Hat tricks are one of soccer’s rarest and most electric feats, and the Gainbridge Super League has seen just four of them so far. The most recent, and first of this season, came last weekend when a teenager stole the show on the road.
Sporting JAX’s Ashlyn Puerta became the youngest player to score three goals in a single match at 18 years old. The United States U-20 international put the team on her back in the 4-3 win over Carolina Ascent, but where does it rank in excitement against the three from last year?
4. Addie McCain vs. Lexington SC – 9/22/24
At the beginning of the 2024/25 season, all of Fort Lauderdale United’s offense was running through captain Addie McCain. She had scored in three of the team’s first four matches, including this hat trick that earned a 3-1 win against Lexington.
While the team wouldn’t have won without her performance, it was one of 14 matches where Lexington conceded at least three goals, so it’s no surprise one of the best playmakers in the league had her way with its defense. Also, the first two goals came from her teammates passing to her wide open at the edge of the 6-yard box for easy finishes, and the third was from the penalty spot, making it the least exciting of the four.
3. Allie Thornton vs. Lexington SC – 9/13/24
Speaking of thrashings against Lexington last season, the first hat trick in league history came from Dallas Trinity’s 6-2 win against the Girls in Green. Golden Boot winner Allie Thornton scored her first three goals of the season in this match, kickstarting Dallas’ comeback after conceding first in the opening 10 minutes.
The first goal was one of the best headers we saw all season, placed just under the crossbar where even athletic 5-foot-11 goalkeeper Sarah Cox couldn’t get her fingertips on the effort. The other two were simple finishes inside the box, but for the first hat trick to come in a game like that was pretty memorable.
2. Ashlyn Puerta vs. Carolina Ascent FC – 9/28/25
It has been the Ashlyn Puerta show in Jacksonville since the expansion team kicked off its inaugural season in August. She has scored in three of her five appearances, and the hat trick on Sunday doubled her goal total to push her to the top of the Golden Boot race.
While Carolina’s defense hasn’t looked as strong as we saw last season, even the best backlines in the league would’ve struggled to contain Puerta with a performance like that. The first goal came from a great team build-up, and she perfectly timed her run for an easy finish off a square cross by Paige Kenton.
Thirteen minutes later, Carolina’s Sydney Studer made an impressive clearance off the line in what should have been a goal from Meg Hughes after she drew Sydney Martinez outside her penalty area. Unfortunately, the rebound landed right to Puerta, who blasted a first-time shot into the upper-right corner. She netted her third goal by cutting inside the box to create space from her defender and slotting it near post on the ground past three Carolina players.
So, how does a 21-minute hat trick from an 18-year-old in her fifth professional match not top the list? Well, the rest of her team almost nullified all her work. Sporting JAX has struggled all season with squandering leads, and if it wasn’t for a bad pass that led to what would be the game-winner by Kenton, the team likely would have left with one point instead of all three.
1. Luana Grabias vs. DC Power FC – 11/13/24
When you talk about Gainbridge Super League historic moments, you’re obligated to bring up this hat trick by Luana Grabias. Not only was it the quickest in league history, spanning just 13 minutes, but it’s also the flashiest and most decisive in getting the win.
Brooklyn FC and Grabias were both finding their groove at this point in the season. The club’s match against DC Power was Brooklyn’s fourth of six consecutive wins, and Grabias had just scored her first goal and the game-winner in the prior match.
Brooklyn was all over DC in the opening half hour and finally broke the deadlock in the 31st minute. Mackenzie Pluck played a pass to Grabias, and after two defenders failed at clearing or pushing her off the ball, she took a shot into an empty net to take a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Pluck played Grabias in again as she made a run down the left side. The Brazilian slotted home the second goal from an even tougher angle through traffic.
Despite her play thus far, DC somehow left her open for the final goal of the match. The forward jumped on a loose pass, took a touch past one defender, cut past two more, then split both of them with her shot into the bottom right corner. Even her teammates were in awe of what they just saw.
It was exactly what Brooklyn needed going into halftime, and the team took the preservative route for the rest of the match, not recording a single shot the entire second half. Grabias was the star of an overall stellar performance, making it tough for any other hat trick to beat.