Lights go out at Scudamore Field as rally switch is flipped for Norse against IUPUI

The first day of fall saw a beautiful afternoon: a nice 70 degrees and not a cloud in sight. These were the conditions for an afternoon women’s Horizon League soccer tilt between the Northern Kentucky Norse and the IUPUI Jaguars at Scudamore Field Thursday.

 However, the light bank on the left side of the field near the grandstand had plans to thwart those conditions – during warmups, one of the bulbs blew and caused a fire that would decommission the bank for the remainder of the night, shrouding the side of the field that housed the Norse bench in relative darkness.

Most teams would see this as a bad omen. Not the Norse, though.

 The first half saw a strong defensive effort by both teams. The Norse would record the only two shots on goal of the half, with both being saved by Jaguars goalie Cailynn Junk. IUPUI’s Leah Shumate would receive a yellow card in the 20th minute for a comment made towards one of the referees, which would be the only card given out all game. 

 The second half was when things would really heat up, though. The Jaguars would dominate most of the first 14 minutes, recording their first shot on goal of the game from Kailyn Smith, which was saved by Norse goalie Mickayla Kowalski. That would change in the 59th minute, as after Junk saved a long-range attempt from Kaya Vogt, Emilie Doersching would finish from within the penalty area, scoring NKU’s first goal of the season and the first goal of her college career. 

 The scoring wouldn’t stop there, as Doersching would strike again at 63:34. Following a corner kick from Macy Harper, Lydia Self would head the ball down for Maria Wiefering. The initial shot would be saved by Junk, but Doersching was there once again to finish and tapped it into the lower left corner to give her the brace and extend the lead. 

 Doersching commented after the game about how important the two goals were for her team, saying that it was a culmination of hard work and stick-to-itiveness for the Norse. 

 “We really needed those, because we came into the game having no goals,” Doersching said. “We worked really hard at practice this last week and we really came together as a team. Those goals were just teamwork, lots and lots of teamwork.” 

 The Norse would find the net one more time in the second, as Shannon Crogan would send a pass from Taylor Abbott home, making it a 3-0 game. Kowalski would finish the shutout, saving three kicks on the night. 

 Norse head coach Bob Sheehan discussed the win after the game and said that his team has made massive strides as they move deeper into the Horizon League schedule. 

 “We’re defending really, really well, and we’re getting numbers forward now, trying to get the box organized,” Sheehan said. “We decided that we’re going to improve a little bit every day and see where we fall by the end of the year. It’s obviously been a rough start for us, but we’re thrilled with the win.” 

 The Norse recorded their first win on the year, improving to 1-5-1 overall and 1-1-0 overall on the year. They handed the Jaguars their first loss of the season, moving them to 5-1-4 on the season. 

The Norse head to Cleveland State on Sunday, Sep. 25 to face off with the Vikings at 1 p.m. They return to Scudamore Field on Saturday, Oct. 1, squaring off with Robert Morris at noon. That game can be seen on ESPN+.