KEENE, N.H. – Keene State Esports wrapped up its second week of the Spring '25 season this week, with its five teams going a combined 3-3.
Keene State Esports is a Varsity member of Playfly College Esports, one of the largest governing bodies of collegiate esports competition in the world. Playfly sanctions competitions from colleges and universities across the country, awarding scholarship money and hardware to successful teams each season (Fall and Spring). KSC Esports teams compete in a regular season schedule and a playoff bracket, if teams qualify.
All KSC Esports games are streamed on Twitch, at twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports and twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports2, as well as KSC Athletics' official YouTube page youtube.com/@keenestateowls1909.
Rocket League Varsity
Season record: 2-2
Week 1: vs. Rowan University (3-1 victory)
Week 2: vs. Robert Morris University (2-3 loss)
Week 3: vs. Clarke University (3-0 victory)
Rocket League Varsity took their 2-1 record into the week against previous divisional rival, Stony Brook University. The Owls took an early lead in the series, winning game one 6-1, and game two 3-2. However, Stony Brook showed signs of life in game three, winning 4-2, and again in game four 2-1. This forced a deciding game 5. In that game, KSC took a very early lead off of a goal from Eric "EricKamii" Carlo redirecting a miss from teammate Alex "normal" Nimiroski, just eight seconds into the game. The Owls were able to hold on to the lead for the majority of the game, until the Seawolves tied the game at one all with 2 minutes, seven seconds remaining. This would prove to be the first of four unanswered goals Stony Brook would provide, however, as they would go on to win the fifth match 4-1, completing the reverse sweep of the Owls.
Series stats:
Eric "EricKamii" Carlo
6 Goals/2 Assists/4 Saves
Alex "normal" Nimiroski
4 Goals/5 Assists/5 Saves
Andrew "Aurorxs" Sorcinelli
3 Goals/3 Assists/5 Saves
What's next: KSC Varsity Rocket League battles Fisher College at 7 PM on Monday, February 24th, streamed live on the Playfly College Esports Twitch page: twitch.tv/playflygg
Rocket League Academy
Season record: 1-3
Week 1: vs. RIT Black (0-3 loss)
Week 2: vs, RUT Gray (1-3 loss)
Looking to secure their first win of the season, KSC Academy Rocket Academy held two games last week, first against Neumont College of Computer Science.
The Owls started off hot, scoring six goals and leaving Neumont scoreless in game 1. However, the pace slowed down for the Owls and Neumont tied the series at one all with a 3-1 game two victory. This would prove to be the only win KSC would allow, as the Owls took games three and four with scores of 6-2 and 4-1 respectively, sealing the first win of the season for Rocket League Academy, with a series score of 3-1.
Aidan "Maudlu" Law
6 Goals, 2 Assists,4 Saves
Jack "Jackattack1600" Manning
5 Goals, 5 Assists,1 Save
Ryan "Dreamz" Morrison
6 Goal, 0 Assists, 5 Saves
In their second game of the week, Rocket League Academy took on the Demons of DePaul University JV Red. In game 1, the Owls and the Demons battled intensely, and the Owls found themselves down 2-3 with 37 seconds left in regulation. Despite this, KSC managed to tie the game 3-3 with just 13 seconds left, owing to a goal from Ryan "Dreamz" Morrison with the game going to an overtime period that lasted just over a minute. One minute and 19 seconds into the overtime period, DePaul iced the game with a goal by "noell".
This would prove to be a tough loss for the Owls, as they were held scoreless in a 6-0 game two defeat. The Owls didn't go down easily in game three, however, as they kept it within one goal for the majority of the match. The Demons were able to retain this lead and won 2-1, sealing the 3-0 sweep over KSC.
Aidan "Maudlu" Law
1 Goal, 0 Assists, 3 Saves
Jack "Jackattack1600" Manning
1 Goal, 2 Assists, 5 Saves
Ryan "Dreamz" Morrison
2 Goals, 0 Assists, 2 Saves
What's next: Rocket League Academy takes on UNC Pembroke at 8:30 PM EST on Monday, February 24th.
