American-based South African striker Darren Smith netted a remarkable five goals for Detroit City who crushed SC Jacksonville 6-2 in the USL Championship on Sunday.
The win propelled Detroit to second place in USL Championship Eastern Conference with 21 points, seven behind league leaders Tampa Bay after 13 matches.
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The former Ajax Cape Town youth product took his tally for the season to 12 strikes with two assists in 16 outings across all competitions. This means he tied the all-time USL regular-season record set by Mauricio Salles on June 8, 2013, with his five goals.
He now also leads the 2026 USL Championship with 11 goals in 13 matches to move into third place on Detroit City FC’s all-time goalscorers list.
Smith was also rated the highest player with a 10-star rating as per SofaScore.
Detroit fell behind to Emil Jaaskelainen’s nine minute opener before Smith grabbed a quick hat-trick in the 13th, 26th and 45th minutes going into the break with a commanding 3-1 lead.
The 30-year-old then added his fourth in the 57th minute before Kieran Sadlier scored the second for JAX in the 69th minute.
In the 81st minute, the Cape Town-born marksman grabbed his fifth of the evening with Kobe Hernández-Foster completing the rout in the 90th minute.
The much-travelled Smith has been a regular net cracker since leaving Mzansi shores for pastures green with Ekenäs IF, FC Honka and FC Inter in Finland having also had a brief stint with AS FAR in Morocco after leaving Honka.
He joined Detroit in January 2025 with his current contract coming to an end on 30 November 2026.
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