April 10 (UPI) -- Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted another goal to lead Inter Miami to a gritty win over LAFC in a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Argentine soccer sensation found the net in each half of the 3-1 triumph Wednesday at Chase Stadium. Defender Noah Allen also scored for the Herons.
"We had to come back," Herons manager Javier Mascherano told reporters. "It's never easy in futbol when you have to come back."
The Herons outshot the Black and Gold 21-13, but hit just nine of their attempts on target, compared to eight for their MLS counterparts. They also held a 526-341 advantage in passes.
The game featured consistent physicality, with LAFC defenders often sending Messi to the ground and blocking an assault of shot attempts.
The Black and Gold took the lead on the Herons in the 9th minute when center back Aaron Long beat Herons goalie Oscar Ustari for first blood. Striker Nathan Ordaz assisted that score.
Winger Marco Delgado sparked the score when responded to an Ustari clear out with a quick pass back into a crowded box. Ordaz brought the ball down. It then bounced and came to the boot of Long, who blasted a volley past Ustari.
Messi appeared to net an equalizer on a 31st-minute free kick. He sneakily went up to the spot and delivered a quick attempt, bending a left-to-right shot from 30 yards out. The ball bounced in the box and found left corner behind goalie Hugo Lloris before the defense could set up. The goal was then waved off, keeping the Herons scoreless.
But Messi would find the net again just minutes later, smashing in a 20-yard shot to beat Lloris and making the score 1-1.
Herons striker Luis Suarez hit Messi with a pass just above the box during that sequence. Messi then tapped the ball inside and drilled a left-footed shot into the right side of the net.
Messi earned his assist by finding Allen above the box in the 61st minute. Allen then hit a chip into the box, which drifted over the head of midfielder Federico Redondo and bounced into the net.
The Herons had another goal waved off in the 67th minute because of an offside call on Suarez.
Ustari continued to deny the Black and Gold for the remainder of the match. Messi eventually provided some insurance with an 84th minute penalty kick.
That score was prompted when LAFC center back Marlon Santos committed a handball infraction during a Herons corner kick. Messi calmly jogged to the spot and lifted a strike into the right side of the goal for the Herons' final score.
The Herons will take on the Chicago Fire in an MLS matchup at 4:30 p.m. EDT Sunday in Chicago. They will meet the Vancouver Whitecaps later this month in a Championship Cup semifinal. The winner of the two-leg matchup will meet Tigres or Cruz Azul in the June 1 finale.
