Kansas City, MO– The Sage Colleges' women's and men's soccer teams were both honored for the second straight year for academic excellence as the United Soccer Coaches announced on Thursday the Team Academic Award winners at the high school and collegiate levels to recognize exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2017-18 academic year.
A total of 773 college teams (289 men, 484 women) earned the Team Academic Award, including 191 schools, who had both their men's and women's programs among the recipients. To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) to be eligible.
Sage's men's team earned the award for the second straight season under the direction of head coach Keith Simons. A year ago, senior team member Kevin Saar was honored by both Sage and the United Soccer Coaches Association as a 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Scholar All-East Team. He also was placed on the 2017 Empire 8 All-Conference Men's Soccer Second Team. Saar, who was also honored with a selection to the Empire 8 Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team, wraps his outstanding career having helped Sage to four-straight post-season appearances in his time as a Gator. As a sophomore, he helped Sage to the 2015 Skyline Conference Championship and a spot in the team's first NCAA Tournament appearances. A year ago, Sage finished the year as the 2016 Skyline Tournament Runner-up after falling in overtime in the finals. Over the course of his career, Saar played in 71 games at Sage and ranks seventh highest in the category in the career record book.
Sage's women's soccer team under the guidance of head coach Garrett Cobb also guided his program to a repeat award by the United Soccer Coaches Association after earning the award as well in 2017. A year ago, the Gator women's soccer team had 15 team members named to the Sage Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll, while the women's soccer team earned a selection to the 2017-2018 Empire 8 All-Academic Team after posting a combined 3.55 grade point average and seven performers were also tapped for the 2018 Empire 8 All-Academic Spring Team.