VALORANT
Season record: 3-0
Week 1: vs. Coffeyville Community College (2-0 victory)
Week 2: vs. Iona University (2-0 victory)
Map 1: Lotus
The Owls opened this week against the Llamas on the map Lotus: a map that KSC has yet to play this season. Neumont initially seemed more comfortable on Lotus and took a commanding 12-4 lead over the Owls. Not to be deterred, however, KSC managed to chip away at the lead, and won seven rounds in a row, firmly swinging the momentum and taking the map to just a one round difference as Neumont led 12-11. The Owls just barely missed the tying round, losing round 24, resulting in a 13-11 Neumont victory on Lotus.
Map 1 statistics:
Thomas "Chumbladorfian" Czwakiel as Raze
16 Kills/20 Deaths/4 Assists
Nathan "ShotgunUser" Ruangturakid as Skye
17 Kills/18 Deaths/13 Assists
Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud as Omen
19 Kills/16 Deaths/11 Assists
Jeremy "yerrei" Giguere as Sova
26 Kills/17 Deaths/4 Deaths
Ysaiah "YsaHolmes" Arezzo
9 Kills/15 Deaths/4 Deaths
Map 2: Haven
Map 2 sent KSC and Neumont to Haven, which the Owls have played numerous times in Playfly competition. The more familiar setting showed for KSC as they started off with a 10-2 round lead on attack in the first half. After the half, Neumont took over on attack and were able to close the gap slightly, winning the first three rounds to bring the score to 10-5 in favor of KSC. The Owls comfortably held their lead, and managed to win Haven with a score of 13-6. Tying the series, this would mean a third and final map on the evening that would decide the winner of the best-of-three series.
Map 2 statistics:
Thomas "Chumbladorfian" Czwakiel as Jett
26 Kills/12 Deaths/2 Assists
Nathan "ShotgunUser" Ruangturakid as Breach
13 Kills/12 Deaths/6 Assists
Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud as Omen
16 Kills/13 Deaths/10 Assists
Jeremy "yerrei" Giguere as Sova
15 Kills/10 Deaths/10 Assists
Sheldom "redblast" Vasquez
8 KIlls/14 Deaths/11 Assists
Map 3: Pearl
Another less-than-familiar map, the Owls and the Llamas decided their series on the map Pearl. Similar to other maps on VALORANT, some agent picks are especially strong and this remains the case for Pearl. As such, team Captain and Controller player Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud took Astra; a pick they do not often use. Despite that, HMeesh would end up setting the pace for the Owls as they would go on to win Pearl in decisive fashion with a 13-5 victory. The final round included HMeesh taking a back flank on the plant site that resulted in four kills for HMeesh and the spike defusal. Michaud led all players with 29 kills; the second most in the game was 15 by Neumont player "Phonzye".
Thomas "Chumbladorfian" Czwakiel as Jett
12Kills/10 Deaths/5 Assists
Nathan "ShotgunUser" Ruangturakid as Breach
11 Kills/12 Deaths/6 Assists
Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud as Astra
29 Kills/8 Deaths/6 Assists
Jeremy "yerrei" Giguere as Sova
11 Kills/7 Deaths/4 Assists
Sheldom "redblast" Vasquez
11 Kills/11 Deaths/4 Assists
What's next: KSC VALORANT takes their undefeated season into the week versus DePaul Academy Black at 8:30 PM EST on Tuesday, February 25th.
Overwatch 2
Season record: 2-1
Week 1: vs. RIT White (0-2 loss)
Week 2: vs. California State Dominguez Hills (3-0 win, CSUDH forfeit)
Map 1: Ilios
Winning the opening coin toss, the Owls selected their standard starting Control map of Ilios.
