Lewis Morgan's hat trick boosts Red Bulls past Toronto FC

Lewis Morgan recorded his first career MLS hat trick Saturday afternoon -- scoring all in the first half -- as the visiting New York Red Bulls cruised to a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC.

Morgan scored his first two goals in the 17th and 24th minutes and then struck for the third time in the 40th minute as the Red Bulls (2-0-0, 6 points) moved to its first 2-0 start since the 2017 season.

He nearly got a fourth goal in the 87th minute but officials ruled his right foot was offside.

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It was the third time Morgan has scored at least two goals in a game, getting his eighth, ninth and 10th career MLS goals. The hat trick was New York's first since Bradley Wright-Phillips scored three times against D.C. United on Sept. 16, 2018.

Aaron Long also scored for the Red Bulls while Patryk Klimala collected three assists. Frankie Amaya also added two assists for the Red Bulls, who have scored seven goals through their first two contests.

Jesus Jimenez scored for FC Toronto (0-1-1, 1 point) in the 35th minute, drawing the Reds to 2-1 before Morgan and Long scored within two minutes of each other before the end of the half.

New York goalkeeper Carlos Coronel made three saves.

Toronto goalie Alex Bono allowed four goals on nine shots on target and New York generated 13 shots overall despite maintaining possession for just 32.7 percent of the match.

The Red Bulls opened the scoring when Amaya blew past Toronto's Michael Bradley and whipped the ball to Morgan, who stepped into a right-footed shot and sent the ball over Bono's leaping try.

New York took a 2-0 lead when Klimala found Morgan at the top of the box, and the 30-year-old Scottish national ripped a shot over Bono's diving attempt.

Jimenez halved the deficit in the 35th minute with his first MLS goal by getting around four defenders and sliding a right-footed shot from the center of the box past Coronel.

Morgan made it 3-1 shortly after New York cleared the defensive side by winning two headers. Amaya eluded two defenders and although he appeared to mishit the ball, Morgan got enough to slide it into the bottom left corner.

Two minutes after Morgan's third goal, Long scored on a header off a set piece after a long throw-in from Amaya.