FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's soccer team closes out the last week of the regular season with a visit to Southfield, Michigan, on Wednesday to take on Lawrence Tech. Saturday's match against Marygrove has been forfeited by the Mustangs due to a plague of injuries and lack of available players.
 
Indiana Tech (7-9-1, 3-5-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Oct 27, 3 p.m. at Lawrence Tech (4-11-0, 1-7-0 WHAC) – Southfield, Michigan (LTU Athletic Field)
 
Follow Along: Links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also catch the action on Twitter by following @INTechWSoccer and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors lost to Concordia, 5-2, on Senior Day last Saturday. After falling behind two goals early, Tech battled back to tie it up by halftime thanks to goals from Jessica Zurcher and Megan Perrey. The Cardinals would quickly regain the lead in the second half however, scoring three times in 13 minutes to send the hosts to their second straight loss.
 
Head Coach Jim Lipocky: Now in his eight season as the head coach of the Warriors, Jim Lipocky has won 69 games at Indiana Tech, the most in school history. He recently reached the 100 career wins with a 2-0 victory over Davenport on Oct. 3, and is one of three active coaches in the WHAC with 100 career victories. He also holds the second-best winning percentage all-time at Tech. During the 2012 campaign, he led the Warriors to their most successful season since 2002, compiling a 16-4-1 record, the second most victories in school history. During his tenure with the Orange and Black, Lipocky has coached 37 WHAC All-Academic members, 27 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 21 WHAC All-Conference honorees. In 2011 he was named the WHAC's Champion of Character Coach.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Lawrence Tech – The Blue Devils have dropped six in a row and all six have been conference games. LTU most recently fell to Cornerstone on Saturday, 5-0. Lisa Zaffina leads the team in goals with six, while Alexandra Bryden has three assists to lead LTU. Heather Derstine has started all 15 of the team's games this year, compiling a 4-10 record. She has given up 35 goals for a 2.43 goals against average (GAA), while making 125 saves and recording one shutout.
 
Series Notes: Lawrence Tech – The Warriors are 3-0 against the Blue Devils since 2012, most recently winning last year at home, 4-1. Abby Glaysher and Miranda Smith each tallied a goal for the Orange and Black in the win.
 
Tourney Time: Tech has clinched a spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament, which begins Nov. 4. The Warriors sit at eighth in the conference standings and will more than likely travel to Lima, Ohio, to take on second ranked University of Northwestern Ohio.
 
Teaming Up for the Kids: The Indiana Tech women's soccer team teamed up with Go4theGoal to help fight pediatric cancer on Oct. 7 in their game against Madonna. The campaign, "Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer", had the Warriors take the field sporting gold shoe laces. For more information on the campaign and how to donate, visit: https://donate.go4thegoal.org/fundraise?fcid=514722.
 
Getting it done in the Classroom: Indiana Tech was recognized with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award on Sept. 23 after obtaining a 3.45 composite grade point average for the 2014-15 academic year. The Team Academic Award is awarded annually to soccer programs whose student-athletes have excelled in the classroom. This is the eighth time the women's team has been recognized and the third straight year under head coach Jim Lipocky, and fourth overall during his tenure. Tech was one of only two women's teams in the WHAC to be recognized.
 
Picking up the Hardware: Senior Megan Perrey was named the WHAC Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 14-20, as she recorded three goals in two games. She provided both Warriors goals in the 2-0 victory over Huntington (Ind.) and her score in the 87^th minute against Ashford (Iowa) sent the game into overtime. She leads the team with six goals on the year.
 
Standing Tall: Senior goalkeeper Alena Payne has taken ownership of the Warriors net this season, starting 13 of the teams 16 matches and logging 975 minutes of game action. Her 6.91 saves per ranks her fourth in the WHAC and is tied for 43^rd in the country, while her 83 saves rank fifth in the conference.