Phoenix Rising winger Jearl Margaritha opened his senior international scoring account in spectacular fashion on Friday night as he bagged four goals in Curaçao’s 5-1 victory against Saint Martin that moved the country to the top of Concacaf Nations League B, Group B with a game to play.

Acquired midseason by Rising, the 24-year-old had two goals and two assists in 10 appearances for Phoenix to help the side reach the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix.

On Friday night, he scored his first goal of the night in the 24th minute, cutting back onto his left foot for a low shot to the bottom-left corner, before adding a second 10 minutes later off a close-range tap-in Kenji Gorré’s cutback cross.

Margaritha completed his hat trick nine minutes into the second half when he capitalized on a loose ball in the penalty area while teammate Juninho Bacuna tangled with a defender to shoot home first time. He then added a fourth with 10 minutes to go on a counterattack with another decisive finish.

Curaçao is now on top of its Concacaf Nations League B group after Grenada – featuring Margaritha’s Rising teammates Darius Johnson and Damian Barker John – defeat Saint Lucia 3-1 in the group’s other contest. Curaçao will face Saint Lucia on Monday with the chance to qualify directly for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup and earn promotion to Concacaf Nations League A in the next edition of the tournament.