THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK ESPORTS... The Upper Iowa University Esports team embarked on their campaign with matches in Valorant and Rocket League. Competing in the NECC in both games, the Peacocks fell by a score of 2-0 against the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Team White in Valorant before winning a thrilling Rocket League match against George Fox University's Team Gray by a score of 3-2.
NECC VALORANT - 9/20... Upper Iowa fell by a score of 2-0 in their best-of-three NECC Valorant match against the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Team White. The Peacocks fell in the first game by a score of 13-0 on the map "Haven" before falling 13-2 in game two on the map "Bind."
On map one, the Chargers went ahead early in the best-of-25 contest as the Peacocks started as the attackers. UAH picked up two flawless victories to go up 2-0, and the Peacocks were unable to win game three despite holding a five to three advantage in players after two quick eliminations. The UIU attack was never able to find its footing as they were shut out in the 13-0 sweep.
UIU Stats - Map 1 (Haven):
Map two started with a tight first round that saw the Peacocks and Chargers tied with two players apiece late before UIU got a kill with 38 seconds left to give them a 2-1 advantage. The round came down to a one-on-one gunfight that the Peacocks were unable to win as UAH took a 1-0 lead on the map. Alabama Huntsville went up 3-0 before an Upper Iowa win in the fourth round cut the deficit to 3-1. The Chargers answered with a win in round five, but the Peacocks kept the pressure on with a win in round six to make it a 4-2 score in the best-of-25 map. The University of Alabama in Huntsville's Team White took control from there as they rattled off nine straight wins to win the map 13-2 and win the match by a score of 2-0.
UIU Stats - Map 2 (Bind):
The teams found out after the match that a scheduling issue saw the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Team White competing against the Peacocks despite UIU being in a lower division than the Chargers, but the match still counts toward the record for both teams.
NECC ROCKET LEAGUE - 9/21... The Peacocks opened their fall Rocket League season in the NECC with a thrilling matchup against George Fox University's Team Gray. Upper Iowa quickly went up 2-0 in the best-of-five match, but GFU stormed back to force a winner-take-all fifth game with two straight wins of their own. The Peacocks were able to get back to their winning ways and thwart the comeback as they survived a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime, winning the match by a score of three games to two.
In game one,
Sean Odegard scored the first goal of the match after just over a minute of play to give UIU a 1-0 lead. GFU needed just 18 seconds to answer the goal and knot the game at 1-1, and they quickly took a lead of their own by making it 2-1 just eight seconds after that. George Fox tacked on another goal to push their lead to 3-1 with 2:12 left in the first game, but Odegard made a nice aerial attack off an assist from
Brady Krupa to pull the Peacocks within one at the 1:53 mark. Odegard ushered in his third goal of the game with 1:15 left to play as his hat trick tied the score at 3-3. Krupa needed just five seconds to score a go-ahead goal after the reset off an assist from Odegard to retake the lead for Upper Iowa. The frenetic scoring pace from the first four minutes came to a halt as neither team scored in the final 1:05, and UIU held on for the 4-3 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In game two, Krupa assisted Odegard on a goal just nine seconds into the match to take a 1-0 advantage. Odegard returned the favor with an assist to Krupa at the 4:04 mark that doubled the UIU lead. GFU cut the lead in half at the 3:45 mark, but Odegard assisted Krupa once more just under a minute later to put the Peacocks up 3-1. Krupa recorded a hat trick with his goal at the 1:19 mark to give UIU a 4-1 lead, and he kept the scoring going with his fourth goal just 12 seconds later to push the lead to 5-1 after an assist from Odegard. The Peacocks maintained their lead for the final minute to take a 5-1 win in the games and a 2-0 lead in the match to push GFU to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five competition.
Both teams provided exciting action at the start of game three, but it took over a minute and a half for the first score of the game to be recorded. Substitute started
Cody Lawrence picked up the assist on a goal to Odegard at the 3:26 mark to give UIU a 1-0 lead, and Krupa assisted Odegard on a goal just 15 seconds later that put UIU up 2-0. GFU scored at the 1:07 mark after a nice cross to cut the deficit in half, and they scored again with just 15 seconds left to tie the score. Needing to win the third game to avoid the best-of-five loss, George Fox put in a buzzer-beating shot with no time on the clock to stay alive and win 3-2.
GFU scored the opening goal at the 3:00 mark in game four as they looked to stave off elimination once again, but Krupa tied the game at 1-1 at the 2:37 mark after an assist from Odegard. The tie was short-lived as George Fox quickly retook the lead with a goal just seven seconds later. Odegard assisted Krupa to tie the score again at the 1:10 mark, but GFU scored with just 10 seconds left on the clock to force a winner-take-all fifth game.
The Peacocks took the lead early in game five as Odegard played a ball in front of the goal that Krupa was able to put in at the 4:40 mark. Odegard made an impressive save as the last line of defense at the 3:18 mark, and Odegard and Krupa combined to pick up saves at the 2:32 mark as well. GFU played a ball that bounced twice on the goal line at the 2:13 mark but was unable to fully break the plane and tie the score. George Fox was able to convert a game-tying goal with 1:25 left on the clock. With just 13 seconds remaining, Krupa got a touch on a ball that GFU was unable to clear and picked up an assist on a go-ahead goal by Lawrence that gave the Peacocks a 2-1 lead. George Fox had one more look on a shot that came with zeroes on the clock, but the game-tying goal bounced off the crossbar and fell to the ground to clinch the 2-1 win in an exciting game five as Upper Iowa won the match by a score of 3-2.
UIU Match Stats:
UP NEXT... The Peacocks will play Central Methodist University on Monday, Sep. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in Valorant before facing the University of British Columbia's Team White in Rocket League on Tuesday, Sep. 28 at 9:15 p.m. Upper Iowa will keep up this schedule of playing Valorant on Mondays and Rocket League on Tuesdays for the fall, and any other matches or tournaments that the team competes in will be added to the schedule accordingly. Head to Twitch.tv/Peacock_Esports to cheer on the Peacocks and catch all the UIU action live or as recorded broadcasts after the completion of the contests.
