Hat-trick Hoad powers Bobcats to victory

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This article was published 15/10/2023 (903 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It sounded like a starter’s pistol when Brogan Henry’s shot rifled off the goalkeeper.

Instinctively, Jorja Hoad was off and running. The striker pounced on the rebound for her second goal of the game.

Hoad’s speed was on full display Saturday afternoon as she torched the St. Boniface Les Rouges backline for a hat trick in Brandon University’s 4-0 victory at the Healthy Living Centre field.

The Bobcats (9-1-0) followed it up with a 12-0 triumph over the host Assiniboine Community College Cougars (1-10-0) on Sunday, keeping pace with the Providence Pilots (9-2-0) in the race for first in Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference women’s soccer standings.

It was Hoad’s second three-goal game of the season, though it was especially sweet against the three-time defending champs.

“It was so exciting,” Hoad said. “I feel like we were really a team out there, working really hard and things were just connecting. I couldn’t have done it without the girls on my team.”

That team emphasis is what brought the Brandonite back to soccer after a few years off. She started playing when she was three but left to focus on track and field. Training with Prairie Storm Athletics based out of Neepawa, Hoad became one of the top sprinters in the province during high school.

She represented Manitoba at various track championships but gravitated back to the pitch, using the skills she learned on the track when she signed with BU in 2021.

“It helped me really develop my speed and my transitions. Doing starts helped make me more explosive on the field and gave me good knowledge in that sense,” Hoad said.

“As much as I loved track, there’s nothing quite like having a team and playing soccer. It’s just my roots. Growing up playing it, it’s comforting and so much fun.”

Hoad took some time to regain form, redshirting the 2021-22 season. But now she’s leading the MCAC in scoring after netting four on Sunday and has her team in a terrific spot to chase its first league title since 2017.

Her other two goals on Saturday were on through balls, blazing past the USB backline and calmly slotting the ball into open nets.

Head coach Orlin Chalmers said the five-foot-two forward’s impact is “massive.”

“She’s been someone that’s taken everything I’ve asked of her to do and really bought in. She asks all the right questions and she’s engaged in practices so it’s paying off,” Chalmers said.

“Everyone knows for a forward to succeed, the forward needs service. The whole team as a whole is absolutely buying in at practices and games. Jorja’s accomplishments are due to her hard work as well as the service from the rest of the players on the team.”

The Bobcats are a much-improved team since losing 1-0 to Les Rouges at home on opening day. Brandon had the lion’s share of chances that game but has found its finishing touch.

USB wasn’t the same team either, as it lost a handful of players due to an eligibility issue the school self-declared halfway through the season.

That dropped Les Rouges (2-8-0) down to fourth place with almost no chance of improving to third.

Brandon plays Canadian Mennonite University at home on Saturday and closes the regular season at Providence in a potential battle for the top spot.

Meanwhile, the Cougars sit three points back of Les Rouges with the season series tied due to one forfeit.

They meet in Winnipeg this Saturday and an ACC win would force USB to grab at least one point in the finale against CMU.

Hoad said the No. 1 seed is important to draw either USB or ACC, though Chalmers is still more focused on how the team is playing. He liked what he saw on Saturday, as his praises and loud yells of “Yes!” after good decisions and touches came often.

“What we try and do is make sure the team is well-spaced out and they’re doing a very good job of that,” Chalmers said. “Understanding what we expect within our system, the “yes” is basically me applauding the fact that they’re buying in … and we’re accomplishing what we’re trying to do as a team.

“I’m just having a good time right now.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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