FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's soccer team returns to action on Wednesday night when they host Madonna in WHAC action. The game will serve as the teams' Pediatric Cancer Night as they partner with Go4TheGoal to "Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer" and will wear gold shoe laces for the match. Tech then heads to Lourdes for the first-ever matchup between the two schools on Saturday to wrap up the first half of conference play.
 
Indiana Tech (5-5-1, 1-1-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Oct 7, 7 p.m. vs. Madonna University (6-1-0, 2-0-0 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Warrior Athletic Field) Pediatric Cancer Night
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2 p.m. at Lourdes University (4-4-1, 1-1-0 WHAC) – Sylvania, Ohio (Wildcat Stadium)
 
Follow Along: Links to live stats for both matches will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also catch the action on Twitter by following @INTechWSoccer and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors defeated Davenport on Saturday, 2-0, giving head coach Jim Lipocky his 100^th career win. Lipocky is now one of three active coaches in the WHAC with 100 career victories. Becca Hoklas and Jessica Marin each recorded their first goals of the season in the 26th and 46^th minute, respectively. Alena Payne had nine saves on the day to record her third shutout of the year.
 
Head Coach Jim Lipocky: Now in his eight season as the head coach of the Warriors, Jim Lipocky has won 67 games at Indiana Tech, the most in school history, 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: Madonna – The Crusaders face off with NCAA Division I for Detroit on Tuesday before coming to Fort Wayne and they are tied for second in the conference and are one of three undefeated teams in the WHAC. Kelly Capoccia leads the team in goals with 11, second most in the conference, while Blaire Schmalenberg leads the league in goals against average (0.73) and has three shutouts to her credit.
 
Lourdes – The Gray Wolves travel Cornerstone on Wednesday before hosting the Warriors and are in sixth place in the WHAC, one point behind Tech in the standings. Jada Foster has five goals on the season to lead Lourdes, while Remy Houttekier and Nicole Miller both have two assists. Erika Brinkman has started all nine games in goal for the Gray Wolves, recording four shutouts and a 1.27 GAA.
 
Series Notes: Madonna – Tech is 2-13 against the Crusaders since 2005, most recently last year in Livonia, 2-1. Abby Glaysher scored the only goal for the Warriors. The Orange and Black last win in the series came in 2013 at Warrior Athletic Field, also a 2-1 decision.
 
Lourdes – This will be the first-ever meeting between Indiana Tech and Lourdes as the Gray Wolves are in their inaugural season.
 
Teaming Up for the Kids: The Indiana Tech women's soccer team is teaming up with Go4theGoal to help fight pediatric cancer on Oct. 7. As part of their campaign, Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer, the Warriors are taking the field against Madonna as part of Pediatric Cancer Night. The team will be sporting gold shoe laces as well. For more information 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 over the week. She provided both Warriors goals in the 2-0 victory over Huntington and her score in the 87^th minute against RV Ashford 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 nine matches and only giving up 11 goals. Her 7.22 saves per ranks her third in the league and is 29^th in the country, while her 65 saves rank third in the WHAC and is tied for 28^th nationally. She ranks third in WHAC play in GAA (0.62), saves (22) and fourth in saves per game (7.33) with one shutout.
 
National Rankings: As a team, the Warriors find themselves in the top 50 in three categories among the whole NAIA. They rank tied for 17^th in total shutouts (five), tied for 31^st in shutouts per game (0.45) and tied for 44^th in total saves (68).