The Ashland University Call of Duty (COD) eSports team downed the Clarke University Pride, 3-0, in the NACE Starleague championship match.

The Eagles, who were ranked as the No. 11 team in the postseason, made a miracle run downing the No. 2 ranked Southeastern Illinois College Falcons in the semi-finals before finishing their season by beating the Pride in the championship.

“Clarke is a good team, they beat us during the regular season and we wanted to show them how much we have grown together as a team,” said team member Philip Howman.

To start the opening match in a best-of-five series, the Eagles dominated the Pride with a 250-140 win.

They went up quickly as the game approached its halfway mark outscoring the Pride by 60, 174-114, before ultimately running away with the opening match win.

To finish match one, team member Connor Milne recorded 49 eliminations and Howman recorded 38, with the other teammates putting up 30+ a piece in the team victory.

“After we won the first map, in the dominant fashion we did, we knew that series was ours,” said Milne.

With a 1-0 series lead, the team headed into match two with confidence.

The match was set for search and destroy, where the Eagles have been inconsistent this season. To start, they went down 2-1 early in a contest that finishes once the first team reaches six wins.

After a few rounds of consistent team play the Eagles were able to take a 4-2 lead before Howman would break off massive strands of eliminations, setting the team up for success.

The team would go on to win 6-2, taking a 2-0 series lead.

With one game to go until the Eagles would be crowned champions, the Pride would not go down without a fight.

In the third match, the match would be won by the first team to get to three.

While both teams battled hard, the Pride tied the Eagles up 2-2 heading into the fifth and final round of match three.

With the season and match on the line, the first-year duo of Howman and Milne combined for 98 eliminations to secure the win for the Eagles.

“It’s our first year as a team at AU and we win a championship already, I feel the future is bright,” said Howman.

The team finished the series 3-0, cementing the team’s first championship in their opening season as a varsity team.

“I am super proud of how this team has grown over the year! In the playoffs, we beat both of the teams that beat us in the regular season, both in spectacular fashion,” said Milne. “We knew we were the better team going into it and we proved it. In our first year as a team, we are champions.”

While the players were excited about their victory, the coaches were too.

“It’s fantastic to watch the team surrender any ego and play their best every game,” said Graduate Assistant Coach Caleb Crowley. “The mentality shined every week after week and translated into success.”

Outside of Crowley, Head Coach Alec Mueller has been heavily supportive of the team’s drive this season.

“I am super happy for our Call of Duty to win their Divisional Championship,” said Mueller. “They have been practicing hard and improving so much this semester. It’s great to see their hard work pay off and I can’t wait to see how they do in the Spring!”

The Eagles now have a month of rest before starting preparation for their spring season which begins in January. They finished the season with an 8-2 record as the No. 11 seed, winning the championship.