Hornet’s esports win decisive victory over Hawks

The Hornets won a decisive 3-1 Overwatch victory over the Hocking College Hawk’s tonight.

The first two maps went fairly easily to the Hornet’s, with a close third map loss to keep the Hawk’s in it, but the Hornet’s were able to take map four for the victory.

The team described the match, which stretched for over two hours of competition, as tiring.

Going into the match Team Captain Lynnette Linares was wary.

“I thought it was gonna be a really tough match, I thought we were gonna get stomped, gotta be honest,” Linares said.

She chalked this up to the fact the Hawks were the number one team of last season’s gameplay, and are high in the rankings this season.

This victory was a “huge win” according to Assistant Coach Jeremy Isabella.

“At the moment we’re looking good for playoffs,” said Linares.

The Hornet’s are currently tied for second place in their group for the regular season, with the Hocking College Hawks and the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats, who the Hornet’s also beat earlier in the season.

They will face the Bobcat’s again next week.

“If we can keep it rolling, we’ll be good, we’ll be gucci,” said Head Coach Nigel Deakin.

The Hornet’s remain in a 3-way tie for second place in their group. The top four teams out of the eight in their group will move on to compete in the playoffs.

Each player felt they played well.

“I think we just stayed focused throughout the match, we were just doing our callouts, staying very focused, listening to each other, it was pretty solid,” said Linares.

“The flexibility between all of us really helped,” said Patric Harter.

While reflecting on the game, players recalled standout moments, such as Nick Gilbert’s Pharah performance, Michael Wilard’s support on the first two maps, Thomas Nicosia’s Road Hog gameplay, and an especially useful “ultimate ability” by Patric Harter.

“I would give this team an MVP honestly, there’s so many moments where everyone just did really good,” said Linares.

The match was streamed on Twitch.tv.

The Hornet’s are scheduled to face off against the Bryant & Stratton Bobcat’s next Monday at 6:00 P.M.

Originally published in the Fulcrum, March 22, 2021