Lower90

Lower90 Newsletter week of October 19

FootballNews365 / October 19, 2026

Ever hear of a Texas Hat Trick...4 goals ought to do the trick. Just ask Ashlyn Puerta of Sporting Jax. She can explain! Read about that win plus dozens more in this week’s newsletter

This Week in US Soccer

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It was a week that reminded you exactly why minor league soccer deserves your attention — goals rained down across all three USL divisions, with hat tricks becoming almost routine and late-game chaos the order of the day. The USL Championship saw attacking football at its most unhinged, from Lexington SC’s stunning five-goal road show in Las Vegas to Oakland Roots completing a comeback in Tulsa with less than ten minutes to play, while League One delivered its own share of barnburners and last-gasp drama. In the Super League, Ashlyn Puerta announced herself to the entire women’s soccer world with a four-goal performance that will be the talking point in locker rooms from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale for weeks.

Match of the Week: USL Super League — Sporting JAX vs Fort Lauderdale United FC

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Editor’s pick: Four goals from a single player in professional soccer is rare enough — but doing it with a hat trick buried inside the final 30 minutes after your side went behind? That’s the kind of individual performance that defines a season, and Ashlyn Puerta’s demolition job on Fort Lauderdale United earns this match the top spot without much debate.

Sporting JAX cruised to a 4–1 victory over Fort Lauderdale United FC in USL Super League action on Friday night, powered by four goals from Ashlyn Puerta in the 24th, 57th, 74th, and 84th minutes. Sh’nia Gordon had the lone reply for Fort Lauderdale, scoring early in the eighth minute.

It was the visitors who struck first. Gordon latched onto a ball from Kiara Locklear and converted to give Fort Lauderdale United a 1–0 lead just eight minutes in. For a spell, it looked like Sporting JAX might be rattled at home.

That didn’t last. Puerta equalized in the 24th minute to level the match before halftime, and the second half belonged entirely to her and to JAX. She restored the hosts’ advantage in the 57th minute, finishing from a Meg Hughes delivery to make it 2–1. From there, Fort Lauderdale had no answer.

Puerta completed her hat trick in the 74th minute, putting the result beyond doubt. She wasn’t done. Ten minutes later, Andrea Fernández set her up for a fourth, capping a ruthless individual display that Fort Lauderdale’s backline simply could not contain.

Alyssa Hennessey picked up a yellow card for Sporting JAX in the 69th minute, but it did nothing to disrupt the hosts’ momentum during a dominant second-half performance.

Four goals from a single player in any professional match is rare — and Puerta’s haul will make the rest of the league take notice as Sporting JAX look to build on a commanding home result heading deeper into the season.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL Championship — Las Vegas Lights FC vs Lexington SC

Eight goals and not a single card shown — Lexington SC marched into Las Vegas and put on one of the most freewheeling attacking performances of the Championship season, leaving with a 5-3 road victory that turns heads across the table. Both sides came out swinging and neither blinked defensively, but it was Lexington who had the sharper edge when it counted. A five-goal away haul at any venue is impressive; doing it in Las Vegas, in a match this wide open, is a genuine statement.

USL Championship — Louisville City FC vs Indy Eleven

Ray Serrano was virtually unstoppable, burying a hat trick with goals in the 7th, 42nd, and 51st minutes — the third of which came before the hour mark, giving Louisville breathing room to manage the result from there. Chris Donovan was equally influential behind the scenes, providing three assists to orchestrate a 4-1 destruction of Indy Eleven that felt comprehensive from the opening whistle. Makel Rasheed added a fourth in the 71st to put the scoreline beyond any doubt, and Louisville will head into the coming week knowing they’ve sent a very loud message to the rest of the Championship.

USL League One — Greenville Triumph SC vs Spokane Velocity FC

Seven goals, a frenetic finish, and a moment of genuine late-game panic for Greenville — this one had everything. Ivan Agyaakwah and Nick Spielman gave the Triumph a quick two-goal cushion inside ten minutes, and Ali Elmasnaouy’s 31st-minute strike built the lead further, but Spokane kept coming. Anthony Patti made it 4-1 in the 51st before Spokane rattled off two in four minutes through Luis Gil (72’) and Devin Boyce (76’) to make it 4-3. Elmasnaouy’s second of the night in the 87th minute had hearts in mouths, but Greenville held on in what was a genuine barnburner from first whistle to last.

