D2CCA All-Midwest Region Women’s Soccer Teams Announced

Grand Valley State University’s Riko Sagara named D2CCA All-Midwest Player of the Year for the second consecutive year

St. Louis – Grand Valley State senior midfielder Riko Sagara (Toyko, Japan) has been named the 2019 Division II Conference Commissioners Association Women’s Soccer Midwest Region Player of the Year. She headlines a group of 26 players named to the All-Midwest Region teams announced Wednesday.

The teams were voted on by the region’s Sports Information Directors.

Sagara was honored for the second year in a row as the D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year. She helped the Lakers to the 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship and into the NCAA DII Women’s Soccer Championships as the top seed in the Midwest

Region. Sagara was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season and is second in NCAA Division II women’s soccer with 17 assists. She added 13 goals on the season for a total of 43 points, which ranks second in the GLIAC.

Grand Valley State paced the region with seven players on the All-Midwest Region teams.

The Lakers are currently 19-1-0 and finished play in the GLIAC with a perfect 9-0-0 mark. Grand Valley State closed the regular season as the second-ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. GVSU opens play in the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon against Southern Indiana in Allendale, Mich.

The GLIAC led with 11 selections, while the Great Midwest Athletic Conference netted nine spots and the Great Lakes Valley Conference had seven.

The 13 first-team honorees will now advance to the national ballot, and the announcement and distribution of the All-American Teams will be Dec. 11, 2019.

The D2CCA encourages and promotes DII athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact DII intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA DII member colleges and universities.