D.C. United sunk by Yusuf hat trick in 3-0 loss to New England Revolution: Match report

D.C. United has been hard to beat of late, but Wednesday night was a very different story. The visiting New England Revolution capitalized on some non-existent marking to hand the Black-and-Red a dispiriting 3-0 loss at Audi Field.

Alhassan Yusuf scored a hat trick for the visitors, all on very similar situations that saw Jack Harrison bag three assists in the process. United may have had energy, but the hosts' inability to track the Nigeria midfielder's runs proved a fatal flaw.

The start offered at least some promise of a different outcome. Kimito Nono set up a Jackson Hopkins shot before having his own attempt at crashing the back post foiled by a foul call. However, the visitors were crisp in possession, restricting D.C. to transitional moments.

Nono's bid for a first United goal was denied in the 20th minute, as his close-range attempt following Louis Munteanu's cross was deflected just barely over the crossbar.

New England weren't rattled, and went ahead just four minutes later. It was a similar opening to the sequence, with Jack Harrison crossing to the back post. Peyton Miller opted to head the ball back into the goalmouth, and Yusuf — scorer of the only goal when these teams met in April — jogged in unmarked for a free header past Sean Johnson.

Munteanu missed on two promising looks to equalize, first lobbing Matt Turner only to see his effort land on the roof of the net in the 35th minute. Four minutes later, the Romania forward skied his shot after Matti Peltola and Baribo both saw strikes of their own blocked.

It hadn't been a poor showing from United, but a second moment of inattention saw Yusuf bag a brace just before halftime. The cross came in from Harrison again, this time from deep on United's right flank, with Yusuf shedding Keisuke Kurokawa before guiding a simple finish over the line.

René Weiler made a double change at the break and shifted into a 4-3-3, with Nono's overhead kick attempt the first threat once play resumed.

However, New England quickly came to grips with the change, and in fact looked the more likely to score the next goal. Yusuf had a powerful hit blocked by Peltola in the 61st minute, while Johnson had to be at his best to keep two separate Dor Turgeman efforts from close range out in the minutes that followed.

The Revolution were pounding on the door, and the third came in an all-too-familiar fashion. United couldn't get the ball clear after getting a head on multiple New England crosses, with Carles Gil eventually teeing Harrison up for another deep cross. This time, the ex-Leeds United winger's service picked out Yusuf knifing in between the center backs for a point-blank header past Johnson.

Halftime substitute Nathan Ordaz shaved the crossbar with an angled 71st-minute shot, but United's attempts to push for even a single goal were by this point comfortably held at bay by the visitors through to full time.

Despite a first loss in six games, United (5-9-6) held on to the final postseason berth in the East thanks to results elsewhere in MLS. The Black-and-Red head back on the road this weekend, with a trip south to take on Charlotte FC. Kickoff in North Carolina is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Box score — MLS regular season (game 20)
8/19/2026

D.C. United 0
New England Revolution 3 (Yusuf 24, 45, 66)

Lineups:
DCU (442): Sean Johnson; Silvan Hefti, Lucas Bartlett (C), Sean Nealis (Brandon Servania 46), Keisuke Kurokawa; Kimito Nono (Nikola Markovic 68), Matti Peltola, Andre Dozzell (Jared Stroud 90), Jackson Hopkins (Nathan Ordaz 46); Tai Baribo, Louis Munteanu (Hosei Kijima 68)

New England (4231): Matt Turner; Matt Polster (Cody Baker 77), Ethan Kohler, Mamadou Fofana, Will Sands; Brooklyn Raines, Alhassan Yusuf; Peyton Miller (Griffin Yow 89), Carles Gil (C) (Judah Siqueira 89), Jack Harrison (Marcos Zambrano 77); Dor Turgeman (Wilson Harris 77)

Bookings:
DCU - Dozzell 26
New England - Raines 13, Polster 32

Referee: Ricardo Fierro
Weather: Clear, breezy, 87°
Attendance: 13,848