10/25/21

SCRANTON, Pa. -- The Lackawanna College Esports Rocket League team earned a split in their doubleheader on Monday night, dropping a 3-0 (4-1, 4-2, 4-2) match to Arcadia University, before sweeping Alexandria Tech CC 3-0 (3-0, 4-1, 3-1). 

Match #1: Arcadia University 3-0 (4-1, 4-2, 4-2) Lackawanna College
First up for the Falcons was their NACE contest against the Knights of Arcadia University. Arcadia is a strong team with some great chemistry between returning players and the Knights managed to gain and hold momentum over the Falcons by maintaining possession of the ball during game one of the match. The Lackawanna College defense faltered early, giving up two goals in the first two minutes, and never fully recovered from there. Arcadia would win the first game, 4-1, and take a 1-0 match lead.

Lackawanna College seemingly learned from their defensive miscues when round two started. The Falcons battled back to draw even at 2-2, and were playing well defensively, but the Knights twice capitalized on mistakes by the Falcons to put a pair of goals in the net. Arcadia would take game two, 4-2, and take a 2-0 match lead. 

The third set couldn't have started better for Lackawanna College. The Falcons got a pair of goals and maintained a clean sheet through the first three minutes of the match. Arcadia finally found the net with two minutes to go, and would find a second goal to draw even just a few seconds later.The Knights suddenly had some momentum, and were able to find two more goals to win the game 4-2, and the match at 3-0. 

Match #2: Lackawanna College 3-0 (3-0, 4-1, 3-1) Alexandria Technical Community College


 
The second series of the night pitted Lackawanna College against Alexandria Technical Community College in NJCAAE action. The Falcons and Legends went scoreless for the first 2 minutes of the first game, and were pretty evenly matched, until Lackawanna College broke the deadlock. Keenan Lewis (Gamertag: Fesbot) took advantage of a defensive hole and scored a breakaway goal, giving the Falcons the 1-0 advantage. Lackawanna College would double up sooner after, thanks to Caden Delaney (Gamertag: bozi) and Juan Garcia (Gamertag: Jaepster), when they connected on a cheeky pinch play to give Lackawanna a 2-0 lead. The Falcons would find  the net again inside the minute mark, when Garcia scored to give Lackawanna the 3-0 game win, and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Falcons spread the offensive wealth in game two, as everybody got in on the action. Garcia had a brace, while both Delaney and Lewis each scored a goal, as well. Lackawanna College had 13 shots in the second game, and won comfortably at  4-1, putting the Falcons up 2-0 in the match.

The Falcons continued their offensive pressure in the third set, but the Legends of Alexandria would not go quietly into the night. A bit of counter-attacking pressure from Alexandria forced Lackawanna into seven saves in their defensive end. With the defense staying firm, the offense gave the Falcons another 10+ shot performance, with three of them finding the net. The Falcons would win the final game 3-0, and win the match 3-0 as a result. .
 
The Lackawanna College Esports Rocket League squad gets back to work next Monday with another doubleheader, playing their NACE opponent at 7:00pm, followed by their NJCAAE opponent at 8:00pm. Both matches will be streamed live on the Lackawanna College Esports Twitch channel. Pay attention to the Lackawanna Esports social media channels for more info!