Bobcats double up Pilots in final rematch

Laure Dizengremel is amid a bigger adjustment than most post-secondary athletes, but you wouldn’t know it.

The Brandon University Bobcats rookie came off the bench and scored a key insurance goal in a 4-2 victory over the Providence Pilots at the Healthy Living Centre field on Saturday, making her mark on the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference’s fiercest women’s soccer rivalry.

She took the ball down the right side and floated a tough-angle shot past the Pilots’ goalkeeper to go up three with 10 minutes to play.

“It feels good, didn’t expect it,” Dizengremel said. “It was a hard pass so I was like, I’m not going to pass, I’m just going to try and shoot and it went in.”

The striker from Notre Dame de Lourdes, an unincorporated community located 100 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, is playing by far the highest-level soccer she has experienced.

She didn’t have a high school team and had to travel to Portage la Prairie just to play recreationally.

Dizengremel competed in school sports, including volleyball, badminton and track and field as an 800-metre runner.

She looked like a sprinter on a few runs on Saturday, though, providing yet another weapon to the best offence in the league.

Dizengremel has wanted to be a Bobcat for a while, especially since her older brother, Julien, spent the last three seasons with the men’s team.

“It was never an option to go anywhere else. I like Brandon, it’s a small city, and even the classes are small for studying. It’s a good team, too,” she said.

“It’s definitely way higher than I was expecting. Even the practices, they’re hard. It’s good because it’s going to get me better.”

The Bobcats (3-0-0) nearly scored just 15 seconds into Saturday’s game, but kept the pressure up and needed just four minutes to break the Pilots (3-1-0).

Keashae Masters slipped past the Providence backline and calmly tucked the opener home.

After a few early chances on both ends, the teams settled in defensively. However, Bobcat speedster Jorja Hoad got through for two breakaway chances about 36 minutes in. She drew a penalty kick on the second, and Kenadie Janzen banged it in to temporarily double the lead.

The Pilots answered immediately when Halle Owen drew a foul in the box and cashed in from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 at halftime.

Hoad quickly restored the two-goal edge on a breakaway, of course, just three minutes into the second half.

Dizengremel padded the lead before a furious comeback bid by the Pilots led to Hannah Degueldre knocking in a rebound just before the 90-minute mark.

While it was a two-goal win for the two-time defending champs, it’s tough to overstate the importance of Masters’ early marker.

“The goal is to get them off the rip,” Masters said.

“We can’t let them come in and dictate what type of game we’re playing, so getting that first goal was important, whether it was me or any other teammate.”

The striker, who’s from Jamaica and played for the R.D. Parker Trojans in Thompson, has made massive strides from her rookie year in 2022 until now. She trailed only Hoad for the league scoring title last year with 11 goals.

“I had time to learn the game, probably do more research, watching it more,” Masters said. “I did come in a little bit inexperienced, but I took the challenge. I wanted to learn more and wanted to improve. Every year, if you’re not getting better, there’s no point in doing it.”

Masters knows her team will look much different next season after 10 seniors graduate, so she wants to ensure the new players are up to speed and capable of keeping a potential dynasty rolling.

“Right now, it’s building relationships, whether it’s on or off the field. It helps with connection, especially in football,” Master said. “The vets we have right now, the rookies look up to us and want to do good. They’re all hard workers.

“We have them pushing us in practice and vice versa, so they see what we’re doing and not want to do less. It’s a great set of girls, honestly.”

On Sunday, Janzen scored twice as Brandon beat the St. Boniface Les Rouges (1-2-0) by a score of 3-0.

RODRIGUEZ NETS FOUR

IN RETURN TO HLC FIELD

Camilo Rodriguez scored the first goal, the last goal and two in between as the BU men picked up their first win of the season, 5-1 over the Pilots on Saturday.

Matheus Ruffini netted the other for Brandon, with Zach Harman breaking Matheus Souza’s clean-sheet bid in the dying minutes.

On Sunday, the Bobcats (2-1-0) blanked the St. Boniface Les Rouges 2-0 as Souza earned the shutout and Carter Wiebe scored his second-career goal.

Both Les Rouges teams beat the Assiniboine College Cougars (0-3-0) by four goals on Saturday, 4-0 in the women’s game and 5-1 in the men’s match. Carlos Mejia scored AC’s lone goal.

The Bobcats visit the Cougars at Cougars Field on Wednesday evening. The women start at 6 p.m., with the men to follow at 8:15.

» See Tuesday’s Sun for a feature on the BU men.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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