BAY CITY, Mich. -- The head men's soccer coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) chose Saginaw Valley State University and Notre Dame College to win the 2012 GLIAC men's soccer North and South divisional titles, respectively, in preseason balloting.
The league's head coaches participated in the balloting, but were not allowed to vote for their team.
The Cardinals outreached Tiffin University by eight points in the North Division voting (42-34) and acquired five first-place votes. SVSU was the 2011 GLIAC Champion and earned a spot in the NCAA D-II postseason tournament last year.
Saginaw Valley State University looks to remain perched atop the conference standings in 2012 and make their second straight NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals, who won the first men's soccer championship and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history return 12 players who started in 10 or more contests last seasoon.
Reining GLIAC "Defensive Player of the Year" Zach Myers (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Forest Hills Eastern HS) leads a defensive unit that had the second best goals against average in the GLIAC last season. The Cardinals also return two of their leading point scorers from 2011 in Lachlan Savage (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth Salem) and Zach Walega (Saline, Mich. / Saline HS). Senior keeper Jason Wise (Troy, Mich. / Troy HS) also returns after notching 12 wins in his first season in the box for SVSU. Wise posted six shutouts and registered a .950 save percentage on the year.
SVSU has found its winnings ways under third-year and 2012 GLIAC "Coach of the Year" Cale Wassermann, who owns a 21-11-6 (.649) record in his two seasons at Saginaw Valley. The Cardinals will begin the 2012 season ranked 22nd in the NSCAA D-II preseason poll.
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