The St. Thomas University Tommies men's soccer team will rely on its depth this year in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association competition.

"Our starting lineup is strong and we have people on the bench who can come in and help," Tommies head coach John-Ryan Morrison said.

"Depth makes for competition in training, competition in training will raise the quality of the team, and then hopefully come the weekend it will show in how we play on the field."

With only seven returning players, and only three with more than two years of eligibility, much of the Tommies lineup is made up of newcomers.  Additions to this year's roster are David Effiong, Kanye Eustache, Makenzie Hill, James Hill, Jimmy Lawlor, and Geoff Mullen—a group Morrison said is the best he's ever had.

"Kanye and Makenzie have represented New Brunswick at the Canada Games and Canada Soccer Challenge Cup as members of the Wanderers, and James won an ACAA championship with UNBSJ a couple of years ago. They all have a history of winning and that's the type of culture we want to create," he said.

"Geoff has been one of the best players in camp and I've been really happy with his work rate and ability to defend.  We recently added Jimmy Lawlor from the Team NB U18 team and I'm hoping that both he and Geoff can make a difference for years to come."

The Tommies are bringing a team-first mentality to the season, which will be fostered primarily through fifth-year returner Greg Young and third-year starter Eric Prior.

Although the Tommies struggled last season in the increasingly competitive ACAA conference, Morrison believes if they maintain their team-centered approach and hit the ground running they will accomplish their goal of returning to the conference final.

"The goal is to be in that gold medal game like we were two years ago," Morrison said. "We made it there not by skill but by heart and desire. We hope the skill we have now matches the heart and desire we had a couple years ago and that we will get us to the gold medal game."

The Tommies begin the regular season Saturday, September 9 when they host the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics at Scotiabank Park South. Kickoff is at 4:00 pm.