FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's soccer earned a hard-fought win Wednesday afternoon as they upset Madonna University 1-0.
 
The Warriors were in fight or flight mode entering the day as they were in a tie with Cornerstone University for 8^th place in the WHAC standings. As the regular seasons end approaches, ending this Saturday, the Warriors need to maintain the 8^th seed or better to make the conference tournament. Tech knew it would be a tall task against the 4^th seeded Crusaders, as they have not won against Madonna since 2016. Senior, Danielle Dunn made an early statement for the Warriors, scoring in under six minutes to shock the Crusaders and put Tech ahead 1-0. The Warriors would dominate the first 15 minutes of the game and created a couple chances, capitalizing on Dunn's goal, but Madonna would start to settle back into the game throughout the first half. Madonna would outshoot the Warriors five to two, but Tech would hold the 1-0 lead at the break. In the second half, the Warriors would defend their lead, winning 50/50 balls and clearing away Madonna's attacks. The Warriors would muster a few attacks in the second half to keep the pressure on the Crusaders, with shots from Addie Nellis, Madison Carver, and a header from Olivia Sherman off a corner kick delivered by Alina Garcia that was blocked on the goal line by a Madonna defender. The Crusaders would continue to attack the Warriors firing off ten shots in the second half, with seven on target, one off the post, and one off the crossbar. Michalea Bitle would shut out Madonna, making ten saves, before leaving the game with an injury. Backup keeper, Ursula Romero would come in for the final eight minutes of the contest, needing to preserve the Warriors precious 1-0 lead down the stretch. Romero stepped up in the clutch, making one save to deny the Crusaders a last chance at an equalizer and helping Tech earn a much needed, hard-fought victory. Bitle picks up her fifth shutout of the season as the Warriors have now shut out their opponents in all five of their wins this season.
 
Indiana Tech improves to 3-5-2 in WHAC play and 5-9-2 overall, as they now hold on to eighth place alone, three points ahead of Cornerstone with one game to go. The Warriors will need to earn at least a tie to guarantee making the conference tournament, as a loss could see them lose out on eighth place in a tiebreaker for the second year in a row. Tech will host #8 Aquinas College on Saturday, October 28^th at 1pm in the season finale.