Five Cardinals earn United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region accolades

Five Cardinals earn United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region accolades

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UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The Saginaw Valley State University Men's Soccer program had five student-athletes named to the 2018 United Soccer Coaches Division II All-Midwest Region Team, highlighted by three first-team honorees.

Seniors Omar Sinclair and Michael Shaikly were joined on the All-Midwest Region First Team by sophomore Michael Hamilton. Junior Azaad Liadi was named to the second team while freshman goalkeeper Lukas Betz earned third team plaudits.

Sinclair earns his second all-region honor as a defender after being named to the D2CCA All-Midwest Region First Team already. He was named the 2018 GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and led the Cardinals to seven clean sheets in the regular season. 

Shaikly garners his second all-region honor as well for the Cardinals. He was earlier named to the D2CCA All-Midwest Region Second Team as a midfielder. He was named All-GLIAC First Team as well, marking his third all-league honor for his career. 

Hamilton has now been named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest team twice with this year's first team award and last year's second team honor. He was named to the All-GLIAC First Team as well in 2018 for the second straight season and was the 2017 GLIAC Freshman of the Year. 

Liadi earns his second all-region honor this season, tacking this on after being named to the D2CCA All-Midwest Region Second Team at the forward position. He was earlier named to the All-GLIAC First Team as a forward after earning All-GLIAC Second Team honors in 2017.

Betz, the 2018 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, earns his first career all-region honor. He was named to the 2018 All-GLIAC Second Team after winning 10 matches in goal and posting six shutouts. 

The Cardinals advanced to the 2018 NCAA Division II Round of 16, which was the third time in program history that SVSU made it that far in the national tournament. Saginaw Valley has participated in the annual postseason tournament seven of the past eight seasons. SVSU claimed the 2018 GLIAC regular season championship as well, marking the third time the team has accomplished that feat. 

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