Masashi Wada scored three second-half goals Wednesday night to lead the Portland Hearts of Pine to a 5-2 USL League One win over the Richmond Kickers in Richmond, Virginia.
Wada’s first goal in the rain at City Stadium gave Portland a 3-1 lead. His second goal made it 4-2, and his final goal in the 84th minute came on a rebound off his own penalty kick.
Portland improved to 8-4-10 and jumped to fifth place in the standings, seven points behind fourth-place FC Naples, which has played two more matches than Portland. Naples travels to Portland for a match at 5 p.m. Sunday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Portland is unbeaten (4-0-2) in its last six USL1 games and 6-1-3 over its last 10.
Walter Verala and Ollie Wright (penalty kick) scored in the first half for Portland, which held a 2-1 lead over Richmond (6-13-5) at halftime.
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