Beckley, W.Va. - The WVU Tech Rocket League team moved to 6-0 on the season after picking up a pair of wins in a double header against South Carolina and Lander University Thursday night.
Tech "soccar" players Fargo (
Waleed Alghamdi, Jr.), Drake (
Avery Rosencrance, Fr.) and Mune (
Brayden Hanshew, Fr.) were prepared for a grueling night in the Golden Bears esports lab, playing against both South Carolina in their regularly scheduled week five National Esports Collegiate Conference's (NECC) match, then Lander University as a reschedule due to hurricane Helene.
The Golden Bears made it quickly through their first match (best-of-five series), sweeping South Carolina for a 3-0 (1-0, 2-1, 3-0) victory and only allowing one goal in an efficient, dominant performance. Freshman Drake led the way in total goals with three, captain Fargo had a pair, and Mune added one.
A tougher match could be expected out of Lander. The Bearcats and Golden Bears both entered the week tied for first place in the NECC's Division VI, East B standings at 4-0. Game one played like a divisional slugfest, ending with a slim 1-0 WVU Tech win off a heroic goal from freshman Mune. In game two Lander's offense got going early and they jumped out to 3-0 lead, but the Golden Bears locked in and stormed back to cancel the Bearcats lead quickly, getting the tying marker from Fargo with 3:38 left. Drake stepped up again for the Golden Bears, dunking home the go-ahead and game-winning goal with 33 seconds left.
Lander would respond with 1-0 win in game three, showing resilience after the previous result and getting on the board to bring the match to 2-1. But in game four, WVU Tech would control the play, earning a convincing 5-1 win and taking the match 3-1.
The Golden Bears are now 6-0, in sole possession of first place and are the last unbeaten team in their division, with one regular season match left against Huntingdon College (3-2) next Thursday at 8:00 p.m. before conference playoffs begin. The match will streamed live on Twitch (WVUTechGoldenBears).
USC/GAME ONE STATS
USC/GAME TWO STATS:
USC/GAME THREE STATS:
LANDER/Gm1:
LANDER/Gm2:
LANDER/Gm3:
LANDER/Gm4:
