SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall University esports team ranked 10th nationally and fourth in the east in the national Collegiate Rocket League following an unexpected victory over favored winner Northwood Blue from Northwood University, located in Midland, Mich., in late October.
“This upset win was something no one had done up until this point and sent the message that the Seton Hall team lives its school’s motto of ‘Hazard Zet Forward,’” Seton Hall esports manager Victor Gomez said. “Hazard Zet Forward,” a combination of Norman French and Old English, means “whatever the peril, ever forward.”
The crowd, sportscasters and analysts predicted an overwhelming victory for Northwood, then undefeated No. 2 in the east with a 5-0 record. However, the Pirates, coming in at seventh in the east with a 1-2 record, ultimately defeated Northwood 3-0. Boosting the Pirates’ ranking regionally and nationally, this win brought the team’s record to 2-2.
This win came after a string of other successes since the team began preparing before the season began. Led by the now seasoned captain, Antonio “Tone” Riozzi, the team set its sights on a national tournament after welcoming two incoming freshmen in the offseason, Paulie “Stokelyy” Santoro and Kevin “Froze” Minch.
With new talent on the team, the road to national recognition began at the College Carball Association’s summer series, where teams played in two separate qualifying rounds followed by round play to determine seeding for the summer league. Seton Hall’s freshly formed squad qualified and secured a spot as a division-one squad, one of the top 12 in the eastern United States. The team finished its summer run ranked fifth in the east and prepared to take on the Big East in the Electronic Gaming Federation and the Big East Esports Rocket League Season 3.
In the first week of competition, the team scored 18 goals and allowed none in their first series. The Pirates capitalized on their momentum as they went on to qualify for the national CRL tournament. The highly selective competition only accepted 24 entries from more than 1,242 participating teams. As the team climbed through the qualifying round, it faced the University of Akron, located in Ohio, whose team finished second in the national tournament last fall. After a close best of five series against the Akron team, Seton Hall locked in its place to the qualifying match versus College de Valleyfield, located in Quebec, Canada, going on to win in game five.
These two wins signaled a first for the team in CRL, placing them among the top 12 in the east. Since the inception of CRL in 2017, only four New Jersey teams have ever qualified: Rowan University, Stockton University, Rutgers University and now Seton Hall — the only Big East member to ever qualify for the national tournament. Playing on the national stage means streams are hosted on twitch.tv/RocketLeague, the official twitch stream for Rocket League, hosted by the game’s developer, Psyonix.
Seton Hall has been on this stream twice and both have been wins in front of an average of 30,000 global viewers, including for the upset win over Northwood Blue.
“I am proud of the dedication and results this Rocket League team has continued to show. This team is carving the path for Seton Hall and the Big East and adding to the path built by phenomenal contemporaries in the state of New Jersey,” Gomez said. “It is an honor to be able to manage a program with such talented players and ones who are willing to put in the hours to play their absolute best. I look forward to the heights these players will reach, I know this is just the beginning.”
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