KEENE, N.H. – Looking to close out the regular season on the same note as they did to open the season, by picking up a win, the Keene State College Rocket League team was unable to achieve the same outcome, as they fell to the University of Mary Washington, 3-1, in the regular season finale.
Records
- Keene State: 4-3
- Mary Washington Blue: 4-2
How It Happened
In the first game, neither team scored in regulation, as the teams went into sudden-death overtime tied at 0-0. Just 1:17 into the overtime period, "Scerbii" for MWU sent the ball off the wall near the Owls' goal, setting up "Spam" for the game winning goal and giving MWU the opening game.
The Owls opened the second game quickly as
Aidan Law sent a pass off the wall to himself and buried it into the net, just 15 seconds into the game. Law then assisted
Jacob Ekroth 10 seconds later for another goal for the Owls, putting them up 2-0 early. MWU answered back with a goal with 3:54 left, as "Spam" scored, with an assist from Gojo.". The Eagles tied it up at two apiece with 1:16 left to play, as "Spam" assisted "Scerbii" for the equalizer. Neither team scored the rest of regulation as the Owls were unable to capitalize on a shot attempt as time expired. In sudden-death overtime, the Eagles prevailed again, as "Gojo." left the ball on the goal line and "Spam" finished the job 1:14 into the overtime, giving MWU the 3-2 game win and 2-0 series advantage heading into game three.
The Eagles scored first in game three, 41 seconds in, as "Gojo." sent a pass off the wall to "Scerbii" for the opening goal. The Owls new lineup that they subbed in for game three of
Eric Carlo,
Alex Nimiroski, and
Keegan Wilder answered the Eagles' goal in just six seconds, as Carlo sent a centering pass over to Nimiroski, who tied the game up at one apiece. MWU retook the lead with a goal from "Scerbii" at the 3:39 mark, as they looked to complete the sweep over the Owls. "Scerbii" then assisted "Spam" for the aerial goal, as the Eagles took the 3-1 lead with 2:18 left to play. 12 seconds later the Owls started to make a comeback as Nimiroski sent an aerial centering pass over to Carlo, who shot it into the back of the net, bringing the Owls to within a goal. The Owls continued to apply pressure, trying to even the match up at three apiece to force overtime, but after it seemed like the Eagles would hold them off, Nimiroski sent a perfectly placed aerial goal that floated into UMW's goal, forcing sudden-death overtime once again. 19 seconds into overtime, Nimiroski sent a shot just barely wide of the net, but it bounced off the wall, right to Carlo, who finished the shot, giving the Owls the 4-3 overtime win and making the series score 2-1 for the Eagles.
Wilder started game four off by sending an aerial pass towards the goal, where Carlo was to tap the shot into the top right corner and give KSC the 1-0 lead, only seven seconds into the contest. After "Scerbii" made a stop on the Eagles' defensive side, it led to him sending a pass far out to "Spam", who took the one-timer and tied the game up at one to one with 4:26 left to play. Carlo responded with a goal for the Owls nearly a minute later, as he sent a great centering pass around "Scerbii", over to Wilder, who scored the one-timer past "Gojo.", giving the Owls a 2-1 lead. The Eagles were not going to allow the Owls to take the lead for too long again, as "Gojo." assisted "Spam" on the equalizing goal with 2:49 left in game four. After neither team scored the rest of regulation, both teams headed to sudden-death overtime for the fourth time, in as many games. 2:34 into overtime, "Gojo." capitalized on the Owls misplaying the ball right in front of their goal and rifled it into the back of the net, as the Eagles won the game 3-2 and took the series win, 3-1.
Between the Sticks
- Carlo led the way in goals scored for the Owls, as he scored three over his two games, while Nimiroski tallied a pair, and Wilder, Law, and Ekroth each scored one.
- Nimiroski and Carlo both tallied a pair of assists, while Wilder and Law each recorded one.
- Smolarz made the most saves in the two games that all the members of the Owls played, as he recorded five, which was as many as the rest of the other five members, as Ekroth and Law each recorded two saves and Nimiroski made one save.
Up Next
Keene State's next contest for Rocket League will come in the NACE Starleague Varsity Plus Divisional Playoffs at a date TBD.
The next Esports contest for the Owls will come in less than 24 hours, as the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team will face Anna Maria College on Thursday, March 14, at 7:00 PM, as they will be in a win-and-in situation, with the team looking to join both the Rocket League and Overwatch 2 teams in the playoffs in their inaugural seasons.
