Williamsburg, KY - The Patriots esports program was once again back in action this past week as they competed in six matches. Their slate of games proved to be a tough one as they went 1-5 on the week with their lone win coming via Rainbow Six: Siege.
Rocket League
Cumberlands didn't get off to the kind of start they want to this past week as they were swept by the Oakland University Bears on Monday, September 27th. Oakland dominated in the best-of-five series as they outscored the Patriots 15-3 with all three of UC's goals coming courtesy of Jackson Moore (oqya.). The Pats seemed to get their bearings more so from one game to the next, but it didn't end up making too much of a difference as they were swept.
On Thursday, UC Rocket League squared off against Shawnee State University for the top rank in the Mid-South Conference. Cumberlands went into the matchup without dropping a game yet in conference play, but that wouldn't be the case after their match with the Bears.
Game number on was close with SSU taking it by a final of 2-1. The Patriots were able to fire the opening salvo as Tanner Edelen (Txnr) found the net early on, but Shawnee State responded down the stretch with a pair of goals to take the lead. After falling behind, UC found it tough sledding as the Bear's defense held steady and kept Cumberlands from mounting any serious attacks.
The second game of the best-of-three match also resulted in a loss for the Pats, but in different fashion. SSU must have thought their one-goal win in game number one was too close for comfort as they came out and put seven goals on the board, dominating the ball and the competition. Shawnee State controlled the ball well during the second game, not giving UC much of an opportunity to pull off a run of their own. Cumberlands did manage to stave off the shutout as Jackson Moore found the goal with only 11 second remaining in the game.
The Patriots ended their week with Rocket League Sunday morning with a pair of losses to Durham College of Ontario, Canada and Wisconsin. Neither match went the way UC wanted as they were on the wrong side of a sweep against both opponents.
League of Legends
Cumberlands competed in NACE League of Legends play on Tuesday, September 28 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and while they did not win the contest, the Pats held their ground. The best-of-three series ended in a sweep for Georgia Tech, but it was one they had to earn as UC gave them a tough contest.
The Yellow Jackets and Patriots played each other even through most of the first game. The first 25 minutes of the contest were nearly dead even as the two teams were within two or three kills of one another while the discrepancy in gold was no larger than 5k. Georgia Tech began to run away with things, though as they found an advantage and never looked back.
The second contest of the match started out well for the Patriots but Georgia Tech found a way to come roaring back, taking the sweep. UC came out of the gate guns akimbo as they registered their 20th kill of game number two with the Yellow Jackets having just three of their own on the board. Slowly but surely, though, GT came back to make this an incredibly tight affair. Georgia Tech went on a stellar run down the stretch to come within one kill of their counterpart while taking a comfortable lead in the gold count. The Yellow Jackets continued to surge late as the found a way to grab the win and the match.
Rainbow Six: Siege
The Patriots played just one R6 match during the week and it ended up being a good one. Cumberlands faced off against the Black Knights of the United States Military Academy at West Point late Friday night and were able to get the win via a sweep in the best-of-three match. This was UC's first win on the year that did not come from a Rocket League match or via a forfeit. Both games were close contests as UC needed overtime to claim a win in the second one. Solid communication and execution were the recipe for success for the Pats in their first Rainbow Six win of the year and they hope to use that to claim many more.
While things did not go quite according to plan for the University of the Cumberlands during the week there were plenty of positives, said the team:
"Our communication and coordination is growing with all of our teams. We still have a few edges to smooth out, but this week showed that the guys have created a solid foundation for playing as a team. I think we'll be fine moving forward". - Assistant Coach Jacob Ball
The team hopes to turn those positives into tangible results in the new week. They'll get the chance to do so against Saint Thomas University Monday, October 4th in a bout of MSC League of Legends. The two teams faced off back on September 13th with STU getting the better of that matchup so UC will be looking for the equalizer along with their first Mid-South win in League of Legends play in the new year.
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