Miami FC held off a furious Louisville City FC comeback to win 4–3 on Friday night, with Jürgen Locadia scoring a hat trick to power the hosts to all three points. Kyle Adams and Chris Donovan (twice) also found the net in a seven-goal contest that stayed in the balance until the final whistle.

Locadia opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finishing from a Matías Romero feed to give Miami the lead. Nine minutes later, he doubled the advantage, this time converting off a Mason Tunbridge delivery. Louisville looked in real trouble at 2–0 down, but Chris Donovan pulled one back before halftime, latching onto a Ray Serrano pass in the 41st minute to cut the deficit in half.

The second half was cagey for stretches, with bookings for Aiden McFadden and Thomas Musto reflecting a testier tone. Kyle Adams restored Miami's two-goal cushion in the 72nd minute, and at 3–1 the result seemed settled.

It wasn't. Tola Showunmi headed Louisville back into contention in the 82nd minute from a Taylor Davila assist, making it 3–2. Just sixty seconds later, though, Locadia completed his hat trick to push it to 4–2 and give Miami breathing room once more. Louisville refused to fold — Donovan grabbed his second of the night in the 89th minute, set up by Quenzi Huerman, to make it 4–3. The closing minutes were tense, with Miami picking up two late yellow cards as they fought to see out the result.

They managed it. The win gives Miami FC valuable points in the USL Championship standings as the season approaches its midway stretch.