eSports preps for NECC Rocket League finals on Friday

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College eSports program looks to defend their fall championship in Rocket League this Friday with a pair of title bouts to conclude the National eSports Collegiate Conference (NECC) playoffs. 

The Yellow Jackets field two Rocket League teams that compete in different NECC divisions. Both beginning as the second seed in their divisions, the Gold squad takes on Ithaca at 7 p.m. to settle the Navigators Midwest title while the Purple team that won the fall championship looks to repeat with a collision with Cleveland State at 8 p.m.

The Purple team trio of Moses Epps, Blake Bowman and Nic Minshall helped capture the program's first championship with a win over Brescia in December. In the spring, they have competed to a 6-3 record in the Emergents Mideast grouping with wins over Thomas More, Case Western Reserve, Ohio Wesleyan, Adrian, Marion Tech and Michigan while suffering defeats to Cleveland State and Kettering with a double-forfeit against Miami.

In postseason play, the Yellow Jackets took down Marion Tech in a five-game set, 3-2, before enduring Michigan in a best-of-seven series, 4-3. Total goals in both Rocket League matches were tied to show how evenly-matched and competitive each round has been for the Purple team.

For the Gold team, they reach the championship match for the second semester in a row after falling short to Lebanon Valley College in the fall. That team is made up of Asa Moledor, Spencer Temple, Cooper Sloan, Gabriel Bookman and Cherokee Agnew. They competed in the Navigators Midwest division and picked up eight wins in nine matches, losing only to Ithaca, 3-0, in the final week of the regular season. Enroute to those impressive marks, Gold lost just eight games while earning match victories against the likes of Robert Morris, Mount Union, Bethel, and Murray State by outscoring opponents 104-42 during the regular season. 

In the playoffs, Defiance made quick work of Robert Morris by taking a 3-0 victory in which their aggregate goal total was 13-3. They bettered Murray State in six games, 4-2, to advance past the semifinals to set up a rematch with Ithaca, who was their only loss of the regular season.

Defiance College eSports is in its fifth year of competition dating back to the 2018-19 academic year. In addition to NECC competition, the Yellow Jackets are also members of the Great Lakes eSports Conference (GLEC).

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