Rab, according to wikipedia it turns out that it really is an assist
"Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for passing or crossing the ball to the scorer.
It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender, goalkeeper or goalpost) to a teammate who scores; or to a player who wins a penalty kick for another player to convert. "
I'll have to find something more official for a confirmation, though.
This complicates things because up until now i didn't count deflected shots as assists. I will have to watch all the goals we scored this year again to see if more assists should be given.