With the 2009 soccer season well underway, there are a number of strong programs that will battle to the last game for the right to represent the ACAC at the CCAA Championships hosted in Ontario. Below is a brief summary of the women’s and men’s divisions.

Men’s Soccer - North Division

Keyano College
Keyano Huskies men will have 7 returning players this year.  Most new faces will be found in the midfield.  The backline and strikers will be veterans of the team.  Returning players such as Will Hearn, Mike George and Richard Carbert will be poised to counter attack.  New recruits such as Al Routhier and Cristhian Garces will hold the midfield grinding out each play.

Grande Prairie Regional College
The 2009 Wolves Men’s Soccer Team enters the upcoming season with new optimism.  Head Coach Chris Spaidal recently achieved “National B” coaching license status and is hoping to mirror his continued development with that of the team’s. New to the fold this year will be Assistant Coach Aaron Ruptash, who brings a wealth of experience of coaching within the WSC Club system to the Team.  Denise Wilson returns again as the reliable Manager this group so surely requires.  Many veterans return including defenders Kyle Germann and Roberto Lopez, midfielder Geoff Berg, as well as steady keeper Adam Giebelhaus.   Juston Cornett also returns to the team after a year’s absence and is re-focused and more determined than ever.    Incoming new players looking to make an influence offensively include Nico Encina, Juan Valencia, Irvin Henandez, and Drew Dare.   Defensive stability will be provided by new additions Arran Ferguson and Mike Depencier.

MacEwan University
The 2009 Grant MacEwan men’s soccer team was delivered a blow before even playing a regular season game.  4th year returning keeper Adam Kerr suffered a season ending injury.  Lucky, the Griffins also had Lucas Curran, an ACAC all-star transfer from Keyano in the mix.  Defense will be key for the Griffins this year again and they have several returnees there including 3rd year Joey Post, 5th year Dan Crudo, and 3rd year Tyron Ehwie.  Big things are expected by several midfielders including returnees Josh Boyd, Jeff Hills, Graeme Dickson, as well as key recruit Felipe Carvalho and Steven Dynes. Up front, the Griffs hope to attack with pace with the likes of Eddie Quintinilla, who has played with Concordia most recently, and key recruits Justin Quinn and Jake McGlame.

NAIT
This season sees the NAIT Ooks opening day lineup start with nine new faces.  Returning from a very successful 2008 campaign are team MVP Joe Adjei, along with key defenders Dan Culo and Benjie Mataya.  Shane Faria will once again be looked upon to fill the goal after netting 8 goals in 8 games before a season ending injury.  Returning to this year’s team after a year off is all-Canadian defender Scott McLeod and an extremely talented Kyle Saban.  This year will also see a number of key recruits play prominent roles for the Ooks; Michael McCormick and James Carr were brought in after a very successful Canada Summer Games tournament.  Goalkeeping will not be an issue after one of the top young keepers in the province, Jay Vetsch committed to the program.  Other players sure to bring excitement to the squad will be Osmond Samura out of Toronto, Thiago Silva from Brazil, and Michael Boag from Scotland.  Once again the Ooks see themselves competing for a birth in the provincials where they will look to compete in their fifth straight ACAC final.

Concordia University College of Alberta
The Concordia University College of Alberta Men's Soccer team enters the 2009 ACAC soccer season as the defending ACAC Champions having won ACAC Gold and CCAA National Bronze medals in 2008. The Thunder will look to protect their championship behind the veteran leadership of 10 returning players including All-Conference and All-Canadian stand out mid-fielder Kyle Bartkus as well as CCAA All-Star and Concordia Male Athlete of the Year Tristan Ilko in Goal. Key additions to the team include Sam Lam a second year transfer from the University of Alberta, John Stonehocker a second year transfer from UBC and freshman standouts Nav Haque, Cody Gowling. Also new to the team is new Head Coach Kyle Samaratunga who looks to guide the team back to an ACAC title this season.