On an orange-skied Thursday night, the Norse battled Duquesne in a gritty, hard-fought contest.

Both teams opened cautiously, trading turnovers and missed chances in a defense-heavy first half. NKU showed early promise in the 12th minute when juniors Silas Borgman and Joshua Cline fired back-to-back shots, but neither could find the net.

Duquesne quickly answered with pressure of their own, forcing a corner kick that had NKU’s defense scrambling to clear. In the 32nd minute, NKU’s corner kick backfired when Duquesne countered swiftly downfield, narrowly missing the goal.

As rain began to fall from the darkening sky, the match turned into a battle against both the elements and fatigue. 

Duquesne kept the pressure on, forcing NKU goalkeeper Romeo Paparesta to make an acrobatic save in the 35th minute, one of two on the night.

Frustration built for the Norse late in the half as junior Bennett Gerak’s long-range strike was easily handled, and freshman Ibrahim Piracha’s close-range attempt missed by inches, keeping the match scoreless at halftime.

After a well-built-up attack from the back and some quick combinations on the left side, Duquesne finally broke through in the 53rd minute. Marko Samussen weaved through defenders and sent a cross to midfielder Ashton Jell, who buried it past Paparesta for the game’s lone goal.

Controversy followed in the 59th minute when a potential Duquesne handball went uncalled, drawing anger from the home crowd. The tension rose, and so did the number of yellow cards handed out by the referee, leaving NKU with three warnings and Duquesne with two. Just minutes later, NKU nearly equalized on a cross-field pass that slipped past the keeper but was cleared out of harm’s way.

The Norse’s best chance came in the 76th minute when freshman Gregory Jervier II curled a long-range shot towards the goal, but Duquesne’s keeper handled it cleanly.

When the final whistle blew, the Norse were left with a familiar result: a 1-0 loss, their fourth by that margin this season.

Throughout the match, NKU struggled to find a way to break through Duquesne’s defense. Most of their attacks relied on long balls to reach the final third. After that, the clear strategy to penetrate the well-organized defense was missing, leaving long-distance shots as their only option.

NKU falls to 4-7-3 overall but remains even in conference play at 2-2-2. The Norse will face Oakland on Saturday at 3 p.m. in their final home game of the year.