GLIAC –- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced the men's soccer postseason awards for 2026, as voted on by the league's coaches.
Saginaw Valley State third-year midfielder Oleksiy Kharko was named the GLIAC Player of the Year. Kharko is a team captain orchestrating the Cardinals from the middle of the field. He helped anchor the effort that has SVSU leading the GLIAC with 11 goals allowed all season, 0.69 per game. The Mississauga, Ontario native helped limit opponents to 173 shots, just 58 on target, for a shot percentage of just .064. Kharko finished the season with three assists and eight shots, with one on goal.
Saginaw Valley State third-year forward Matty Telfer was honored as the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year. The two-time GLIAC First-Team selection led the Cardinals in total points for the second-straight season after compiling 30 so far this year. He leads the team with 13 goals and is tied for the most assists with four. The Newcastle, England product ranks top five league wide in nearly every offensive category in the GLIAC, sitting second in goals (13), shots (55), shots on goal (37), and points (30). He was fifth in game-winning goals with two and seventh with his four assists. Nationally, Telfer sits second in shot accuracy (.673), fifth in shots on goal per game (2.31), 10th in points per game (1.88), 11th in total points (30), 13th in goals per game (0.81) and total goals (13), and 17th in shots per game (3.44).
Saginaw Valley State graduate student defender Kai Forsyth is the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year. In his debut season with the Cardinals, Forsyth is tied for second on the team with nine points, leading all defensemen in the GLIAC in scoring. He played a key role in the Cardinal defense, limiting opponent scoring opportunities (11 goals allowed and 58 SOG). The Derby, England native has totaled three goals on 11 shots so far this year, with five on target. Forsyth punctuated his season with both goals, including his first game-winning strike, in the regular season finale against Northern Michigan that clinched the regular season title for SVSU.
Roosevelt freshman Cedrik Strupler has earned GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors for 2026, marking the third straight year Roosevelt has produced a major award winner in the conference. The freshman from Switzerland is on pace to re-write the Lakers record book in his first season with the Green and White. He leads the league with eight shutouts this season and a 0.688 goals against average, which ranks 13th nationally. Strupler also is 20th in the country with his .802 save percentage, including stopping both penalty kicks he has faced this season. Strupler is the first Roosevelt goalie to earn all-conference recognition since 2015.
GLIAC Freshman of the Year was awarded to Northern Michigan forward Sergio Cano Castro. Cano Castro, who hails from Cudillero Oviñana, Spain, was one of the big offensive drivers for the Wildcat attack, as he paced the GLIAC with six assists in 12 conference games played. He notched a career-best three assists in the 4-0 Wildcat win on October 16, and followed that up by scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 win over Roosevelt just two days later. In 12 conference games, Cano Castro paced the GLIAC in assists, was T7 in points with eight, and T6 in shots with 12. Across all competitions, Cano Castro’s 10 assists are good for T3 in the country, and he became the first player in NMU men’s soccer history to record 10+ assists in a single season.
The Purdue Northwest Men’s Soccer coaching staff has been honored with this year’s GLIAC Coaching Staff of Year Award. This year, the Lions improved from a 3-12-3 record last year to a 10-5-2 record this year (a seven win improvement), the three-seed in the GLIAC Tournament, a quarterfinals victory, and an undefeated home stand with a 7-0-1 record on their home pitch, the first in program history. This is first time men’s soccer has been honored with this postseason award and were led by head coach Luke Dunn, and assistant coaches, Jaime Garcia, Juan Soto, and Sebastian Contreras
A complete list of the 2026 All-GLIAC men's soccer teams is below:
ALL-GLIAC FIRST TEAM
Forward
Matty Telfer, Saginaw Valley State
Luca Rosen, Northern Michigan
Fynn Mewes, Roosevelt
Midfielder
Nikola Ivetic, Purdue Northwest
Oleksiy Kharko, Saginaw Valley State
Noah Vasilev, Roosevelt
Defender
Kai Forsyth, Saginaw Valley State
Matthew Goulding, Roosevelt
Marcos Rozano Gallardo, Northern Michigan
At-Large
Sergio Cano Castro, Northern Michigan
Goalkeeper
Cedrik Strupler, Roosevelt
ALL-GLIAC SECOND TEAM
Forward
Keven Sosa, Parkside
Landon Potts, Purdue Northwest
Amadou Kouyate, Saginaw Valley State
Midfielder
Hudson Scheiber, Parkside
Xhoel Lutaj, Northern Michigan
Adrian Hatman, Saginaw Valley State
Defender
James Carr, Northern Michigan
Jaime Vazquez, Parkside
Josh Izu, Saginaw Valley State
At-Large
Kingsley Kanu, St. Cloud State
Goalkeeper
Asaf Kristal, Northern Michigan
ALL-GLIAC HONORABLE MENTION
Aloe Berassa, Purdue Northwest
Charlie Davis, Davenport
King Dwumah Acheampong, St. Cloud State
Abe Freye, Saginaw Valley State
Davian Gumbs, Northern Michigan
Andrew Holmes, St. Cloud State
Angel Luevano, Parkside
Drew Matyunas, Davenport
Matti Pickel, Roosevelt
Rafael Rios, Roosevelt
Pablo Seco Zabala, Parkside
