FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's soccer team faces a tough test to open the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament with a trip to Lima, Ohio, on Wednesday to take on top seed and second ranked Northwestern Ohio in the quarterfinals.
 
Indiana Tech (8-9-1, 4-5-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2 p.m. at No. 2 University of Northwestern Ohio (14-2-2, 10-9-0 WHAC) – Lima, Ohio (Racers Stadium)
 
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 defeated Lawrence Tech, 4-1, in their regular season finale last Wednesday. Megan Perrey scored twice while also picking up an assist. Courtney Lakes and Amber Huppert also tallied for the Orange and Black. Tailer Roscoe made two saves while only allowing the one goal to push her record to 4-0-0 on the season.
 
Head Coach Jim Lipocky: Now in his eight season as the head coach of the Warriors, Jim Lipocky has won 71 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: Northwestern Ohio – The Racers head into the WHAC Tournament as the regular season champions for the second season in a row. The defending NAIA National runner-ups are ranked second in the latest NAIA Coaches poll with 511 votes and went a perfect 10-0 in conference play. UNOH's only losses have come at the hands of defending National Champion and No. 1 Lindsey Wilson and then No. 15 Grace College. Northwestern Ohio has since rattled off 10 straight wins. Laura Blanchard leads the team in goals (seven) assists (five) points (19). Right behind her with six goals apiece are Pauline Quesson and Camilla Anderson. The Racers are stout in goal as well, shutting out their opponents 11 times this season. Nadine Stonjek has recorded seven of those shutouts while sporting a 0.56 goals against average (GAA) and a 9-2-1 record in just over 1,120 minutes of game action. Her GAA is good for 10^th in the nation.
 
Series Notes: Northwestern Ohio – The Warriors have not beaten the Racers in five tries, all coming since 2013, when Northwestern Ohio started it's women's soccer program and joined the WHAC. In their regular season meeting back on Oct. 21 in Fort Wayne, UNOH came away with a 5-0 win.
 
Adding to her Collection: Senior midfielder Megan Perrey was named the WHAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 2, the second time she has collected the weekly award this season. Perrey scored twice in the win over Lawrence Tech last Wednesday, including the game winner. The Avon, Indiana, native also won the award on Sept. 21 after scoring three goals in two games. She leads Tech in goals (nine) and points (21) while her three assists are tied with Jessica Zurcher for first on the team.
 
Yearly Tradition: This marks the fifth year in a row that the Warriors have made the WHAC Tournament under head coach Jim Lipocky. Lipocky has guided Tech to the conference tournament in five of his eight seasons at the helm, reaching the semifinals in 2011 and the championship match in 2012.
 
Third Time's the Charm: This is the third straight season that the Orange and Black will face off with UNOH in the WHAC Tournament. Tech has not fared well against the Racers however, losing, 4-2, in 2013 and 6-0 a year ago. Northwestern Ohio went on to win the WHAC Tournament title in 2014 and made it all the way to the NAIA Championship game before falling to No. 3 Lindsey Wilson, 3-0.
 
Logging their Miles: Four Warriors, Jamie Hawkey, Hannah Duschl, Abby Glaysher and Becca Hoklas have started all 17 of Tech's game this season, with each logging over 837 minutes of game action. Hawkey leads the Orange and Black with 1,412 minutes and has been a key cog in the Warriors defense. Duschl has also been a valuable member of the backline, logging 1,220 minutes, while Glaysher and Hoklas have been excellent two-way players for coach Lipocky. Glaysher has two goals while playing over 950 minutes, while Hoklas has two assists and a goal in 837 minutes of game time.
 
Standing Tall: Senior goalkeeper Alena Payne has taken ownership of the Warriors net this season, starting 13 of Tech's 17 matches and logging 975 minutes of game action. Her 6.38 saves per ranks her fourth in the WHAC and is good 45^th in the country, while her 83 saves rank fifth in the conference.
 
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.