Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College Esports Rocket League team faced Cleveland State University in a match at the Meraki Gaming Center on Thursday night. The team experienced a challenging competition, ultimately falling to the Vikings with a final score of 0-3. This result brought their overall record for the 2024 season to 1-1.

In the first game, Illinois College scored once, courtesy of Josh Hallanger, who also tied Glenn Conway with a team-high four saves. Despite this effort, Cleveland State maintained possession on Illinois College's side for 64% of the game, leading to their victory with a score of 2-1.

The second game saw similar pressure from Cleveland State as they took 14 shots on goal. Dwight Duijneveld scored Illinois College's sole goal in this game, which ended with a score of 4-1 in favor of Cleveland State.

The third and final game was closely contested. Both teams remained scoreless through regulation time. However, three minutes into overtime, Cleveland State secured the win with a single goal.

Throughout the match, both Hallanger and Duijneveld contributed one goal each for Illinois College. On defense, Hallanger led with eight saves while Conway added five and Duijneveld made one save.

Head Coach David Seering commented on the performance: "It was a tough series but it's one for the team to look at and learn from. We know we have the defensive chops to fight with the best of them as showcased in game three and we will look to make that our consistent identity."

Looking ahead, the Esports Rocket League team is set to compete in the Midwest Esports Conference event scheduled for February 10-11 at Hyatt Regency in Deerfield, Illinois.