United States forward Haji Wright scored his first hat trick in English soccer, helping Coventry City to a 3-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday in the second-tier Championship.
A 26-year-old from Los Angeles, Wright scored in the 21st minute, then converted a penalty kick in the 29th after he was fouled by Chris Mepham. Wright scored in the 73rd for his 10th goal in 19 league matches this season.
It was Wright’s second career hat trick and first since August 2021 with Turkish club Antalyaspor.
He is now the second USMNT player with a hat trick in one of England’s top two divisions in the last two seasons after Christian Pulisic with Chelsea in October 2019.
Wright returned March 1 from an ankle injury that had sidelined him since Nov. 9. Because he still was regaining fitness, he was not selected for upcoming U.S. matches in the Concacaf Nations League.
Wright scored the U.S. goal in the second-round loss to the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.
Information with The Associated Press contributed to this report.