KENOSHA, Wis. — The Carthage esports team competed in their first days of action last week, picking up nine wins across five games. The first-year team will continue to play in a preseason-style this week, before receiving their full regular-season schedule next week.
 

Jan. 24 - Valorant

Game One vs. St. Clair College: W, 14-12 (OT)
 
Kevin Palmer: "This was a great victory for our first match. We saw great leadership from Sterling and Chris. Connor Parsons hit a five-kill ace in round five to build momentum. It was a great first match for Carthage's history, and one we can learn and build on for the future."
 
Game Two vs. Montclair State University: L, 9-13
 
Kevin Palmer: "The team fought hard on defense but came up short on offense, which was our kryptonite. Sterling led the team with 24 kills and 4 assists to keep us in close for most of the match."
 

Jan. 25 - Rocket League

Game One vs. University of Rio Grande: L, 1-3
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Firebirds fought hard after going down 1-0 in game one by a score of 5-0, to force overtime in game two, but fell in game two 2-1 before winning game three 2-1. In game four, Carthage ended in a tie and went to overtime, where both teams struggled to find the back of the net. However, the Firebirds lost game four 1-0 in OT, and the series 3-1.
 
Game Two vs. Alvernia University: W, 3-1
 
Kevin Palmer: "Alvernia put up a lot of great shots in this series, but the net play of Ethan Woitach kept the Firebirds in the game, totaling eight saves and five goals over four games. Carthage won the series 2-1, 2-1, 3-4, 2-1."
 
Game Three vs. Valparaiso University: W, 3-2
 
Kevin Palmer: "Going down 2-0 in the series didn't stop the Firebirds from battling back to reverse-sweep Valporiso in a best of five series. After a few quick changes, and some strategy adjustment, Carthage found themselves working hard to avoid taking a loss, and the best way to do that was finding the back of the net. Carthage was led by Joshua Serpico with nine saves, three goals, and four assists in the series, that helped the goal scoring efforts of Aidan and Tanner to take the series 3-2."
 
Game Four vs. Fanshawe College: L, 1-3
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Firebirds faced a tough Fanshawe team and were able to win game one by a score of 2-1, but struggled to find the back of the net the rest of the match. The Falcons came out with relentless offense, keeping Carthage deep in their own defensive half for most of the series."
 
Game Five vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute: L, 0-3
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Goats came out on fire, and peppered the Firebird net for the majority of the series. Carthage found the net a few times, but made costly mistakes that ultimately cost them the series."
 
Game Six vs. University of South Alabama: W, 3-0
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Firebirds came out in dominating fashion vs South Alabama, getting on the scoreboard quick and often. In game one, all three Firebirds found the back of the net with an OT winner by Peyton Wieter to win 3-2. In game two, Wieter found the back of the net twice off of seven shots, while Aidan O'Neill scored a goal off of three shots to win 3-2. Tanner Lee came up big in game three with a huge series of saves to keep Carthage in the game early, but it wouldn't be long before Aidan found the back of the net twice, followed by Peyton with a goal of his own to win the game 3-0 and the series by the same score."
 

Jan. 26 - Rainbow Six Siege

Game One vs. University of Rio Grande: W, 8-7 (OT)
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Firebirds powered through an exciting match against the reigning divisional champions from fall 2021 in the NECC. Carthage took a quick 3-0 lead over Rio through the help of captain Lauren Wild with some clutch kills and deactivating the defuser. Newcomer Nino Breeden also was a key to success with his communication to his teammates about enemy movement in the early rounds. Rio changed their strategies and battled back to take a 4-3 lead midway through the match, but the Firebirds themselves adjusted at the side switch and were relentless on offense to keep the match close. The match would eventually reach OT with a 6-6 tie."
 
"In OT there are three rounds maximum, and teams can either win by two or win the 15th and final round. Like much of the earlier match, Carthage and Rio split the next two rounds after an almost impossible win in round 14, when Wild clutched a save in a 2v1 situation. Round 15 came down to the wire, but the gunplay by Carthage would aid them to victory as they eliminated the enemy team, and claimed the victory 8-7."
 
Game Two vs. Butler University: L, 2-7
 
Kevin Palmer: "After a hard fought Victory, Carthage entered game two of the night with a great start against the Bulldogs by going up 2-1 early. Unfortunately though, those would be the only two points the Firebirds would be able to grasp as Butler was quick to change their strategy, forcing the Firebirds to adjust on the fly. After many close matches and 1v1 situations, Butler was able to pull off six straight points against Carthage, to win the match 2-7."
 

Jan. 27 - Overwatch

Game One vs. Kansas Wesleyan University: L, 0-3
 
Kevin Palmer: "The Firebirds dropped a tough opening match to the Coyotes by a score of 3-0. Although each round was close, Kansas Wesleyan was able to secure the objective in each round, beating out Carthage for the map point. The team was led by Emily on support, who kept the team in the fight throughout the match."
 
Game Two vs. Lincoln Christian University: W, 3-0
 
Kevin Palmer: "After a tough loss in their first match, Carthage College rebounded to take on Lincoln Christian with dominating force. The Firebirds went up quickly 2-0 against Lincoln and in game three, but LCU put up a good fight to escort the payload. Carthage was able to hold them from completing the objective though, and after the map rotation, secured the 3-0 victory by completing the objective."
 

Jan. 28 - League of Legends

Game One vs. Midland University: W
 
Game Two vs. University of Mount Union: W
 
Kevin Palmer: "League of Legends had a fantastic first night in the NECC activation tournament with three great victories, and one loss to a talented Western Colorado University team. In the two games played by Firebirds A, the team came out strong at the start of each match by utilizing their scouting reports to ban champions that would have favored the other team. At match start, Carthage played aggressively and were able to gain an early lead in gold that favored them the rest of each match."
 
Game Three vs. King's College: W
 
Game Four vs. Western Colorado University: L
 
Kevin Palmer: "The League B team split the night after a great first victory. In game one, Carthage came out quickly with high pressure and a dual-threat mindset, utilizing their jungler to help get early kills. As the game progressed, Carthage saw a significant gold and kill difference, which allowed them to push into the enemy base at the 20-minute mark, and destroy the nexus by minute 25. Game two was a much closer match, as Carthage struggled early in the top lane, and fell behind in gold and kills. Although they would make a couple great pushes, Western Colorado proved to be too much for the Firebirds."
 

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