By: Kayleigh Johnson ’22, layout editor
LVC’s esports team is cleaning up in matches and shows no sign of slowing down.
The team is fairly new, having only been launched in spring 2018. It is LVC’s first fully co-ed team. Varsity athletes compete in Call of Duty (fall 2019), Counter Strike, Fighting Games, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Overwatch, Paladins (fall 2019), Rocket League and Smite.
The team’s overall record is 52-27. They have competed and won against larger universities such as Yale, Northeastern and Penn State.
Cade Kassay, a junior digital communications major and member of the Overwatch and Hearthstone teams, explains how little LVC is able to clinch victories over much larger, more well-established schools.
“I think the area that we really excel at is teamwork,” Kassay said. “Our team communicates with each other extremely well and we all know each other’s playing styles and use that to our advantage.”
The esports team has also helped to put LVC on the map. LVC is a member of the NCAA Division III, competing in the MAC Commonwealth. Playing against well-known schools generates more interest and respect for LVC.
“It makes me happy that a small school like LVC can be represented and play against bigger names,” Jacob Triano, a junior digital communications major, captain of Overwatch and member of Valorant teams, said.
The Overwatch team’s recent victory over Albright College secured a day off for students. In past years, if the LVC football team won its rival game against Albright, students would march to the president’s house and demand the Wednesday of Thanksgiving break off. This year, with football not being played as normal, President James MacLaren declared the Overwatch victory would suffice and canceled classes on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Esports is a great opportunity for students who are passionate about video games.
“I love being able to play my favorite games on a team and in a competitive environment,” Nikolai Neufeld-Kreider, a senior digital communications major and member of the Overwatch, Counterstrike, Valorant and Hearthstone teams said. “It’s been a great experience and I’ve made some really good friends.”
LVC’s esports season is over for the fall semester, but the team will return in full force next spring.