MIAMI (DA) — Jürgen Locadia scored a hat trick, including the eventual winning goal in the 83rd minute, and Eloy Room made a series of key saves as Miami FC defeated Louisville City FC 4-3 in USL Championship action.
The two Curaçao internationals played central roles in Miami’s victory at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium, with Locadia scoring in the 20th, 29th and 83rd minutes and Room helping preserve the lead under sustained Louisville pressure.
Locadia opened the scoring with a header in the 20th minute, finishing a cross from Matías Romero following a fast break. Nine minutes later, he doubled Miami’s advantage with a right-footed finish from the center of the box after Mason Tunbridge set him up on another counterattack.
Chris Donovan pulled one back for Louisville City in the 41st minute, sending Miami into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Miami restored its two-goal advantage in the 72nd minute through an own goal by Kyle Adams, but Louisville again cut the deficit when Tola Showunmi scored from close range in the 82nd minute.
Locadia answered one minute later, completing his hat trick with a right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to give Miami a 4-2 lead.
Louisville continued to push late, and Room produced an important save in the 87th minute on a header by Josh Jones. Donovan scored his second goal of the match in the 89th minute to make it 4-3, but Miami survived the closing moments to secure the victory.
Room also stopped Louisville attempts in the 23rd, 24th, 68th and 75th minutes as Louisville finished with 60.2% possession and 9 corner kicks.
Locadia came close to adding another goal in the 56th minute when his right-footed attempt struck the left post. He also set up Rodrigo da Costa for a shot that hit the right post early in the second half.