UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team added more hardware to its record breaking season today (Nov. 17) as midfielder Sam Echols (Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake HS) was selected to the Daktronics Division II Midwest Region First Team, while forward Jackie Barrett (Williamston, Mich./Williamston HS) was selected to the second team.

All-Midwest Region Team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), with voting powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM

Echols was one of many players that helped the Cardinals to a record-setting 2009 campaign with 14 wins.  Echols had a solid fall, posting eight goals and five assists for 21 points in 17 matches.  Five of her eight goals were game-winners, including back-to-back winners in a 1-0 victory against Northern Michigan University (Oct. 16) and a 2-1 decision over Ashland University (Oct. 18). 

Barrett was the only Cardinal to start all 17 games this season.  She recorded 12 goals, including two hat-tricks and two game-winning goals, to go along with four assists while contributing a team-high 28 points. 

Grand Valley State University led the way with nine players selected to the 2009 Daktronics Division II Midwest Region Women's Soccer Teams, while Quincy University's Jenna Boyko was named the Midwest Region Player of the Year.

Grand Valley State added five first-team honorees in defenders Megan Brown and Natalja Stanski,
midfielder Erin Mruz and forwards Ashley Botts and Irie Dennis.  The Lakers added four more players to the Midwest Region second team.  Grand Valley is 20-0-2 on the season.
 
Northern Kentucky and Drury each landed two players on the first team while Bellarmine, Saginaw Valley State and Wisconsin-Parkside each had one player named to the first team.

Earlier this season the Cardinals set a new school record for wins on their way to qualifiying for their first NCAA Tournament appearence in school history.  Head coach Drago Dumbovic was also named GLIAC "Coach of the Year" for the first time in his seven seasons at the helm of team.  He has now led the Cardinals to five-straight winning seasons, including a team record 14 victories this fall.  Under his guidance this fal, the Cardinals have posted nine shutouts with a starting lineup that features a majority of underclassmen.

Members of the Midwest Region first team are eligible for the 2009 Daktronics Division II All-America Women's Soccer team, to be announced on Dec. 1.