Duarte's Equalizer Earns Raiders Draw at Northern Kentucky

Wednesday, October 7

Highland Heights, KY

7 PM

Wright State University

3-6-2, 2-2-1

Northern Kentucky

1-8-2, 1-3-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Wright St.	0	1	1
Northern Ky.	1	0	1

Photo by: Rachel Klemp

Duarte's Equalizer Earns Raiders Draw at Northern Kentucky

10/7/2026 9:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – The Wright State men's soccer team earned a 1-1 draw against Northern Kentucky Wednesday night at NKU Soccer Stadium.

Wright State (3-6-2, 2-2-1 HL) will head up to the Motor City for a matchup with Detroit Mercy Saturday evening. First touch at Titan Field is slated for 6 p.m.

Northern Kentucky struck early, taking a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute when Carlos Merce scored an unassisted goal. The Norse carried the one-goal advantage into halftime despite Wright State earning three corner kicks and putting three shots on target in the opening 45 minutes.

The Raiders continued to push forward in the second half, generating nine shots after the break while limiting Northern Kentucky to seven. Wright State finally found the equalizer in the 77th minute when Cairo Duarte found the back of the net for his third goal of the season, leveling the match at 1-1.

Northern Kentucky created several late opportunities, but Alex Normandeau came through with four second-half saves to preserve the draw. The graduate goalkeeper finished the night with six saves.

Duarte recorded the Raiders' lone goal, while Tedrick Neptune led Wright State with four shots. Brian Burkett added two shots on goal, and Keiji Nakazawa put one effort on target.

In the box score, Wright State trailed Northern Kentucky in shots (18-16) and shots on goal (7-5) but held a 7-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities.