BAY CITY, Mich. - The head women's soccer coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) chose Grand Valley State University to win the 2012 GLIAC women's soccer title in preseason balloting.
The league's 14 head coaches participated in the balloting, but were not allowed to vote for their team.
The Lakers outdistanced Ohio Dominican University by 23 points and collected 13 first-place votes. GVSU, which has won the last seven GLIAC titles, will work towards earning its 10th-straight NCAA Tournament bid this year.
ODU, only in its third year of GLIAC action, finished second in the preseason poll receiving 146 points and the only other first-place vote. Ashland University was voted third in the poll with 136 points. After making it to the GLIAC Tournament, Ashland saw its 2011 season come to an end in the GLIAC Tournament finals.
Tiffin University grabbed fourth place and tallied 124 points, followed closely by Northern Michigan University by one vote, with 123 points to finish in fifth place. Ferris State University collected 111 points to finish in sixth place, while Saginaw Valley State University earned 101 points to finish in seventh place. Michigan Technological University finished in eighth place, garnering 80 points.
The University of Findlay received 70 points to finish just six points ahead of Northwood University for a ninth place finish. Northwood tallied 64 points and took tenth place in the polls.
Walsh University, beginning its first year as a full member of the GLIAC earned 52 points for a 11th place finish. GLIAC affiliate Notre Dame College was voted 12th with 48 points, followed by first-year GLIAC member Malone University in 13th place with 28 points. Lake Erie College rounded out the poll in 14th place with 26 points.
SAGINAW VALLEY OVERVIEW: The 2012 Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team will feature a talented group of underclassmen, as ten of the 15 returners are sophomores. Drago Dumbovic is entering his eleventh season with the Cardinal soccer program with an overall record of 82-60-13. SVSU looks to bounce back from a 6-8-2 record in 2011 that snapped their streak of seven straight seasons with a winning record.
Seniors Charley Porter (Midland, Mich. / Midland HS) and Megan Morad (South Lyon, Mich. / South Lyon HS) will captain the 2012 squad after starting every contest the past two seasons. The Cardinals return ten starters, including 2011 GLIAC 'Freshman of the Year' goalkeeper Laura Ivezaj (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester HS), who allowed 13 goals in 14 games last season with seven shutouts for a 0.91 goals against average. Junior forward Andrea Grove (Farmington, Mich. / Farmington HS) returns in 2012 to lead the offensive unit after finishing second in points last season with seven, including a team-high three goals.
GLIAC women's soccer teams open play on Thursday, Aug. 30 with conference play beginning Wednesday, Sept. 5. The 2012 GLIAC Women's Soccer Tournament will begin with quarterfinals on Oct 30 on campus sites, with the semifinals and final held on Nov. 2 & 4 on the campus of the No. 1 seed.