CINCINNATI – In front of a USL regular-season record crowd, and facing an early one-goal deficit, Louisville City FC was tossed a lifeline when a handball gave the side a 17th-minute penalty kick.

Up stepped the man charged with filling the shoes of City’s goal-scoring hero from a season ago, newcomer Chandler Hoffman.

Composed as can be, the former USL All-League selection slotted home, his shot to the left corner of the net beyond the reach of FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt.

“As a player, that’s what you want to be,” Hoffman said after the game. “You want to be able to step up in big moments. Some players shy away from taking penalties but I’ve always had the confidence that I’m going to score the goal. As soon as we got the PK, I knew that I wanted to take it.”

Coming after Austin Berry’s seventh-minute header had brought the record crowd of 20,497 to its feet, Hoffman’s goal served as not only the equalizer, but also the platform on which his side could build. Finishing with a first-half hat trick, Hoffman was clinical as Louisville displayed the sort of play that took the club to last season’s Eastern Conference Final of the USL Playoffs in a 3-2 victory at Nippert Stadium.

After getting back on level terms, Louisville’s efficiency in getting the ball into good positions came to the fore. Another two offseason additions in Kyle Smith – himself a native of Cincinnati – and Ben Newnam provided the service for Hoffman to notch his second and third goals of the night, and his first hat trick in the USL.

“Great credit to Chandler, but I think the team has to take all the plaudits,” Louisville Coach James O’Connor said. “I think to play in front of 20,000 and show the courage and the heart we had out there, I stand here and I couldn’t be prouder of my team. That was exceptional. To a man, each and every one of our players that came on, that’s how to play football.”

With a big contingent of supporters travelling to the game, led by the Louisville Coopers, the burgeoning rivalry between the two clubs separated by 90 minutes came to the fore early in the game. A red card for his second bookable offense for Louisville’s Sean Reynolds late in the first half left the visitors on the back foot for much of the second half, but Hoffman was thrilled to be part of a historic night not just for the hosts, but for the USL as a whole as his side took home a valuable three points.

“Setting the USL attendance record, it was just a great environment,” Hoffman said. “As a player, that’s why you play the game. For nights like tonight.”