Heald steps up in Bobcats’ win

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This article was published 21/09/2022 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Jocelyn Heald tucked her first-career goal into the top corner of the net, Alex Castro was smiling down on the Brandon University Bobcats rookie.

“I really looked up to him,” Heald said of her former FC Northwest coach, who died suddenly in May at age 26. “I didn’t have confidence on the ball but he would always push me. He let me take free kicks and in the last game with him, I got a free kick goal. That was really memorable to me.”

Castro played Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference soccer for Red River College and Canadian Mennonite University and was an avid referee as well. Now, his impact on the league carries on in youngsters like Heald, who helped the Bobcats (3-1-0) to a 4-0 win over the Assiniboine Community College Cougars (0-3-0) at the Healthy Living Centre field on Wednesday.

Heald started playing soccer as a little kid and added volleyball to her repertoire a few years later. The Petersfield native attended Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School and set for the perennial powerhouse volleyball program until Grade 10 when she thought hard about what she wanted to do in university.

Soccer was the five-foot-seven midfielder’s true passion. FC Northwest coach Jordyn Juvonen played a key part.

“She was my first ever girl coach and I grew so much as a player with her,” Heald said. “She taught me a lot and gave me confidence.”

In Heald’s last game for the club, they drew a foul near the penalty area and Castro urged her to take the free kick.

“You got this,” he said before Heald drilled the game’s only goal.

After he died and his father, German, stepped away from the team, Heald walked away from soccer for a bit. She had already been to a BU camp, however, and was committed to making the roster.

“It was hard,” Heald said. “Brandon made me want to push myself and I did the work off the field more. It was definitely hard to go to practices because they weren’t there but the younger girls on the team, I wanted to be there for them as well because they were going through a hard time.”

The Bobcats are certainly grateful she returned. Heald, who turned 18 on Tuesday, was limited due to shin splints for the first two games but played a key role for an injured midfield group in Brandon’s 3-1 win over Providence on Saturday and looked like a seasoned veteran in her second full game on Wednesday.

She usually plays on the wings but is adjusting to a central midfield role for the time being.

“Keep your head up,” she said of the key to playing in the middle. “On the outside, you got that line but (in the middle) you got to be scanning everywhere. But I’m happy with it and I think our girls did well today.

“We need to settle down and make smart plays and play to feet with this team for sure. We can get carried away but we played good, played smart and got the win.”

Kenadie Janzen struck first, 18 minutes in with a 26-yard strike past ACC keeper Maddy Kilburn’s outstretched arms.

Just before halftime, Keashae Masters doubled the lead with the goal of the match. Emilie Dornez curled a cross perfectly to the walk-on rookie from Thompson, who hammered it home with her head to go up 2-0.

The Cougars had their best chance of the evening just past the hour mark when Lichelle Martens fought off a pair of defenders and fired a shot, but Josie Black made a routine save and sparked the Bobcats into a quick attack that ended with Janzen’s second goal.

Heald rounded out the scoring with 13 minutes to play.

“I thought we did pretty good,” Martens said. “First game we played against them we didn’t have a lot of time as a team to really develop but these last few practices we’ve gotten to know each other a little better so I think our offence was really moving this time because we’re connected a little bit more, we know each other more.

“… Their passing is just so much better than ours. We need to work on our passing more during practices, maybe our fitness, we could do a little bit more running during practices to build up that cardio.”

In the men’s game, five Bobcats (3-1-0) hit the scoresheet in a 5-1 triumph.

Camilo Rodriguez notched his league-leading ninth of the season, with Zach Wood, Morgan Terry, Julien Dizengremel and Matheus Ruffini also finding the ACC net.

Christian Buck had the lone goal for the Cougars (0-2-1).

Assiniboine hosts St. Boniface on Saturday while Brandon visits Providence. The men’s games start at 1 p.m., while the women follow at 3:15 p.m.

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