LAST WEEK IN PEACOCK ESPORTS... The Upper Iowa University Esports team had a tough finish to their regular season as they were unable to pick up a win in their final two weeks of play. The Peacocks dropped a pair contests in both NECC Rocket League and NECC Valorant, and the previously undefeated UIU Overwatch team was felled a trio of times to close the regular season. The Peacocks are set to compete in the postseason, however, as they enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in NECC Overwatch and No. 6 seed in NECC Rocket League.
NECC ROCKET LEAGUE - 3/30... The Peacocks dropped their NECC Rocket League match against Kansas Wesleyan University by a score of 3-1. The Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan came out strong with a 7-0 win in the opening round of the best-of-five contest. The Peacocks came up with an answer in game two as they won 3-0 to tie the score at 1-1. KWU went on to win by a score of 6-2 in game three before winning 10-0 in the match-clinching fourth game to win the match 3-1.
UIU Match Stats:
Goals/Shots: Brady Krupa: 2/7 (.286),
Sean Odegard: 2/8 (.250),
Trace Woodward: 0/1
Assists: Sean Odegard: 2,
Trace Woodward: 1,
Brady Krupa: 0
Saves: Sean Odegard: 8,
Brady Krupa: 6,
Trace Woodward: 3
NECC VALORANT - 3/30... Upper Iowa fell by a score of 2-0 in their NECC Valorant match against Hood College. The Peacocks dropped round one by a score of 13-2 on the map "Split" before falling 13-1 in round two on the map "Ascent."
NECC OVERWATCH - 3/31... The Peacocks came into their matchup against Champlain College JV with an undefeated record in NECC Overwatch competition, and Champlain gave UIU their first loss of the season in a 2-0 defeat.
Match Recap:
Map 1 - Lijiang Tower (Control Point): Upper Iowa could not get much going against Champlain as they fell by a score of 100%-56% in round one before being shut out 100%-0% in round two.
Player Stats: Brady Jahr notched 13 eliminations.
Map 2 - Blizzard World (Hybrid): Opening the second map on defense, the Peacocks gave up all three points and left Champlain with 3:42 remaining on the clock. Needing to secure three points of their own to match Champlain College JV, the Peacock offense was held to just two points and lost the match by a score of 2-0.
Player Stats: Trace Woodward blocked 23,500 points of damage.
NECC OVERWATCH - 4/1... Playing in their second NECC Overwatch match in as many days, Upper Iowa took on the top-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs of Fresno State's Team 2. With the top record in the standing up for grabs in the matchup between the top two teams, the Bulldogs powered past the Peacocks in a 2-0 win to secure the top spot.
Match Recap:
Map 1 - Oasis (Control Point): Upper Iowa fell in a closely contested opening round by a score of 100%-94% before falling 100%-24% in round two as the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three matchup.
Map 2 - King's Row (Hybrid): The Peacocks opened the second map on offense in round one and were unable to get anything going against the Fresno defense as they were held scoreless. Needing to secure just one tick of the unlock timer to claim the win, the Bulldogs did just that and clinched the 2-0 win in the match.
NECC ROCKET LEAGUE - 4/6... The Peacocks fell by a score of 3-0 in their best-of-five NECC Rocket League competition against Carroll University to close their regular season schedule. The Pios won 6-1 in game one, 4-0 in game two, and 5-3 in the third and final game.
UIU Match Stats:
Goals/Shots: Brady Krupa: 4/7 (.571),
Sean Odegard: 3/11 (.273),
Trace Woodward: 1/4 (.250)
Assists: Trace Woodward: 1,
Sean Odegard: 1,
Brady Krupa: 0
Saves: Sean Odegard: 5,
Trace Woodward: 3,
Brady Krupa: 2
NECC VALORANT - 4/7... Despite playing their best round of the NECC Valorant season, Upper Iowa fell by a score of 2-0 in their end-of-season match against the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Team 2. The Peacocks put up their most points of the season in a 13-5 loss on map number one before falling 13-2 in map number two.
NECC OVERWATCH - 4/8... The Peacocks were looking to get back in the win column against Concordia University (Neb.) to close their NECC Overwatch regular season after back-to-back losses spoiled their previously unblemished record. After barely falling in a tightly contested opening map to go down 1-0 in the best-of-three matchup, the Peacocks came up with a big win in map two to knot the score at 1-1 and force a third and final map. In map three, Upper Iowa sent the game to bonus rounds after regulation time was not enough to decide a victor. UIU was unable to hold on in the overtime period as they fell by a score of 2-1 in the match to wrap their regular season.
Match Recap:
Map 1 - Busan (Control Point): The Peacocks dropped two close rounds against the Bulldogs to find themselves facing a 1-0 deficit after the opening map. Concordia (Neb.) narrowly won round one by a score of 100%-94% before edging the Peacocks by a score of 100%-84% in round two to clinch map one.
Player Stats: Trace Woodward blocked 18,900 points of damage for UIU.
Map 2 - Hollywood (Hybrid): Needing to win the second map in order to force a tiebreaker, Upper Iowa opened on defense and gave up two points and an additional 66.7 meters to Concordia (Neb.). Knowing the mark they needed to surpass, the Peacock offense took two points and pushed the payload an additional 67 meters to knot the score at one point apiece and send the match to a third and final map.
Player Stats: Trace Woodward blocked 31,400 points of damage for UIU while also earning the Play of the Game.
Nick Finder provided 21,300 points of healing which remedied an impressive 37% of the team's damage taken.
Brady Jahr recorded a whopping 44 eliminations of Bulldog players.
Map 2 - Rialto (Escort): In the winner-take-all third and final map, Upper Iowa opened play on defense. UIU gave up all three points and left the Bulldogs with 28 seconds on the clock in round one. Needing to take all three points to force overtime, the Peacock offense managed to secure each point even as they had no time remaining to force bonus rounds. Upper Iowa was on offense to open the overtime period and pushed the payload 42.02 meters. Needing to hold Concordia (Neb.) under their own mark, the Peacock defense allowed the Bulldogs to advance to 42.1 meters to end the game and claim a 2-1 win over UIU in the match.
Player Stats: Brady Jahr notched 37 eliminations and earned the Play of the Game.
Trace Woodward racked up 7:26 of objective time as he played much of the match in the center of the action.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks have wrapped up their regular season action for the spring, but the team qualified for postseason play in both NECC Rocket League and NECC Overwatch. While dates and times are still to-be-determined, the No. 6 seed Peacocks will play the No. 3 seed Pios of Carroll University in the NECC Rocket League playoffs. Carroll won 3-0 over UIU on Apr. 6, so the Peacocks will look to avenge their loss in their postseason matchup. In the NECC Overwatch playoffs, the No. 3 seed Peacocks will face the No. 6 seed Champlain College JV. Champlain handed UIU their first loss of the season on 3/31, so the Peacocks will be looking to respond in that postseason matchup as well. Live streams of the Peacock action can be found on
Twitch.tv/Peacock_Esports, and updates of coverage and scheduling will be posted on UIUPeacocks.com and shared to the UIU Peacocks social media accounts when they become available.
