The weather might not be ideal but an early start to the SDSSAA soccer season is pretty much always a good thing in the eyes of coaches and players alike who try and make the best of a very abbreviated runway for preparation, local competition and provincials.

Some teams kicked off play on April 22nd this year, with Second Division action set to launch this week. Following are some quick updates from a few of the divisions that have begun play:

A six team loop that features the two-time defending champion Horizon Aigles would see the upstart Valley school show no signs of slowing down, blasting the Bishop Carter Gators 5-1 on Saturday in their season debut.

Preceeding that contest was a closer affair as the Lo-Ellen Park Knights received goals from Abbey Dagostino and Joanna Ajueze, just enough to offset a late tally from Abbey Walker as LEP held on for a 2-1 win over the Confederation Chargers at the James Jerome Sports Complex.

While Lo-Ellen features many a returning familiar face, the upbeat voice of senior Madina Jebreen is now coming from a different place on the pitch.

"Last year, I was kind of tired of playing goalie so I played forward one game," recalled Jebreen. "I scored and we ended up winning 1-0. And one of my friends (Jennifer Dempsey) said that she wanted to try goalie this year."

"I love just being able to get out there and encourage everyone on the field instead of trying to do it from the net, screaming it out."

Not only did the schedules enjoy an earlier start than usual, but some teams, including Lo-Ellen, were actually able to squeeze in a pre-season friendly on the pitch, giving those teams a bit of a league up as the regular season commenced.

"Half of our team have never played soccer before," said Jebreen. "It was nice to get everyone out and have some experience and be able to talk through it and everything. I think it really helped us out today."

"We played together as a team and I think that it was because we had that opportunity with the friendly."

Rounding out week one play in the Girls - Open Premier loop were the St Charles College Cardinals and Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes, with SCC picking up a 4-0 shutout as they look to unseat Horizon.