USL Championship — FC Tulsa vs Oakland Roots SC

Oakland Roots had no business winning this match with the way the second half started, but they refused to accept the inevitable and that’s exactly why this one stands out. William Wilson gave Tulsa a 1-0 lead inside three minutes, Wolfgang Prentice pulled Oakland level in the 21st, then Logan Dorsey put Tulsa back in front at 2-1 on 48 minutes. It looked like the Roots were done. Instead, Prentice grabbed his second in the 60th to level it again, and then Peter Wilson (83’) and Bertin Jacquesson (87’) hit Tulsa with a devastating late one-two to seal a 4-2 comeback that Tulsa won’t quickly forget.

Results Roundup

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USL League One — Richmond Kickers vs Corpus Christi FC — Richmond Kickers 5-1 Corpus Christi FC. Tarik Pannholzer equalized in first-half stoppage time and then came back out and ran riot with a second-half hat trick to power a crushing five-goal home win.

USL Championship — Hartford Athletic vs Brooklyn FC — Hartford Athletic 2-3 Brooklyn FC. Brooklyn stormed back from a goal down with three goals in 24 wild second-half minutes, Christopher Olney Jr. delivering the dagger in the 79th to complete a stunning road comeback.

USL Championship — Miami FC vs Charleston Battery — Miami FC 1-2 Charleston Battery. Swan and Berry struck in the 74th and 77th minutes to rip the win from Miami’s hands in one of the most breathless three-minute swings of the entire weekend.

USL League One — Greenville Triumph SC vs Charlotte Independence — Greenville Triumph SC 0-3 Charlotte Independence. Souaibou Marou was completely unplayable, completing a hat trick with goals in the 75th and 84th minutes as Charlotte claimed a dominant road shutout — remarkable given Greenville had already played a seven-goal thriller earlier in the week.

USL Super League — Lexington SC vs Tampa Bay Sun FC — Lexington SC 2-1 Tampa Bay Sun FC. Catherine Barry sparked the comeback in the 73rd minute and Sarah Griffith buried the winner in the 85th to overturn Tampa Bay’s early lead and claim all three points.

USL League One — Spokane Velocity FC vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC — Spokane Velocity FC 1-0 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Nil Vinyals broke 89 minutes of deadlock with a 90th-minute winner that sent Spokane home absolutely delirious.

USL League One — Fort Wayne FC vs Sarasota Paradise — Fort Wayne FC 1-3 Sarasota Paradise. Sarasota turned the match around convincingly, and Garrett McLaughlin’s goal in the 90+7th minute put the finishing touch on a dramatic comeback win deep in stoppage time.

USL Championship — El Paso Locomotive FC vs Sacramento Republic FC — El Paso Locomotive FC 0-1 Sacramento Republic FC. Memo Rodríguez’s 87th-minute strike was a brutal way for El Paso to lose all three points after working for a result all night.

USL Championship — Rhode Island FC vs Loudoun United FC — Rhode Island FC 1-0 Loudoun United FC. Rhode Island scored in the third minute, went down to ten men in the 78th, and somehow kept Loudoun out through 12 agonizing minutes of pressure to hold the win.

USL Championship — Orange County SC vs Phoenix Rising FC — Orange County SC 1-3 Phoenix Rising FC. Ihsan Sacko tore the hosts apart with a brace as Phoenix Rising delivered a dominant 3-1 road performance that announced their Championship ambitions clearly.

USL League One — New York Cosmos vs One Knoxville SC — New York Cosmos 0-3 One Knoxville SC. One Knoxville dominated throughout, and Justin Milovanov’s red card in the 89th minute let Babacar Diene twist the knife further with a stoppage-time goal to seal a thoroughly humbling result for the hosts.

USL League One — Westchester SC vs Union Omaha — Westchester SC 2-1 Union Omaha. Westchester trailed early but two first-half comeback goals, aided by Daniel Burko’s double assist, flipped the match before the break and they held on from there.

USL League One — Athletic Club Boise vs AV ALTA FC — Athletic Club Boise 2-1 AV ALTA FC. Jesús Barea’s brace did the damage, but a five-yellow-card stoppage-time explosion made the closing minutes chaotic before Boise finally sealed the nervy win.

USL Championship — San Antonio FC vs New Mexico United — San Antonio FC 1-0 New Mexico United. One goal, eight yellow cards, and simmering tension throughout — San Antonio ground out the result but the combustible atmosphere threatened to boil over repeatedly.

USL Super League — Carolina Ascent FC vs DC Power FC — Carolina Ascent FC 1-0 DC Power FC. Rylee Baisden struck early and Carolina defended resolutely for 82 minutes to grind out a clean sheet that left DC Power FC with very little to show for their afternoon.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.