Loyola Esports begins NACE fall season, wins two

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack started the esports fall season with wins on Monday and Thursday. On Monday, the Maroon and Gold defeated Shawnee State in Overwatch 2 (3-1), followed by a two-set win over Texas A&M University San Antonio in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Thursday. Thursday night's Smash Bros. match was Loyola's first victory over TAMUSA with both teams having faced each other during the fall and spring seasons in 2024 and 2025.

Loyola Esports competition continues next week when Overwatch faces off with UT Arlington at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, and when the Smash Bros. squad takes on Dallas Baptist on Thursday, at 6 p.m. Loyola's esports matches will be live-streamed on twitch.tv/loynoesports. 

The Wolf Pack's win over Shawnee State started with a first set on Lijiang Tower. After the Bears took a 54% lead to begin round one, Matthew Marshall and freshman Braden Garfield managed to take back control. When Shawnee State attempted to take back the point, a Nanoblade by Garfield, followed by two eliminations from Maya Hernandez completed a team kill. From there, the Wolf Pack closed out round one with a win, ending with two kills from freshman Mason Wheaton. Round two was well contested by the Bears, but Loyola held on once again to take a one-set lead. 

Loyola started the second set on the defensive side of King's Row. SSU quickly captured the payload, moving closer to the first checkpoint soon after. Despite Shawnee State's strong start, the Wolf Pack were able to hold off the attackers' best efforts, setting up a chance to win in round two. Round two of the second set came down to the wire with Loyola managing a payload capture with under one minute remaining. With the clock into overtime, a clutch ultimate from Perry Penz's Lucio kept the team alive, just in time for the Pack to take a two-set advantage.

The third set on Rialto was a much-needed one for the Bears. SSU managed to win the third set, delaying defeat for another set. Shawnee State won the first point on Survasa, the flashpoint map. The Wolf Pack matched it to take the second objective, 1-1. After SSU took the third point, Loyola took the fourth, forcing a final objective in the fourth set. Three clutch eliminations from Marshall's Junker Queen clutched the match, taking the season-opening victory.

Senior Anthony Nodolski started Thursday's Smash Bros. match with two wins, beating Incineroar (3-1) and Palutena (3-1). Texas A&M San Antonio's Ice Climbers proved to be trouble, though, taking down three of Loyola's fighters. Malachi Lee entered the match to defeat Ice Climbers and get a 3-2 win over Luigi to win the first crew battle, 1-0.

Nodolski started off set two by defeating Palutena (3-2), once again. However, Ice Climbers defeated Nodolski, and barely took down Samuel Spiegel's Steve, 3-2. Lucian Payne's Wolf traded stocks with Ice Climbers to get the win, then fell to Incineroar shortly after. Lee entered the ring in set two to close things out, defeating Incineroar, then winning another close fight against Luigi, 3-2, to start the season in the win column.

NACE Results

First Crew Battle:

Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Incineroar (TAMUSA), 3-1
Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Palutena (TAMUSA), 3-1
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 1-0
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Steve (Samuel Spiegel), 3-2
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Wolf (Lucian Payne), 3-0
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Ice Climbers (TAMUSA), 1-0
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Luigi (TAMUSA), 3-2
Loyola leads match, 1-0

Second Crew Battle:

Olimar (Anthony Nodolski) def. Palutena (TAMUSA), 3-2
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Olimar (Anthony Nodolski), 1-0
Ice Climbers (TAMUSA) def. Steve (Samuel Spiegel), 3-2
Wolf (Lucian Payne) def. Ice Climbers (TAMUSA), 1-1
Incineroar (TAMUSA) def. Wolf (Lucian Payne), 2-1
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Incineroar (TAMUSA), 2-0
Terry (Malachi Lee) def. Luigi (TAMUSA), 3-2
Loyola wins match, 2-0