The Owls were able to cleanly take Ilios with 2-0 victory, Running a typical look for the Owls in terms of composition, Shea "Hotpocket" Castriotta played Roadhog, Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini selected Tracer, Connor "HoodNut" Malone was on Genji, and supports Korben "ShadowStorm" Robinson selected Kiriko while Jackson "Crimgo" Holderby played Lucio.
Map 1 Statistics:
Shea "Hotpocket" Castriotta
25 Eliminations/12 Assists/4 Deaths
Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini
24 Eliminations/0 Assists/1 Death
Connor "HoodNut" Malone
13 Eliminations/0 Assists/4 Deaths
Korben "ShadowStorm" Robinson
7 Eliminations/17 Assists/6 Deaths
Jackson "Crimgo" Holderby
16 Eliminations/9 Assists/4 Deaths
Map 2: Midtown
Losing Ilios, DePaul were permitted to select the Hybrid map for map 2, and chose Midtown. Starting on defense, the Owls were tasked with attempting to stave off DePaul's attack for four straight minutes. With Matthew "Midas" Bonner entering the match on tank, the Owls took a more ranged/poke approach to their team composition, which included Goofymcgoob on the hero Torbjorn. With a few scrappy teamfights, the Owls succeeded in full-holding the Demons, and did not allow any progress to be made on the capture of the control point.
This resulted in the Owls being tasked with capturing just one third of the control point on their attack to secure the map. The Demons were able to hold strong and held the Owls at bay for several minutes. However, KSC were able to finally capture the control point off of a prolonged and scrappy team fight where several members of each team were eliminated. The Owls captured the control point with just 34 seconds remaining.
Map 2 Statistics:
Matthew "Midas" Bonner
24 Eliminations/1 Assist/2 Deaths
Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini
23 Eliminations/2 Assists/2 Deaths
Connor "HoodNut" Malone
21 Eliminations/3 Assists/4 Deaths
Korben "ShadowStorm" Robinson
10 Eliminations/26 Assists/3 Deaths
Jackson "Crimgo" Holderby
13 Eliminations/17 Assists/4 Deaths
Map 3: New Junk City
With another map loss, the Demons selected New Junk City for Flashpoint, the third game mode of the series. This map would prove to be the most scrappy and chaotic of the series, as both teams traded the advantage back and forth. In this first-to-three game mode of rotating capture points, DePaul won the first point and the Owls answered right back by winning the second. DePaul won the second point, making it a 2-1 lead for the Demons. On the fourth point, KSC dominated and tied the match at 2 all.
On the third and final flashpoint, both teams traded control, and the Owls were able to capture 81% of the point, However, DePaul remained ahead in the Ultimate ability race, and were able to overwhelm KSC and captured the deciding point, resulting in a 3-2 map victory for DePaul and a 2-1 series lead for the Owls.
Map 3 Statistics:
Matthew "Midas" Bonner
45 Eliminations/16 Assists/7 Deaths
Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini
27 Eliminations/0 Assists/ 9 Deaths
Connor "HoodNut" Malone
40 Eliminations/0 Assists/11 Deaths
Korben "ShadowStorm" Robinson
25 Eliminations/42 Assists/9 Deaths
Jackson "Crimgo" Holderby
33 Eliminations/31 Assists/10 Deaths
Map 4: Esperanca
The Owls selected Esperanca for the fourth map, being on the Push gamemode. In this game mode, teams are tasked with escorting a robot down a set path throughout the map, in a "tug of war" style, with the first team reaching 143 meters, or the team that pushed the farthest at time expiring, being declared the winner.
The Owls got off to an extremely hot start, taking the robot 88.2 meters down their lane, before DePaul made necessary strategic adjustments and took the lead with a 110.17 meter push. Making adjustments themselves, Owls tank player Hotpocket swapped initially to D.Va from Doomfist and eventually Roadhog. These swaps ended up being one of the momentum shifters on the match, as the Owls secured robot control with about 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. The Owls kept the pressure and the Demons were never fully able to respond and take the robot back. With some intense teamfights in the final minute and 30 seconds, the Owls won out repeatedly and managed to bring the robot the full 143 meters with three seconds remaining, taking the 1-0 map victory and winning the championship rematch 3-1 overall.
