Hornets esports lose hard-fought battle against Madison College

The SUNY Broome Hornets received their first loss of the season tonight in a hard fought battle against the Madison College Wolfpack. The final score was 1-3, with one map going to a draw. This brings the Hornets to a record of 2-1.

The Hornets said they were “Distraught” immediately following the loss.

“We were riding pretty high after the third game, because we had won round 2, and then the enemy team had a full hold first round of game three, and we were able to give it right back, which was a huge win for us," said player Nick Gilbert. "That would have been great momentum and we were doing pretty good on that second point for the fourth game, then we lost Quinn and that was it, that was the game.”

Internet connectivity issues led to player Quentin Riedman disconnecting mid game, causing the team to play down a man and losing momentum on map two. Two players also showed up late to the match.

“We’re just gonna keep doing the same things we’ve been working on, which is just hard work at practice, our coordination, our communication, and we’re gonna develop some new strategies that are gonna allow us to be more prepared and to counteract what we saw the other team throwing at us," said head coach Nigel Deakin. "We know our team’s identity and we know how we like to play so we’re gonna stick to that.”

The team said that Patric Harter performed very well as Reaper.

“I didn’t think the Reaper buffs would be that different but it feels so much better,” said Harter.

The match was streamed on Twitch and reached a peak of 30 viewers, who showed their support for the Hornets in chat.

Madison College in Wisconsin has a robust esports program, boasting 22 players, one of whom won a national championship in Smash last season.

The Hornets play a scrimmage match against the Bryant Stratton Bobcats on Tuesday, and have another match next Monday.

Originally published in the Fulcrum, February 22, 2021