The ACAA soccer season has begun and early indications are that teams are going to provide the same thrills and memorable games that we came to expect in 2008. Playoffs should once again produce some surprising and unpredictable results. There is not much to choose between the first and fourth place teams, and the ACAA can be virtually assured that two deserving ACAA champions will represent the conference at the CCAA nationals in November.
A testament to the parity of both the women’s and men’s conferences has been the number of close games in the past couple of seasons. Early season results so far in 2009 suggest this trend is not going to change, as several games have ended in a tie or have been decided by one goal.

WOMEN'S CONFERENCE:
The 2008 ACAA women's champions, Holland College (HC) Hurricanes will try to make it two in a row but will have their work cut for them with only five returnees. All-star Larissa MacEachern will return to provide stability at the back and the girls are fortunate to have Meredith Cameron back as coach. It remains to be seen if these young players can raise their level of play to compete for the championship again this season. They've started the season with a series of ties which means they can compete against any team in the conference.  If the Hurricanes can hang close to a playoff spot and gain experience along the way, they could advance to the playoffs and be a very dangerous team to be reckoned with.

The Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics appear, once again, to be a dominant force in the ACAA conference. Despite losing several key players, the Mystics, led by All-Canadian Sarah Parker, have not skipped a beat, storming out of the gate to take their perennial place at the top of the league standings. They are definite main contenders for the ACAA championship. The Mystics have established a rich tradition of winning through the many years of attending CCAA national championships.  Cassandra O’Neill, Emily Burke and last season’s ACAA rookie of the year Chrissy Hennebury are among those returning this season. A solid group of young recruits will try to make their mark including Kara Slawter, Jessica Lilly and PEI Canada Games team striker Jill Edwards.

The University of King's College (UKC) Blue Devils are also traditionally strong in wWmen’s soccer and will be right in the mix to battle for the championship. The team has a new head coach – Stacey Stocco, who played for the Australian national team and professionally in New Jersey and Ottawa. Her experience should really be a great asset for the Blue Devils who lost nine players from last year’s team. The Blue Devils will be relying heavily on Kellie Cousens, the team captain and all-conference player,  as well as another all-conference player Hyeyeon Hang. Despite all of the new players, the Blue Devils have really played well so far this season, aided in part by Irene Flatley, a rookie who is already making her mark scoring goals.
The University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves are still in the process of rebuilding but that hasn’t stopped the girls from jumping out to a quick start this season and scoring more goals than almost all of 2008. The Seawolves will warrant some attention from the “big three” - MSVU, UKC and HC as the season moves on.  They have six returning players including second year star Jen Bergeron, the UNBSJ athlete of the year. Natalie Jones, Stephanie Doucette, Tiffany Hamilton, Kelcie Levesque and Tiffany Jones will also play key roles if the Seawolves are to make playoffs. The Seawolves will benefit from the addition of keeper Emily Teed and an influx of several young players with youth provincial and national experience. This is a team on the rise again with the goal of securing a playoff spot.
The Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC)Rams are hoping to get to the playoffs once again. The girls will once again be coached by long time mentor Claude Colwell whose experience is just what is needed with so many new faces in the lineup. First year players Kaleigh McDonald and Julie Poirier will be counted on to step up right away.

The St. Thomas (STU) Tommies have a new coach this season - Mackie Singh. He originally hails from New Zealand but he is presently the Regional Technical Director for Soccer New Brunswick. He was previously the national Technical Director for the New Zealand Universities Football Council, the High-Performance National Technical Director of the women's programme for Football Association of Malaysia and a Regional Coaching and Youth Player Development Officer for the Mainland Football Federation in New Zealand. Macky has coached the New Zealand Universities National Women's Team to three World University Games.  Macky has had to call on all of his experience early on this season as his Tommies are in a re-building year with 14 new players joining the team to go along with the eight returning players. Key returnees include midfielder Caroline Del Frate and winger Jenna Cross.  Jenna Gallie has been excellent as  a first year player, performing  well in the early going. Injuries have limited the team success so far but Macky has enjoyed the good attitude and work ethic that the girls have displayed throughout the season and it has made his first year as coach an exciting and positive one. 

