Tom Barlow Nets a Hat Trick, Chicago Fire Steamroll D.C. United 7-1

The Chicago Fire dominated play in Washington D.C. and handily defeated D.C. United 7-1 on Saturday evening as a Tom Barlow hat trick led the way for Chicago.

The three goals from Barlow, who started in place of the injured Hugo Cuypers, alongside finishes from Jonathan Bamba, Maren Haile-Selassie, Philip Zinckernagel, and Brian Guitérrez were more than enough to ensure Chicago (7-5-4, 25 points) left the nation’s capital with all three points.

Chicago got the lead early and never relented.

The scoring started in the eighth minute, and it was Maren Haile-Selassie, who made his first MLS start of 2025 at Audi Field, who gave Chicago the lead in the eighth minute. Jonathan Bamba had the ball in the attacking half of the pitch, and the referee kept play going after he was fouled, allowing the ball to fall to Jonathan Dean on the right. Dean’s cross found Maren Haile-Selassie on the opposite side of the 1,8 and the Swiss winger scored with ease.

After Philip Zinckernagel ripped an effort off the post in the 14th minute, the Fire finally doubled their lead in the 24th minute. Zinckernagel played a nice pass down the left wing that Jonathan Bamba collected in stride and subsequently carried into D.C.’s penalty area. Bamba opened up his hips and ripped a right-footed shot into the corner of the net to put his side up 2-0.

It became the Tom Barlow, who was also making his first MLS start of 2025, show before halftime as he collected a brace to send the Fire into the break up 4-0.

Andrew Gutman set Barlow up in the 30th minute with a top-level pass over the top of D.C.’s defenders, giving the striker just enough space to get his shot off to make it 3-0. Barlow added another before halftime after a lovely feed from Maren Haile-Selassie gave him plenty of time to line up his shot and extended the Fire’s lead to 4-0.

The Fire didn’t stop scoring after halftime and Philip Zinckernagel was the one to make it 5-0 in the 57th minute when he scored on a lovely right-footed effort from just beyond the 18, with Andrew Gutman collecting another assist.

D.C. added a consolation goal in the 60th minute when Dominique Badji took advantage of Jeff Gal losing possession, scoring easily from close-range and making it 5-1.

The Barlow party extended into the second half and he was able to secure his first MLS hat trick in the 65th minute. Leonardo Barroso hit a strong shot from the right wing that forced Luis Barraza into a save but the rebound fell perfectly for Barlow, who scored his third first-touch goal of the evening to extend the lead to 6-1.

The Fire added one more for good measure in the first minute of second half stoppage time when Jason Shokalook, who was making his MLS debut, set up the open Brian Gutiérrez to secure Chicago’s 7-1 road win.

The win in the Fire’s sixth road win of 2025, the most the club has had in a season since 2012.

Starting 11: Jeff Gal (GK), Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott (C), Omar González, Jonathan Dean, Kellyn Acosta, Rominigue Kouamé, Philip Zinckernagel, Maren Haile-Selassie, Jonathan Bamba and Tom Barlow.

Substitution at 12’: Sam Williams on for Rominigue Kouamé.

Substitution at 46’: Brian Gutiérrez and Leonardo Barroso on for Jonathan Bamba and Jonathan Dean.

Substitution at 76’: Jason Shokalook on for Tom Barlow.

Bench: Bryan Dowd (GK), Sam Rogers, Chase Gasper and Vitaliy Hlyut.

Match Observations

Chicago had a great chance in the third minute but couldn’t generate a shot after some fabulous passing created space for them near D.C.’s goal. Jonathan Bamba played a line-breaking pass from his own half of the pitch that found the sprinting Tom Barlow on the left wing in the attacking half of the pitch. Barlow played a quick pass to Philip Zinckernagel near the 18 but Zinckernagel lost control of the ball, wasting away what would’ve been the perfect start for the Fire on the road.

Chicago went up 1-0 in the eighth minute and it came after some beautiful passing. Jonathan Bamba won a foul in D.C.’s half of the pitch but the referee continued play as Chicago progressed further with the ball down the right wing. Jonathan Dean whipped in a cross that found Maren Haile-Selassie in plenty of space and the Swiss winger made it look easy as he put the Fire up 1-0 in his first MLS start of 2025. Tom Barlow also did well in the sequence to drag a defender away from Haile-Selassie, making it easy for his winger to score.

