updated 10:54 a.m. ET Feb. 20, 2006

TURIN, Italy - Italian fans remained hopeful until the very end, not the least discouraged by another lopsided loss in the women’s Olympic hockey tournament.

They stood, waved flags and cheered, hoping for a goal in the closing minutes of Monday’s 11-0 loss to Switzerland in the seventh place game. And when Italy didn’t get one, they remained on their feet and got even louder.

Julia Marty, Daniela Diaz, Kathrin Lehmann, Laura Ruhnke and Stefanie Marty scored two goals apiece for Switzerland, which found a tonic for its Olympic scoring woes in the winless Italians.

The Swiss were outscored 12-1 in losses to the U.S., Finland and Germany in the preliminary round, then lost 6-2 to Russia in a classification game. Christine Meier also scored for Switzerland, which led 4-0 after one period and 10-0 after two.

Italy, fielding a team only because it is the host country, was shut out for the third time in five games. Canada opened the tournament with a record-breaking 16-0 rout of the Italians, who also lost 11-0 to Sweden.

Overall, Italy was outscored 48-3.

The Italians remained on the ice for several minutes after the game, waving to the small, but lively crowd and soaking up the atmosphere.

Swiss goalie Florence Schelling finished with 28 saves, including nine stops in the third period.

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