MILWAUKEE -- Sluggish play in the opening minutes of the Alverno College women's soccer team's Northern Athletics Conference game with Edgewood College put the Inferno in a deep hole early, as the home squad allowed the Eagles to score three times within the first 10 minutes of play en route to a 9-0 shutout on Saturday morning on Alverno's home field.

"We didn't start well today," said Alverno head coach Brittany Oliveira. "We've had a bit of trouble getting up for weekend games, and I'm not sure what the problem is there. We still need to work on keeping our mental focus high and pushing through being tired as the week goes on. We didn't start with intensity and we didn't get a lot of pressure on the ball quickly enough early in the game. Credit to Edgewood for taking advantage of their chances and finishing."

The Inferno (7-11, 2-8 NAC) endured seven first half goals, but were able to locate a better team effort in the second period to give up just two more scores in the game.

"I was proud of the fact that we were able to continue to play hard and didn't give up," Oliveira said. "We kept pushing and creating chances to score even late in the game. I just wish we had been able to bring that effort we showed at the end earlier in the game."

While the Inferno were out-shot by the Eagles, 14-5, in shots on goal for the game, most of Alverno's attacks came along with the team's improved second half play that included shots by senior forward Ellie LaFond  (Waukesha, Wis./West), senior midfielder Alex Brenner (West Allis, Wis./Nathan Hale) and freshman midfielder Kelsey Kochanowski (Oak Creek, Wis.).

"Ellie played hard and created some chances that she just wasn't quite able to finish, and Brenner did a good job stepping up in the middle to help support our attack," Oliveira said. "I also like how when we put Kayla (Kennedy) on the field she is able to make some things happen and causes some trouble for the other team's backs as she learns more and more every game."

Kennedy (Trempealeau, Wis./G.E.T.) took the brunt of the Eagles' offensive force in the net in the first half, recording two saves, before heading into the field in the second half while senior Jackie Barnes (Germantown, Wis.) took over duties between the posts.

Alverno will close out its season at home on Wednesday, Oct. 28, facing Dominican University for one final NAC face-off. The Inferno will also honor their four seniors, LaFond, Brenner, Barnes and Joslyn Binkowski (Greenfield, Wis.) at halftime.

"It's going to be a tough game for us," Oliveira said of Dominican. "They're a good team that has gotten some good results this year, but it's our Senior Day, our last game of the season and our last home game, so we want to go out on a high note and be able to celebrate the season and the success we've had. We want to come to play hard and give it our best shot."

Kick-off time is set for 3 p.m. on Alverno Field.