Waynesburg, Pa. (September 27) - The esports team began its 2025-26 campaign with a slate of seven games this week featuring the first match of the brand new Marvel Rivals team and the return of the Valorant team and finishing the week 4-3 overall. 

Kicking off the week, the Valorant team had a very strong showing against Curry.  The match featured the return of senior Felicia Duffy (captain) and Junior Emalee Wallace who led their team to a 2-0 win.  The match was intense and very fast paced with the Jackets winning both maps by an impressive 13-4 score in each.  Newcomers freshman Jordan Parkins, sophomore Bobby Ballentyne, and freshman Gavin Schneider rounded out the squad.  The Valorant team will be back in action this Monday and Tuesday when they take on Mercyhurst (NECC) Monday at 8:00pm and a TBD ECAC on Tuesday at 8:00pm.

The brand new Marvel Rivals team made their NECC and program debut on Tuesday night.  They also tallied a convincing win over Southern Indiana 3-0 to launch their team.  The very young squad of Sophomore Cash Wieczorek (captain), sophomore Tyler Waldmann, freshman Caitlin Nguyen, freshman Jordan Parkins, freshman Jackson Lubash, and freshman Tristan Smith played a stiffling offensive game never relinquising the lead in any of their maps.  The Rivals team will continue their season next week with an NECC match on Tuesday against Alabama Huntsville at 7:00pm and an ECAC on Wednesday vs a TBD ECAC team at 8:00pm.

Smash Bros also started off their season with a shutout win taking down Widener 2-0 in their NECC match on Tuesday night.  Senior captain Alex Solomon lead his team of sophomore Cash Wieczorek, freshman Braiden Decker, and freshman Thomas Martin to a great win in their first match back.  It featured strong play from all the team members in a very quick game.  The Smash Bros team will face off against a TBD ECAC team on Monday night at 8:00pm and then take on Arcadia on Tuesday night at 9:00pm.

The Rocket League teams had a rough first week of play notching the esports team three losses this week.  Play started with the varsity team lead by sophomore captain Bobby Ballentyne and featuring senior Noah Westover and freshman John Kraynak taking on Edinboro.  Although they their typical smothering offensive style, they were unable to close out the series after going up 3-2.  The final game came down to the wire and saw Edinboro take home the win beating the varsity team 4-3.  The new Academy squad captained by sophomore Joel Menear played next against Southern Arkansas.  Even with the strong play from freshman Paul Sembower and freshman Dayton Reynolds, the team was no match for the Muleriders who swept the Jackets 0-4.  Finally, the JV team rounded out the evening with a late match against Wilkes.  Sophomore captain Nathan Bauza lead his team of freshman Cade Henderson and freshman Jeremiah Darnell in a close match, but ultimately lost to Wilkes 1-4.  The varsity team will play a TBD ECAC team next Wednesday at 8:00pm and California (PA) in an NECC match on Thursday at 7:30pm.  The JV teams takes on a TBD ECAC team as well on Wednesday at 8:00pm and Mercyhurst in an NECC match at 9:00pm.  The Academy team will round out the week with an ECAC match against a TBD opponenent on Wednesday at 8:00pm and Worchester Polyetechnic in their NECC match on Thursday at 8:30pm.

The Overwatch team continued their NECC winning streak with a tight but very convincing victory over Arcadia on Friday night in their NECC opener.  With this win, the Overwatch team has not lost an NECC match since November 22, 2024 when the lost to Champlain in the NECC playoffs in the Fall 2024 season.  Overwatch started out the season with a banger. The Jackets were promoted to Division VIII after last year's record performance and Division IX national championship. The match saw some fast-paced teamplay from both sides. Overwatch ultimately defeated Arcadia University 3-1 in an overtime Map 4 that came down to just .06 meters on Junkertown. It was a breakout performance for freshman Gavin Schneider as he put up 54,000 damage, and a familiar face, junior Emalee Wallace who had 123 assists.  Team captain freshman Jordan Parkins played his typical in your face DPS play along with sophomore Jackson Medvec with very strong support from and senior Felicia Duffy and junior Emalee Wallace in the backlines.  The Overwatch team continnues with season next week with an ECAC match against a TBD opponent on Thursday at 8:00pm and an NECC match against Wilkes on Friday at 8:00pm.

Other teams making their season debuts next week include EA FC on Monday, Fortnite and NBA2K on Tuesday, Madden on Thursday, and MLB the Show on Friday.  be sure to check the esports team schedule for game times and streaming links and follow us on Facebook, X, or Instagram to get daily updates, game times, and streaming links.