NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack played two matches as part of the regular-season finale, facing Blinn College and George Fox University. The undefeated Blinn College team proved to be a difficult challenge for the Pack on Monday. However, the Pack turned it around on Tuesday with a 3-0 sweep of George Fox. With the regular season in the books, the Pack stands at No. 3 in the conference with a 4-2 record.
Game 1: Blinn College
On the first map, the teams traveled to Lijiang Tower, the control point map. The Pack fought hard, but the undefeated Blinn College held the point for the greater duration of the match, taking the first round. Loyola turned the tide in the second round, trading possession of the objective with Blinn. With the point at 99 percent, the Pack took back control with the help of a Death Blossom from Dashiell Hazzard's Reaper to even the first map score at 1-1. In the third round, Blinn returned to form, making it tough for any Loyola attack to have an effect. Then, Blinn College kept control of the point, ending the first map with a win.
Down 1-0 after the first map, the Wolf Pack needed to even the score. Choosing the hybrid map, King's Row, the Pack kept strong, taking control of the objective to get the payload moving. Led by Jaiden Lee's Ramattra, the Pack's attack was relentless. With 1:58 remaining, Loyola began the second map with a 3-0 lead. Blinn kept strong in the second round of map two, matching the Pack's score with 2:02 remaining. The Pack took the objective in round three, managing to move the objective 55.85 meters before getting stopped by Blinn's defense. Switching to defense, the Pack needed a stop, but Blinn's momentum was tough to stop. On a hard-fought map by the Pack, Blinn took the second set for a 2-0 lead.
Entering the third set, the Wolf Pack began on the attacker's side on Circuit Royal. In the first round, the Pack took the first checkpoint but was unable to keep the wheels of the payload rolling, taking the payload to 49.59 meters before running out of time. Blinn's attack remained a tough stop, and took the third map to win the match, 3-0.
Game 2: George Fox University
The Wolf Pack began their match against George Fox University on Nepal, the control map. In the first round, the Pack held control of the objective for the duration of the round, taking a 1-0 lead in the first set. The second round went much the same as Loyola stayed dominant, with Stirling Downes, as Mercy, keeping the team alive, and claiming victory. With the Pack taking two rounds of the first set, they took a one-set lead heading into the second map.Â
On the second map, the Pack played on King's Row. GFU began on the attacker's side, taking control of the objective to get the payload moving. The Wolf Pack held GFU back for the duration of the round. Although GFU was pushing the payload, time was in Loyola's favor. George Fox reached the end, but the Pack exhausted any remaining time on the clock. With a 3-0 GFU lead, Loyola needed to match their effort on the attack. The Pack did just that, matching GFU's score with two minutes left on the clock. With the help of an ultimate from Gerardo Colon's Hanzo, the Wolf Pack took the first tick on the objective to win the second map.
The teams traveled to Dorado for map three, with the Pack starting on defense. GFU was unable to go through the Wolf Pack defense to move the payload. At the end of the round, a four-kill Rocket Barrage from Dashiell Hazzard's Pharah, Nano-Boosted by Zachary Sutherland's Ana took away any chance of scoring by GFU. The second round was quick work for the Pack, taking the third-set victory, and completing the sweep.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
