MILWAUKEE -- Trailing only 1-0 at the half to the three-time defending Northern Athletics Conference champion Aurora University, the Alverno College women's soccer team played arguably one of their best halves of the 2009 season. Yet the visiting Spartans overpowered the Inferno 5-2 in the second half for the 6-2 conference victory at Alverno Field.
"I was really proud of the way we played and how hard we played for the entire game," Alverno head coach Brittany Oliveira said. "We've come a long way since our first conference game. We're playing at a much better level, playing smarter soccer and playing as a team too. It was also nice to get a couple of goals towards the end and finally score on them."
The Inferno (7-10, 3-7 NAC) recorded their first goals against the Spartans this afternoon, trailing 26-0 all-time in scoring in the three previous meetings between the two teams.
Senior forward Ellie LaFond (Waukesha, Wis./West) connected on shots at the 76 and 85 minute marks to put the Inferno on the board. LaFond, the NAC's current leading scorer, recorded both scores on one of the conference's top goalkeepers, Liz Wong, who brought a 0.88 goals against average into the game.
It was only the second time this season Aurora (12-5, 8-1) allowed more than a single goal in a conference game. The other game was a 2-1 loss to Concordia University Wisconsin, their lone NAC loss this season.
LaFond is now just one goal shy of becoming the first Alverno player to score 20 in a season, and is tied for most goals by an individual in a season at Alverno (19), a mark she set last season.
The Spartans' deep bench proved to be a key factor in the game's outcome, as the visitors played 30-deep compared to the Inferno's 12 players in uniform.
"It's hard and it wears you down," Oliveira said. "Eventually when you have that many subs -- good quality subs too, where the level doesn't drop much -- it wears you down when you only have 12."
The Spartans outshot the Inferno 36-11 making it a busy day at the goal for freshman goalkeeper Kayla Kennedy (Trempealeau, Wis./G-E-T) who recorded a career-high 17 saves on the day.
The Inferno finish out the season with two home conference games as they take on Edgewood College this Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. and Dominican University on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 3 p.m. Both teams have clinched top spots in the conference standings, and spots in the six-team NAC tournament.
"Every game is an opportunity to show how much better we're getting and what we can do," Oliveira said. "We've got a shot in all of these games. Just playing this close against Aurora, one of the top teams in the region, was good for our confidence. We want to finish this season on a high note, so we'll play as hard as we can and be proud of the effort we've put forth games."
