Jeremy Shepherd (born April 8, 1985) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Club career

Youth career

Shepherd began playing at the youth level with the Toronto Lynx Jrs in their inaugural season in the

Super Y-League The Super Y League is a youth soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the Super Y League is dedicated to the progression of future professional players and has steered the course for development of elite cl ...

in 2000. He also played his youth soccer with Dixie Soccer Club and spent some time in the Hertha Berlin youth system.

Oakville

After graduating from the Lynx Academy, he signed with the Oakville Blue Devils of the Canadian Professional Soccer League playing under former Director of Lynx Academy

Duncan Wilde Duncan Wilde is an English soccer manager who is currently the manager of Blue Devils FC in League1 Ontario. Managerial career On May 15, 2003 at the Canadian Professional Soccer League press conference the Hamilton Thunder announced Wilde as th ...

. On September 11, 2005, he made his debut against

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

. A week after he recorded his first professional goal on September 15, 2005, against

North York Astros The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Cana ...

. He helped Oakville clinch a postseason by finishing second in the Western Conference. He featured in the

CPSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

finals match against

Vaughan Shooters Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

, and won the championship by a score of 2-1.

Toronto Lynx

In 2006, when Wilde returned to the Toronto Lynx he signed Shepherd to a contract with the senior team in the USL First Division. He made his debut on April 22, 2006, against the Virginia Beach Mariners. On July 16, 2006, against the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

, he broke his leg in a collision with a Silverback player forcing him to miss the rest of the season. He made 13 appearances with the club in his debut season.

CSL

After recovering from his injury Shepherd signed with the Brampton Lions for the 2008 CSL season. Shepherd ended his two-year goal drought on September 20 against

, where he scored two goals in a 3-1 victory. He continued his fine form in a cruising 6-0 victory over London City where he recorded two goals and clinched a playoff spot for the Lions. On May 14, 2009, the Brampton Lions re-signed Shepherd for the 2009 season. Where he helped the club secure a postseason berth by finishing third in the National Division. He re-signed with Brampton for the 2011 season. In his fourth season with Brampton, he assisted in securing a postseason berth by finishing fourth in the First Division. After a four-year tenure in Brampton, he was recruited by Ron Davidson to sign with

Brantford Galaxy Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club was a semi-professional Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, with their home venue located in Hamilton, Ontario at the Heritage Field Turf. The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a leag ...

for the 2012 season. He made his debut for the club on May 6, 2012, against the York Region Shooters. He recorded his first goal and a hat-trick on June 17, 2012, against SC Waterloo Region. After the dismissal of head coach Ron Davidson, he along with the other five players left the club in support of Davidson. Though he later returned to Brantford to finish off the remainder of the season.

International career

He made his debut for the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team on April 20, 2001, against the United States in the

2001 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament The 2001 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament was played in Honduras and United States. 2001 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament qualification The qualification for the 2001 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament took place between November 2000 and February 2001. Teams Hondura ...

Honors

Oakville Blue Devils

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Jeremy 1985 births Living people Black Canadian men's soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Brampton Toronto Lynx players USL First Division players Brampton City United FC players Canada men's youth international soccer players Brantford Galaxy players