After dropping the opening map on Abyss, the Loyola University New Orleans
esports team mounted a comeback with consecutive victories on Summit and Sunset
to defeat Shawnee State University 2–1.
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Shawnee State opened the series by capturing Map 1, 13–9, on Abyss. Starting on
defense, Loyola took an early 4–2 lead highlighted by a fifth-round "Thrifty"
eco conversion. Shawnee State answered with a four-round run to carry a 7–5
advantage into halftime. Switching to attack, the Wolf Pack claimed the pistol
and bonus rounds to level the score at 7–7 and remained within one at 10–9
following a flawless Round 19, but Shawnee State took the final three rounds to
close out the map. Seth "abrx" Childs paced Loyola on Omen with 27 kills and
eight first bloods, while Elijah "BodyShotBandit" Cantu and Chase "chase" Krause
contributed 16 kills apiece. Sara "saraa" Reffit registered 12 kills, 11
assists, and two defuses, and Rexford "Big Arny" Kaase provided 13 assists.
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Loyola answered on Map 2 with a commanding 13–6 victory on Summit. Operating on
defense in the first half, the Wolf Pack converted a second-round eco buy and
posted two flawless rounds to establish an 8–4 halftime lead. On attack, Rexford
"Big Arny" Kaase converted a 1v1 clutch in Round 13 to spark a four-round streak
that put Loyola at match point, 12–4, before the squad closed out the 13–6 win.
Seth "abrx" Childs led the lobby with 20 kills and 13 assists, while Rexford
"Big Arny" Kaase recorded 18 kills against five deaths on Fade. Elijah
"BodyShotBandit" Cantu posted 16 kills, Chase "chase" Krause added 14 kills, and
Sara "saraa" Reffit contributed four plants and three defuses.
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In the deciding third map on Sunset, Loyola surged out to an immediate 6–0 lead
on defense. After Shawnee State won three consecutive rounds to trim the margin
to 6–3, Sara "saraa" Reffit halted the momentum with a 1v2 clutch and defuse in
Round 10. That sparked a three-round closing run to send the Wolf Pack into the
half up 9–3. Loyola pushed ahead to match point at 12–6 on attack, and despite a
brief two-round answer from Shawnee State, the Wolf Pack closed out Round 21 to
take the map 13–8 and clinch the match victory.
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Rexford "Big Arny" Kaase led Loyola on Sunset with 21 kills and 13 assists on
Sova, while Elijah "BodyShotBandit" Cantu tallied 18 kills and four first bloods
on Chamber. Seth "abrx" Childs totaled 17 kills and 15 assists, Sara "saraa"
Reffit recorded 16 kills and eight assists, and Chase "chase" Krause supplied 14
kills to finalize the team effort.