The Fire should’ve gone up 2-0 in the 14th minute. Jonathan Bamba brought the ball down the left wing before finding Philip Zinckernagel with plenty of space at the edge of D.C.’s penalty area. Zinckernagel’s right-footed effort rang off the post and the rebound fell perfectly for Maren Haile-Selassie, but D.C. goalkeeper Luis Barraza did well to recover and made the save.

The Fire doubled their lead in the 24th minute and it came from a beautiful shot off the right foot of Jonathan Bamba. The Fire built possession well in their own half and Philip Zinckernagel ended up with the ball near midfield before finding Bamba as he made a run down the left wing. Bamba brought the ball all the way into D.C.’s penalty area and did so well to open his hips and hammer his shot into the net to make it 2-0.

The Fire didn’t stop scoring before halftime and Andrew Gutman played one of the best passes you’ll ever see over the top of D.C.’s defenders, finding Tom Barlow as he made a run down the left wing in the 30th minute. Barlow, who was making his first MLS start of 2025, brought the ball all the way into the penalty area and, just as Bamba did moments before, opened his hips before firing a right-footed shot past Luis Barraza to extend Chicago’s lead to 3-0 after a half hour of soccer.

Tom Barlow made the most of his first MLS start of 2025 and secured his brace in the 44th minute as he extended the Fire’s lead to 4-0. Jonathan Bamba had the ball on the left, cut to his right, and then played it to Maren Haile-Selassie. The Swiss winger was patient on the ball before finding Barlow to his right, and the striker made it look easy as he put his side up four goals before halftime.

Chicago continued to pile on after halftime, and Philip Zinckernagel was able to register his fifth goal in as many matches in all competitions. Zinckernagel and Gutman did well to hold up play near D.C.’s penalty area. Gutman then played the ball back to Zinckernagel, who scored easily to make it 5-0.

D.C. got a goal in the 60th minute and it was thanks to a mistake from Fire goalkeeper Jeff Gal. The goalkeeper lost possession in his own penalty area, and Dominique Badji was right there to take the ball and shoot it into the Fire’s net, giving D.C. something to be happy about after a dreadful hour of soccer.

The Tom Barlow party extended into the second half and it resulted in the striker’s first MLS hat trick. Leonardo Barroso, who came on at halftime at right back for Jonathan Dean, ripped a shot that was saved, but the rebound fell perfectly to Barlow, who scored a tap-in to make it 6-1 while securing a hat trick in Washington D.C.

Chicago Fire II’s Jason Shokalook and Vitality Hlyut were signed to short-term agreements ahead of the match, and Shokalook made his MLS debut in the second half with his side up 6-1. Shokalook replaced Tom Barlow in the 76th minute and recorded his first assist in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Shokalook held up play well on the counterattack before finding the wide-open Brian Gutiérrez on his left, and Gutiérrez had no problem scoring to make it 7-1 and earning Shokalook an assist in his MLS debut.

Reaction

After a disappointing result in the reverse fixture in March, Fire director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter complimented the way his side’s depth pieces performed while many regulars were out.

“I think they [D.C. United] really outplayed us in the first game at home, and we wanted revenge from that game,” said Berhalter. “And I think the guys did a great job.

“We talked last week with a number of the guys that haven't been getting a lot of playing time. We talked about it, we need them and we need them desperately and there's going to be times throughout the year where they are going to get an opportunity. And today was one of those days. You know, for them to step up like they did and for Tom Barlow to get a hat trick, he's the hardest working guy in training every day, and it's nice to get rewarded with an opportunity and then the goals.”

Berhalter, along with the rest of the Fire, was incredibly excited to see Barlow get the hat trick and credited the striker’s work ethic for helping him be prepared to replace the injured Hugo Cuypers..

“When you have a guy that works that hard – you should have seen the excitement of his teammates after the game when he got the game ball; everybody was cheering. Because everyday he comes with the same mindset is to work hard and wait for his opportunity. And it's really difficult when your No. 1 striker is a Designated Player and also one of the top scorers in the League. It's hard to get opportunities.

“But he stays patient, and in a game like today, he got his opportunity and he did a great job. So the whole club, the whole staff, and all the players are really happy for him.”

Tom Barlow was still processing his hat trick when he spoke to reporters after the match.

“I'm obviously excited about the win, but yeah, it's a cool feeling. My teammates are really happy for me, and the coach is happy for me. So it's a neat feeling and it was fun to come in and contribute tonight. Get my first start of the year. I was excited. And then to get three goals and the win is kind of the cherry on top. Really happy and looking forward to next week now.”