FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's soccer team opens the 2016 season on the road Friday when they head west to face off with Trinity Christian College (Ill.) before hosting Rochester College (Mich.) on Sunday in their home opener, which will also serve as Senior Day and have a field dedication prior to the game.
Indiana Tech (0-0-0)
Friday, Aug. 26, 5 p.m. ET at Trinity Christian College (1-1-0) – Palos Heights, Ill. (George and June Schaaf Athletics Complex)
Sunday, Aug. 28, 2 p.m. vs. Rochester College (0-0-1) – Fort Wayne, Ind. (Warrior Athletic Field)
Dedicating the Field: Indiana Tech President Dr. Arthur E. Snyder will lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication of the new artificial turf playing surface at Warrior Athletic Field at 1:40 p.m. on Sunday. He will be joined by women's soccer coach
Jim Lipocky, men's soccer coach
David Bokhart, women's lacrosse coach
Jason Allen and men's lacrosse coach
Bryan Seaman in addition to student-athletes from each team. The ribbon cutting will take place at midfield and light refreshments will be available for all guests. Indiana Tech Athletic Director
Debbie Warren, President Snyder, coaches and student-athletes (excluding women's soccer) will be available for media requests after the ceremony.
Honoring the Seniors: Lipocky and the Warriors will honor their 10 seniors:
Morgan York,
Morgan Kroezen,
Amber Huppert,
Darby McCracken, Zurcher, Marin, Hoklas, Hawkey, Lakes and Roscoe, in a halftime ceremony on the field.
Follow Along: Links to live stats and video for both games will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com courtesy of Stretch Internet's Game Central Portal. You can also follow the action on Twitter by following @INTechWSoccer and @INTechWarriors.
Wrapping Up Last Season: Tech went 8-10-1 overall in the 2015 season, including a 4-5-1 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play, finishing eighth in the conference and making the WHAC Tournament for the fifth consecutive season before bowing out to second-seeded University of Northwest Ohio. Head coach
Jim Lipocky reached the 100 career wins plateau with a 2-0 victory over Davenport on Oct. 3. The Warriors have 15 student-athletes named to the WHAC All-Conference Team while 10 garnered Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Head Coach Jim Lipocky: Now in his 10th season as the head coach of the Warriors,
Jim Lipocky has won 70 games at Indiana Tech, the most in school history. He reached the 100 career wins with a 2-0 victory over Davenport on Oct. 3, 2015, 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 53 WHAC All-Academic members, 37 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 21 WHAC All-Conference honorees. In 2011 he was named the WHAC's Champion of Character Coach.
Scouting the Opposition: Trinity Christian – The Trolls have already played in two games already, both taking in place West Point, Georgia, losing 2-1 to Point University in their opener before rebounding with a 6-0 shutout over Warner University. Kayla Diemer leads the team in goals (three) and points (seven), while Sierra Christopher has only allowed two goals in 175 minutes.
Rochester – The Warriors opened their season with a scoreless double-overtime draw against Huntington on Aug. 24 and travel to Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday before heading to Fort Wayne for a Sunday matinee.
Series Notes: Trinity Christian – The Warriors are 1-2-1 against the Trolls since 2012 and picked up the win a year ago with a 3-0 win in their home opener.
Rochester – Tech is 8-0-0 since 2005 against the Crimson and White Warriors, cruising to a 2-0 decision last year on the road.
Who's Back: The Orange and Black return seven of their top 10 players in terms of total minutes logged, including senior defenders
Courtney Lakes and
Jamie Hawkey, their second highest goal scorer from a year ago (senior forward
Jessica Zurcher), and a pair of senior midfielders in
Becca Hoklas and
Jessica Marin. Senior goalkeeper
Tailer Roscoe will be the starter in net for the Warriors after sporting a 3-1-0 record last year, logging 495 minutes en route to a 1.82 goals against average (GAA) and two shutouts.
Who's New: Headlined by UNOH transfer
Shelby Lucas, who hit .347 in 21 games (74 at-bats) as a sophomore for the Racers softball team, the Warriors have seven new faces to the program this year, including four freshmen.
Turfing it Up: Over the summer Indiana Tech replace the natural grass surface of Warrior Athletic Field with an artificial turf one, allowing for the Warriors athletic programs to use the facility all-year round and creating new possibilities for community use. The new turf came in handy for the Shindigz National Soccer Festival when torrential rain caused the Indiana University Purdue University – Fort Wayne (IPFW) to close the fields at the Hefner Soccer Complex.
