There is no other way to put this, but men's soccer in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association is kind of a big deal.
Case in point: the reigning provincial champion Humber Hawks have won three of the past four national championships.
Another case in point: the Sheridan Bruins won the national championship as host in 2014, making it four straight national gold medals won by OCAA clubs.
Final case in point: the Algonquin Thunder, last season's provincial silver medalist, earned national bronze, putting two OCAA programs on the national podium in the same year.
Of course there is no guarantee of a national repeat in 2016, but 18 teams are on the hunt to become one of the two OCAA clubs to represent the province on the national stage in Fort McMurray, Alta., this November. This season's gold and silver medalists will earn the trek west.
The only thing that is certain is that the Redeemer Royals will earn a bye into the OCAA championship as host. The eight-team tournament takes place Oct. 27-29.
The regular season league format remains status quo for 2016, with three divisions of six teams. Each team plays a double round robin 10 game schedule within their division, hosting each team once.
The three division winners earn byes into the championship. Each division will send its top four teams into the post-season (or top three in the West Division plus Redeemer). If the Royals win their division, then the second-place team will earn a bye to the quarter-finals.
The remaining eight teams that don't earn a bye compete in the crossover round, with the four winners advancing to provincials.
2015-16 SEASON IN REVIEW
Regular Season Champions
East Division: Algonquin (7-0-3)
Central Division: Humber (9-0-1)
West Division: Fanshawe (7-1-2)
OCAA Medalists
Gold: Humber
Silver: Algonquin
Bronze: Fanshawe
OCAA Championship (Hosted by Humber College)
Quarter-Finals
Fanshawe def. Niagara 2-0 (OT)
Humber def. Fleming 3-2
Algonquin def. UTM 2-0
Cambrian def. Sheridan 3-2 (PK)
Consolation Round
Fleming def. Niagara 3-0
UTM def. Sheridan 4-1
Semi-Finals
Humber def. Fanshawe 2-0
Algonquin def. Cambrian 3-0
Consolation Final
Fleming def. UTM 1-0 (PK)
Bronze Medal Final
Fanshawe def. Cambrian 4-0
Gold Medal Final
Humber def. Algonquin 3-0
Source: OCAA Communications