FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's soccer team opens its 2016 home schedule on Saturday evening as they play host to region foe Huntington University.
 
Indiana Tech (1-0-0)
 
Saturday, Sept. 3, 7 p.m. Huntington (1-1-0) – Fort Wayne, Ind. (Warrior Athletic Field)
 
Follow Along: Links to live stats and video be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com and you can also follow the action on Twitter by following @INTechMSoccer and @INTechWarriors.
 
Wrapping Up Last Season: The Orange and Black went 5-12-1 in 2015, missing the conference tournament by five points as they finished in a tie for 10^th in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC). Brennan Cochran capped a fantastic freshman debut by being named Honorable Mention All-Conference despite missing the last four games with an injury as he led the team in goals with 10.
 
Head Coach David Bokhart: Now in his sixth season as the head coach of the Warriors, David Bokhart has won 41 games at the helm for the Orange and Black. During his tenure, Bokhart has coached 22 WHAC Academic All-Conference honorees, 10 All-Conference selections, eight NAIA Scholar-Athlete recipients and one NAIA All-American and WHAC Defensive Player of the Year (Mark Baptist).
 
Scouting the Opposition: Huntington – The Foresters picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday, defeating Rochester, 3-1. Guilherme Lins Souza, Brooks Smith and Matheus Louzada have each tallied a goal while Brad Buzzard has made 13 saves and owns a 1.50 goals against average (GAA).
 
Series Notes: Huntington – The Warriors are 4-2-0 against the Foresters since 2005, with the last meeting coming back in 2010, when Tech defeated HU, 1-0.
 
Making a Quick Impression: Freshman forward Roman Schindler has already got off to a quick start in his collegiate career, scoring two goals just four minutes apart in the opening 20 minutes against the Pilots. The Vienna import played 64 minutes in the first start of his career. He is the third freshman in the past two seasons to score multiple goals in a game, joining teammates Brennan Cochran and Ruben Leonardo, who both did it last season.
 
In the Rankings: The Orange and Black rank among the nation's best in several statistical categories, including 23^rd in goals per game (3.0), 33^rd in assists per game (2.0), 46^th in shots on goal per game (8.0) and 47^th in goals allowed per game (2.0). Individually, Ruben Leonardo, Andrew Higgins and Roman Schindler rank among the top-50 in eight combined categories.
 
Who's Back: Tech returns eight of its top-10 goal scorers from a year ago, including Cochran, along with three-goal scorers Ruben Leonardo and Mitch Smith. Their top-four minute-eaters (field players only) are also back in the defense quartet of Brandon Dinsmore, Andrew Higgins, Ryan Hayhurst and Fabian Kaufmann, while midfielder Landon Cochran is a versatile talent who can impact the game on either side of the pitch. Adam Viviano and Logan Kelly will battle for playing time in net again this fall, as both saw action last year with Kelly logging over 1,200 minutes and 16 starts in 2015.
 
Who's New: Bokhart brings a talented recruiting class to the Summit City with 12 freshmen and one junior college transfer (Oswaldo Segura Diaz) in addition to several reserve players who have the chance to earn varsity minutes this season. Segura Diaz was a two-time All-Conference player for Mendocino College (Calif.) while Leo product Dean Ward, Austrian import Roman Schindler and England native Ethan Payne have all seen significant minutes in the team's preseason scrimmages.
 
Roster Diversity: The Warriors soccer program reaches far and wide for players, with student-athletes from 11 counties and five states on the team. Tech boasts players from Austria, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, England, Ireland, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Venezuela and the United States, with the Americans coming from California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.
 
Bringing the Firepower: Brennan Cochran made his presence felt immediately last year as a freshman, scoring a team-high 10 goals in just 14 games, missing the last part of the season to injury, and became the first player since former standout Zach St. Aubin in 2013 to score double-digit goals. Cochran was named to the Honorable Mention All-Conference Team, the first Tech player since St. Aubin in that same season.