MIAMI – Elvis Amoh recorded a second-half hat trick as Rio Grande Valley rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to take a 4-2 victory against a Miami FC side that finished the game with 10 men at FIU Stadium after striking twice inside the opening 20 minutes.

The hosts created the first look at goal in just the second minute as Sean McFarlane created space for a cross on the left to the back post that was hooked on target by Christiano Francois but comfortably saved by Toros goalkeeper Tyler Deric. Miami took the lead in the 16th minute, however, as from a corner kick on the right, Pierre Da Silva curled his delivery over Deric and in at the vacant back post in a beautifully struck finish.

The Toros almost found a quick response as Amoh ran onto a through-ball by James Murphy but was thwarted by Miami goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, who came well outside his penalty area to block Amoh’s early shot into touch with his feet. The hosts then added a second in the 19th minute as Adonijah Reid ran onto a ball over the top by Othello Bah into the left channel. After taking a touch to control, covering defender Carter Manley tried to clip the ball away, but instead sent it into the right side of the net for an own goal.

The Toros almost pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time as Murphy delivered a corner kick from the left that was met by Amoh with a strong header that Sparrow tipped onto the crossbar before McFarlane cleared the rebound behind, keeping the hosts ahead by a pair of goals at the break.

The late chance appeared to give the Toros some momentum, however, and Alexis Cerritos forced a tipped save from Sparrow from 20 yards five minutes into the second half. From the ensuing corner kick the visitors found the net as on this occasion Amoh’s header off a delivery by Murphy found the bottom-right corner of the net.

The goal spurred on the Toros, and Rodrigo Lopez almost marked his 100th appearance in the Championship’s regular season with a goal as he was played into the right side of the penalty area by John Sanchez for a low shot that Sparrow did enough to keep out. The came continued to shift in the direction of the visitors soon after as Miami was reduced to 10 men in the 56th minute when Bolu Akinyode was sent off for an incident that occured after he and Amoh had challenged for possession in midfield.

RGVFC looked to capitalize on its advantage quickly, and Cerritos went close on the hour-mark with a low shot from 25 yards that went just wide of the left post. Cerritos set up the equalizer for the visitors six minutes later, however, as he played a good through-ball for Amoh, who took one touch to control and then notched his second goal of the game into the bottom-right corner of the net.

The Toros then took the lead with 21 minutes to go as Adrian Vera delivered a cross from the right that deflected off Miami’s Callum Chapman-Page as he tried to intercept at the near post which carried the cross onto teammate Paco Craig, who couldn’t control the ball and instead sent it into his own net.  The visitors kept a close hold on the game after taking the lead, offering Miami little in the way of a way back to level, and deep in stoppage time Amoh completed his hat trick as teammate Baboucarr Nije got in down the left side and delivered a low cross that Amoh finished from close range. That closed out the contest, sending the Toros three points clear at the top of the Mountain Division.

USLChampionship.com Man of the Match

Elvis Amoh, Rio Grande Valley FC – Amoh recorded the second hat trick in the Championship this season to lead a remarkable comeback from the visitors, and also hit the crossbar while recording five total shots.

Scoring Summary
MIA – Pierre Da Silva 16’
MIA – Carter Manley (Own Goal) 19’
RGV – Elvis Amoh (James Murphy) 51’
RGV – Elvis Amoh (Alexis Cerritos) 66’
RGV – Paco Craig (Own Goal) 69’
RGV – Elvis Amoh (Boubacarr Nije) 90+6’

Full Box Score