The Blinn College esports team fell in Rocket League action against Rochester Institute of Technology on Monday.  

The Buccaneers fell 3-0 in the best-of-five National Association of College Esports (NACE) matchup.   

Blinn is now 0-2 in the NACE East 6 Conference.   

Competing for the Bucs were Braeden Buffington, Logan McClain and Xavier Johnson.  

"Our schedule is heavily front-loaded and once again we went against not only a top team in our conference, but a top team in the nation that has a strong chance at winning a national championship," Blinn assistant coach Kyle Murto said. "We lost this match, but we were able to hold our own for a majority of the time. This season is more than likely going to be a learning experience for our players as we prepare for our NJCAAe season next semester."  

Murto said that his young roster is learning to compete at a collegiate level on the fly and is showing improvements rapidly. 

"None of our players have had the chance to compete at this high of a level, and it is massively increasing the rate at which we improve," he said. "We are building up and solidifying our roster and improving. We are going to do our best this semester, but we are also focusing on the building up of our current roster."  

The Blinn Rocket League squad gets back to work with a NACE tilt against the University of North Carolina at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18. Up next, the Buccaneer Call of Duty team will be in action at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in an NJCAA Esports clash with Guilford Technical Community College. The Blinn Overwatch squad will also be in action Tuesday as the Bucs face Keyano College in a NACE bout at 7:30 p.m.    

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.