(Oct. 5, 2024) — Bertin Jacquesson fired home the first hat trick of the 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who gave their playoff aspirations a boost with a 4-0 victory over Miami FC tonight at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.
Jacquesson, playing in his fourth match since arriving on loan from Real Salt Lake, scored his three goals in a 33-minute stretch spanning halftime. Edward Kizza added his team-leading ninth goal of the year for the Hounds (9-10-12), while goalkeeper Gabriel Perrotta posted his first professional shutout by making four saves to blank Miami (3-27-2).
The hat trick by Jacquesson, the former Pitt standout, is the 13th in Hounds history and the first since Albert Dikwa scored three in a 3-1 win at Memphis 901 FC on March 18, 2023. The win propels the Hounds to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind eighth-place Loudoun United FC with three matches remaining, including a head-to-head meeting with Loudoun.
First half
Neither team created much offense in the first half hour, though Jacquesson signaled his intent in the 17th minute by forcing Miami goalie Daniel Gagliardi to make a diving save on a powerful shot from 30 yards away.
In fact, the Hounds held Miami without a shot in the first half, but it appeared the game would remain scoreless until late in the half.
Junior Etou, who was dangerous on the attack down the left side all night, received a cross-field pass and attacked the goal line. Etou played a low ball across the six-yard box that Jacquesson met at the back post, softy turning the ball over the goal line with his body in the 42nd minute.
Second half
Jacquesson doubled the lead in the 51st minute after carrying the ball down the right flank to a position to send in a cross. The Frenchman saw the goalkeeper cheating off his line, however, and he drove a hard ball that had just enough angle to get across the near post and settle into the opposite side of the net.
Kizza got into the act next after Jacquesson sent in a pass that the Miami defense was first to claim. Indecision on the back line allowed Kizza to pounce on the loose ball, and he quickly fired a shot off the base of the left post and into the net for a 3-0 lead in the 58th minute.
Jacquesson completed the hat trick after receiving a long, diagonal pass from Bradley Sample. Gagliardi charged off his line, but Jacquesson calmly poked the ball around the goalkeeper for his fourth goal in four matches with the Hounds. It was also Sample’s team-leading fourth assist of the year.
Perrotta was called upon late, making a pair of strong stops to deny headers by Daltyn Knutson. He also had a small bit of good fortune in the 63rd minute, when Mujeeb Murana got behind the Hounds defense but hit the post with his shot when the match was 3-0. But with nothing over the line, it was the Hounds’ 13th clean sheet of the season, second-most in the USL Championship behind Sacramento’s 15.
Modelo Man of the Match
Bertin Jacquesson has provided a spark for the Hounds attack, and his hat trick gives him five goal contributions (four goals and an assist) in four matches. He put six total shots on goal — the most by a Hounds player in 2024 — and his 12 touches in the opposing box was the same number posted by Miami’s entire team.
What’s next?
The Hounds return home for what — on paper — is their toughest remaining match with a visit from the Charleston Battery at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at Highmark Stadium. The Battery (17-5-9) have already clinched the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference after a 2-2 draw with Detroit earlier today.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-3-2) — Gabriel Perrotta; Junior Etou (Illal Osumanu 71’), Luke Biasi (Pierre Cayet 79’), Pat Hogan, Sean Suber, Langston Blackstock; Bradley Sample (Nate Dragisich 79’), Danny Griffin, Robbie Mertz (Jackson Walti 71’); Bertin Jacquesson, Edward Kizza (Dani Rovira 88’)
Miami FC lineup (3-5-2) — Daniel Gagliardi; Daniel Barbir (Luisinho 71’), Daltyn Knutson, Nicolas Cardona; Alejandro Mitrano, Rocco Genzano (Jordan Ayimbila 71’), Junior Palacios, Joey DeZart, Marco Santana (Mujeeb Murano 46’); Allen Gavilanes (Frank Lopez 75’), Roberto Molina (Sebastien Joseph 46’)
Scoring summary
PIT — Bertin Jacquesson 42’ (Junior Etou)
PIT — Bertin Jacquesson 51’ (Robbie Mertz)
PIT — Edward Kizza 58’
PIT — Bertin Jacquesson 75’ (Bradley Sample)
Discipline summary
MIA — Marco Santana 19’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Luke Biasi 32’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Alejandro Mitrano 44’ (caution – dissent)
MIA — Junior Palacios 64’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Robbie Mertz 76’ (caution – dissent)
MIA — Junior Palacios 89’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Junior Palacios 89’ (sent off – second caution)