Map 1 Statistics:
Shea "Hotpocket" Castriotta
27 Eliminations/6 Assists/3 Deaths
Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini
24 Eliminations/2 Assists/5 Deaths
Connor "HoodNut" Malone
25 Eliminations/2 Assists/ 4 Deaths
Korben "ShadowStorm" Robinson
13 Eliminations/24 Assists/6 Deaths
Jackson "Crimgo" Holderby
21 Eliminations/16 Assists/5 Deaths
What's next: KSC Overwatch faces off against St. John's University at 9 PM on Wednesday, February 26th.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Season record: 1-1
Week 1: vs. St. John's University (2-0 victory, SJU forfeit)
Week 2: vs. Iona University (2-0 loss)
Game 1:
KSC Super Smash Bros. looked to secure their first victory of the season versus the Seawolves of Stony Brook University. Leading off for the Owls was Matthew "squidman" Silvestri, on Mario. Stony Brook led off with their first player, on Lucas. Momentum favored Lucas early, who took two stocks from squidman. Squidman, however, was able to secure a stock off of Lucas before losing their final one, marking a 12-10 lead for SBU. Next, Leo "Vort" Tufts entered the match for KSC, playing Peach. Vort managed to take a stock off of Lucas before losing all three of theirs. Stony Brook would take a 10 to 6 lead into the third match. The third player for KSC was captain Aidan "Sour" Zimmer playing King K Rool. In need of a momentum shift, Sour eliminated Lucas' final stock, forcing SB into their next player, who selected Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong took away all three of Sour's Stocks, while Sour took one away from Donkey Kong.
Going into KSC's final player, the lead was 8-3 in favor of SB. Anchoring the Owls was Jackson "Jackabot27" Schimpf, playing Steve. Jackabot27 made the match interesting as they took away Donkey Kong's final two stocks while surrendering two themselves. Stony Brook would be forced to send in their third player against Jackabot27, commanding a 6-1 stock lead. Stony Brook sent in their next player on Min Min. Jackabot27 was able to take one stock from Min Min, but the advantage proved too much and the Owls' final stock was taken; Stony Brook emerged victorious in game one with a score of 5 stocks remaining to the Owls' 0.
Game 2:
For the second game, the Owls led off with Jackabot27, who had a strong performance on Steve in the closing battles of game 1. Stony Brook led off with a player on Shulk. Jackabot was subsequently defeated by Shulk, but not before taking a stock off of Shulk, making it a 11 to 9 advantage for SB. Vort would enter second for the Owls, playing Ridley; the first time Vort has played this character in Playfly competition. Against SB's Shulk, the matchup was intense. Stony Brook's Shulk managed to take two stocks off of Vort's Ridley prior to being defeated; making it a 9 to 7 advantage for SB going into their second player. The next player for Stony Brook selected R.O.B, who took away Vort's final stock. Squidman entered third for the Owls, on Mario. Squidman succeeded in taking a stock from R.O.B, but R.O.B. would make it the only one, defeating squidman.
The Owls anchored this game with captain Sour who selected King K. Rool. With two stocks remaining on R.O.B, Sour played valiantly and took the final stocks away from R.O.B, without surrendering one themself, making it a 6-3 stock advantage for SB. Stony Brook sent in their third player on Pokemon Trainer. The matchup was intense, and Sour was able to take one stock away from Stony Brook. The stock advantage proved to be too much, however, the Sour's three stocks were taken; resulting in a second 5-0 stock victory for Stony Brook and a 2-0 series victory for the Seawolves.
What's next: KSC SSBU plays SUNY - Farmingdale State College at 7 PM on Monday, February 24th.
Follow KSC_Esports on social media for more updates!
