Legion FC Rallies in Miami for First Road Win
May 24, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release
Birmingham Legion FC battles Miami FC
(Birmingham Legion FC)
MIAMI, Fla. - Just a couple of weeks ago in his first match at the helm of Birmingham Legion FC, Mark Briggs saw his squad come back from a 1-0 halftime deficit with a pair of second half goals, only to allow an equalizer in stoppage time to split points with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. On Saturday, Briggs and the Three Sparks again found themselves in Florida with an eerily similar scenario playing out against Miami FC. Only this time though, there was no late equalizer as Legion FC secured a 2-1 win for its first road win of 2025 and a first under Briggs.
"I'm really proud of the boys tonight, they performed well and did everything we asked of them at a high standard," said Briggs. "We showed a determination and showed the resolve that allows you to get points. We've building blocks in place and the guys are starting to understand the standards that we're asking of them."
With the win, Birmingham moves its point total up to 10 through as many matches in the 2025 USL Championship season. It also snapped a four-match unbeaten streak for Miami FC who suffered its first loss since April 16.
Despite a heat index in the triple digits accompanied by the suffocating South Beach humidity at Pitbull Stadium, Legion FC seemingly only grew stronger as the match went, thanks in large part to the play of Tyler Pasher who notched his first goal of the season and was heavily involved in Ronaldo Damus' match-winner.
He finished the match with two of Legion FC's four shots on target, all of which came in the second half.
"He's been magnificent," Briggs said of Pasher. "The energy he shows as he plays consistently and he is always a threat. Tyler is one of the best players in this league. We've got to get high-level performances for us to be at our best. There's still more to come from him."
After an opening 45 minutes that saw Legion FC hold a lot of the ball but unable to connect in the final third, Pasher flipped the momentum in his team's favor three minutes into the second half. Finding some space inside the box with two Miami defenders marking Damus, Pasher buried a first-time left-footed strike by goalkeeper Bill Hamid via a cross from Danny Trejo on the left wing.
"I always say to the team to take what the game gives you," noted Briggs. "That goal is what the game gave us. It was a sequence of simple passes, but it's the hardest thing in the game to play simple, because everybody wants to make a play. The best teams do the simple things consistently.
"We spoke a lot about belief at halftime and that goal gave us belief."
From there, Birmingham began to take firm control of the match and nearly grabbed the lead just mere minutes later with a pair of shots from Enzo Martinez in the 50th minutes - one that forced a save from Hamid and another that glanced off the post.
The breakthrough goal though would come in the 74th minute with Pasher receiving a ball in open space on a half-hearted clearance from Miami. The Canadian forward took a touch to settle before ripping off a shot from 25 yards out that had Hamid diving to his right. The Miami FC netminder got both hands on the ball but lost control of it as he hit the ground and Damus was the first one to it for the easiest of his five goals this season.
"It was massively rewarding," Briggs explained of the goal. "We had instances in the first half where we weren't crashing the goal and taking chances. We took those chances in the second half and made the correct movements and were rewarded for it."
Miami FC grabbed the lead in the 39th minute on a Luis Bonfiglio header off of a corner kick. It was the Argentine forward's club-best six goal in 2025.
After signing with Birmingham earlier in the week, defender Erik Centeno started and played the full 90 minutes in the win, leading the two with two interceptions and two fouls won.
BOX SCORE
USL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHDAY 10
1ST HALF
2ND HALF
FINAL
BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC (2W-4L-4D | 10 PTS)
0
2
2
MIAMI FC (3W-5L-1D | 10 PTS)
1
0
1
LINEUPS
BHM: Van Oekel - GK, Centeno, Kavita, Suarez, Mensah (McCartney 12$B!l(B; Rufe 67$B!l(B), Laszo, Hernandez-Foster (Tregarthen 67$B!l(B), Martinez - C, Trejo, Pasher, Damus
MIA: Hamid - GK C, Cardona (Celeste 77$B!l(B), Akinyode, Knutson, Ricketts, Melano (Lawrence 63$B!l(B), Mercado (Veron 63$B!l(B), Romero, Vazquez (Gavilanes 53$B!l(B), Bonfiglio, Blanco
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Pasher 48$B!l(B; Damus 74$B!l(B
MIA: Bonfiglio 39$B!l(B
DISCIPLINE
BHM: Suarez (Yellow) 84$B!l(B; Van Oekel (Yellow) 90+7$B!l(B
MIA: Melano (Yellow) 45+1$B!l(B; Bonfiglio (Yellow) 70$B!l(B
NEXT UP
Following the victory, Legion FC now takes a brief respite from USL-C play as it stays on the road to take on FC Tulsa on Saturday, May 31 in the Jagermeister Cup. Legion FC currently stands in good position in Group 3 having opened the cup with a 3-1 victory over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. The Black and Gold will be back home at Protective Stadium on June 4 for its first of three meetings this season against Indy Eleven.
Images from this story
 Birmingham Legion FC battles Miami FC |
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