(Photo credit: John Jones-Imagn Images)

A meteoric rise could place Julian Hall on a short list of surprise roster candidates for the U.S. men's national team ahead of next month's FIFA World Cup.

Before any roster decisions are made, however, the 18-year-old home-grown forward leads the host New York Red Bulls against rival New York City FC on Saturday.

Hall became the youngest player in MLS history to notch a regular-season hat trick as he powered the Red Bulls (5-5-3, 18 points) to a 3-2 home win over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday.

'Jules is a great kid,' Red Bulls coach Michael Bradley said. '... He comes in every day ready to work, ready to train, ready to listen. He has a great personality. He has really good starting points as a player. And I've enjoyed every second of working with him.'

In 13 matches, Hall leads the Red Bulls with nine goals and also has two assists. He's tied for fourth in the MLS Golden Boot standings.

Hall isn't hiding from the dream of playing in a World Cup, but said he remains focused on the Red Bulls' last two matches before an extended international-competition break.

'Whatever happens, happens, my focus is with the club,' Hall said. 'But obviously, it's a dream of anyone that plays, to play in the World Cup. I hope someday that happens, but if it's not this year, then I'm going to keep working hard and striving for that goal.'

NYCFC (5-5-3, 18 points) picked up a 1-0 win at Charlotte FC on Wednesday behind a Nicolas Fernandez goal in the eighth minute on a Hannes Wolf assist.

Fernandez leads NYCFC with nine goals and three assists and Wolf has five goals and two assists.

With back-to-back clean sheets, including a 3-0 home shutout of Columbus on Sunday, Pascal Jansen's club is hitting its stride with two league matches before a pause for the World Cup.

'It's a big compliment to everybody on the pitch because they worked really hard and showed the character needed to get these games over the line,' Jansen said. 'Hopefully we can continue this in the third block of games.'

The rivals played in the U.S. Open Cup on April 29, with NYCFC coming away with a 3-1 victory. They have won three straight and four of five overall contests in the series.

--Field Level Media