Williamsburg, KY – Cumberlands' esports program showed their youth this past week as they were unable to find the consistency needed to win most of their matches. Despite the rough week in the record books, UC will use their six matches as invaluable experience as they look to build towards something bigger and better as the year goes on.
Rocket League
The Patriots competed in three Rocket League matches on the week with two of them counting in conference play as they faced St. Thomas University and Cumberland University Friday (Oct. 8) night. Their first bout was on Monday, October 4th, against Lebanon Valley College (PA) who was able to get the better in the best-of-five match. The Dutchmen did not run away with the contest, but they were in control for the majority of it, sweeping the Patriots.
UC recouped after falling on Monday and came back ready to play Friday night, grabbing the split. Their first match set to be against STU ended up resulting in a forfeit for the Bobcats as Cumberlands was awarded the win.
The Phoenix were present for their contest and gave the Patriots more than they could handle as Cumberland walked away with the 2-1 win. Cumberland grabbed the win in the first game with a tight 3-2 victory. UC avoided the sweep with a convincing 5-0 win in the second game of the best-of-three match with Jackson Moore (oqya.) doing most of the heavy lifting as he had three of the team's five goals.
The Phoenix made adjustments after the loss and was able to once again nullify UC as Cumberland won the deciding game 2-1. It was a late goal by the Phoenix that led them to the win as Cumberland scored with 1:08 left on the clock to give them the conference victory. The Patriots did all they could to find the goal, but the ball did not quite bounce their way in the waning seconds.
League of Legends
The Patriots lone League of Legends match of the week was in MSC play as they faced off against the St. Thomas University Bobcats. UC suffered a loss to STU earlier in the year as they saw their first Mid-South defeat of the season come by way of the Bobcats. While the final result did not differ this time around, the match looked much different. St. Thomas had a battle on their hands through the first 25 minutes of action as UC hung around to make things interesting. The Bobcats became too much for Cumberlands, though, as they suffered the defeat. Despite the loss, UC can look at this as a solid measuring stick for how far they have come in a short amount of time.
Rainbow Six: Siege
Late Friday night the Patriots matched up with the University of Kentucky in R6 play. The best-of-three match ended in a sweep in favor of the Wildcats as they handled Cumberlands. It seemed UK had an answer for anything the Patriots threw at them as UC could never go on the kind of runs that would allow them to draw even or take the advantage.
The Patriots will return to action on Monday (Oct. 11) in NACE Rocket League and Mid-South Conference League of Legend play as they look to begin a winning streak to help push them up towards .500.
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