A hat trick from Brazilian-born Heber helped New York City FC defeat AD San Carlos, 5-3, in the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 on Thursday night in Alajuela.
Jorman Aguilar, Marcos Mena and Omar Browne all scored for San Carlos, which hosted the match at Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium because its own venue didn’t meet tournament requirements.
But Alexandru Mitrita’s 90th-minute goal helped secure a comfortable win for the Major League Soccer visitors.
Watch the highlights:
📹 @NYCFC won 5-3 over @adsancarlos, and we have the best moments of the match right here. Don’t miss them! | #SCCL2020 #ASCvNYC pic.twitter.com/V23QClP1Lt
— Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (@TheChampions) February 21, 2020
The return leg is Wednesday at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. San Carlos will have to overcome the two-goal deficit in order to advance, and NYCFC’s five away goals would serve as a tiebreaker.