Atlantic Baptist University (ABU) Blue Tide have a new name.  They are now Crandall University.  The girls had a great run in 2008, getting all the way to the championship game before losing a very tight contest to HC. Doug Cochrane, ACAA coach of year last season did not return and has been replaced with Michelle Boudreau who has many new faces to try to mold into a team. The early results suggest that it may take some time to get the team to gel and the girls are going to have to do very well down the stretch to make playoffs. The team has been averaging over a goal a game but keeping the ball out of the net has been the issue.

MEN'S CONFERENCE:
On the men’s side, the Holland College (HC) Hurricanes are trying to repeat as regular season champions. The team has earned the reputation of being hard working game in and game out. Keeper Chris Hayes will do his best to keep balls out of the HC net and key PEI Canada Games players – Ties Hakkars and Mitch Lakers will add to the depth. The Hurricanes have gained the reputation around the league of being a hard-working team that will make you earn your points against them. They've been a great addition to the men's conference and have added to the depth and parity of the league, making every league game important and the advance to playoffs a difficult challenge for all  teams.

The University of Kings College (UKC) Blue Devils appear to be poised for another run at the championship and are once again the team to beat this season. The Blue Devils are fresh off an amazing performance at nationals last season when they defeated Quebec 1-0 in the first game of the championship. The Blue Devils lost Sam Marche (the leading scorer on the team last season), outstanding keeper Mike Beazley and reliable Kyle Murphy. However, the good news for the Blue devils and the bad news for everyone else is that all of the other players are back from last year’s team, including team MVP and conference all-star Greg Bathe. Rookie Anders Peacock, who hails from Calgary, has already inherited the goal scoring spotlight. Like the Mystics on the women’s side, the Blue Devils have a long and storied history of winning ACAA titles. They have another great chance at going all the way again this season.

St. Thomas (STU) has ACAA coach of the year and former CIS coach and professional player Darren Cann back once again. Cann is now in his 7th season of coaching the Tommies and always gets the most out of his players. The team has 14 returning players from the team that finished  a strong third in 2008. Some of the key returning players include: defenders Brandon Wile and Bronson Blizzard, wingers Andres Olaya and Zach Mazurkiewicz, midfielder Max LaBrech and striker Nicholas Gregory. This solid core gives the Tommies a chance to win every game and the expectations are high for the team to make the play-offs and compete hard for the championship. The team also has some new recruits who have already shown they belong and are having an impact this season. Among these players are Daniel Steeves, a striker and Marc Gagnon, a first year Keeper.

The University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves are rebuilding in 2009 after graduating three of the top players last season - Scott Hachey, Billy Alty and Saygun Aktas. The pressing need is to find someone to replace the 10+ goals a season Hachey averaged for his career. Brian Peters could fill part of that void this season but the team will need several other players to contribute goals. The Seawolves do have some solid players returning, including ACAA rookie of the year Nathan Munroe who  will be counted on to anchor the centre midfield and provide leadership on and off the field. Second year keeper Jason DeMerchant should be a presence in the net this season. As well, first year players David Bitten and Niels Botman will be expected to shoulder a load immediately. The Seawolves have a strong history of competing and the goal is to improve as a unit and to make the playoffs.

The Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics men’s team features 14 new players. This is a young, inexperienced but technically sound group. The only thing they need is game experience at the ACAA level and who knows where they can go from there. It will be an exciting ride for a team with so much potential. It is a good thing that all-star Jimmy Cory is back to anchor the back line. The team did gain a good player in Mitch Spell who transferred from Holland College. Also returning is Mazen Hafez, a third year striker and keeper Matt Sullivan. Among the new additions hoping to make an impact are keeper Rob Forgeron and rookie brothers Scott and Andrew Thompson.

The Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) Rams have several key players back to bolster the lineup. Andy Crowell is in his second season of coaching the team so he is familiar with the league and that should give the Rams an added edge. All-conference player Scott Brown is among the best players in the league and will provide strength in the midfield. Denis Reus, an exchange student from the Netherlands will make an immediate impact. As well, Kyle McCrae is back from a student exchange so he too will add depth of the squad. The team has the same goal as everyone one else in the tough men's conference, that is to make playoffs. The pieces may be in place to make that run.