X-MEN SOCCER

“He is so quick – twisting and turning; so combative and explosive.”

Blake Fenton is back at forward for his junior season.

“That was a great experience for him, and he is ready to go,” Kennedy said of the Halifax native, who was a teammate of Hayfield’s this summer in USL League Two.

Overall, Kennedy said “we have some exceptional players coming back.”

THE NEWCOMERS

Noting it is also the smallest recruiting class of his X-men tenure, Kennedy talked about some of the newcomers.

“He has looked OK in the pre-season,” the head coach said of Antigonish native Oliver Storseth.

He added the program has “high hopes” for the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional Royals’ product.

“Oliver is going to have to continue to adjust to the speed of the [AUS] game and refine his game,” Kennedy said.

Staying in this part of the province, there is New Glasgow native Carson Ripoll, a midfielder who redshirted last season.

“He has been absolutely outstanding [in the pre-season] and he is brimming with confidence,” Kennedy said.

Another freshman who has received “a lot of pre-season minutes” is Calgary Foothills’ product Gabriel Marra.

“He has done really well,” Kennedy said, adding he is “so tidy with the ball.”

ON THE PITCH

The X-men opened the AUS regular season with home matches versus the UPEI Panthers and UNB Reds over the weekend.

Results were unavailable at press time.

St. F.X. will be on the road for three consecutive matches, including Dalhousie (Sept. 15), Mount Allison (Sept. 21) and UNB (Sept. 22).

They will return to the St. F.X. Stadium turf Friday, Sept. 27, when they welcome the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Game time is 7:15 p.m.

Two days later (Sept. 29), at 3:15 p.m., they will host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus.