Brace

In soccer, "brace" is when a player scores two goals in a single match. While it is one less goal than the flashier hat trick, it signals a strong attacking performance. If a commentator says a striker “grabbed a brace,” they mean the player found the net twice, whether they were calm finishes, long-range rockets, or a scrappy rebound.

No single person is credited with creating the term, but "brace" has been part of British soccer language for well over a century and likely derives from an older English use of "brace" meaning "a pair" or "two of something." The phrase became deeply established through British sports journalism and later spread globally through television broadcasts, online coverage, and soccer culture.