MILWAUKEE -- Although the Alverno College women's soccer team started off its Northern Athletics Conference face-off with Milwaukee School of Engineering strong with a goal by senior Alex Brenner (West Allis, Wis./Nathan Hale) at the 9:46 mark, that lead quickly dissolved into six unanswered goals by the Raiders who took the game, 6-3, on Alverno's home field on Saturday afternoon.

The Inferno (3-6, 0-3 NAC) led for just 17 seconds following Brenner's goal, as MSOE's Jamie Janczak (Germantown, Wis.) fed Heidi Brehmer (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak) for a score off the kickoff to tie the game.

"It happens a lot in soccer," said Alverno head coach Brittany Oliveira of MSOE's quick reply. "Right after a goal is the most dangerous time to either score another goal or give one up. Obviously getting that first goal was nice, but we need to do a better job of re-focusing and staying in the game either way, and MSOE capitalized on that."

The Raiders tacked on three more goals in the half to take a 4-1 lead heading into the second period. Two more MSOE goals would find the back of the Inferno's net before senior forward Ellie LaFond (Waukesha, Wis./West) was able to break free for a pair of consecutive scores in the 83rd and 89th minutes on assists by freshman Kelsey Kochanowski (Oak Creek, Wis.) and junior Abby Halliburton (Waukesha, Wis./South), respectively.

"Ellie had a couple of other good looks in the game, so it was good to see that we played determined and were able to get a couple more goals in the end and finish some of those chances we were creating all game long," Oliveira said. "Had it been earlier in the game, we would have put a little more pressure on them and the outcome could have been different, but I was happy to see us continue to play hard for the full 90 minutes."

Oliveira was also pleased with the defensive efforts of senior Jackie Barnes (Germantown, Wis.) who was an integral piece to propping up the Inferno's battered back line that endured 21 shots on goal.

"Jackie did a good job in the back of helping us clear some balls out, and Alex also did a good job in the middle of helping us push the ball up," Oliveira said.

Freshman goalkeeper Kayla Kennedy (Trempealeau, Wis./G.E.T.) also played an integral role on defense, picking up 14 saves between the posts in 90 minutes of work.

The Inferno will continue NAC play on Wednesday, Sept. 30, as they travel to face Benedictine University.

"We know they are a tough opponent and we've got a lot of work to do to get ready for it," Oliveira said. "We're looking forward to every challenge this year and trying to get better as a team and better as individuals and working towards the future."

Kickoff time with Benedictine is slated for 7 p.m. in Lisle, Ill.