had scored against, powering a shot past Brady in TFC’s final match before the summer World Cup break. The Fire again couldn’t keep Sargent off the board in the same way Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami couldn’t a couple of weeks ago.
TFC made it clear ahead of the match that they did not fear Lewandowski, with defender Benjamin Kuscevic told reporters on Friday that he doesn’t care who he is up against — his job of keeping a clean sheet remains. The clean sheet didn’t happen, but Lewandowski has been kept quiet for the most part.
The two teams are both on five-game unbeaten streaks over the past few weeks, with Chicago sitting firmly in a playoff spot and TFC entering the night just outside the postseason positions.
Both teams are in action again on Wednesday night, when Toronto FC host Supporters Shield leaders Nashville SC at BMO Field and Chicago returns home to play Inter Miami.
More to come.