ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul Hearthstone team (5-1) won their third straight in the second split of the Fall Collegiate Championship with a five-game win over Northwestern (4-2) on Monday night.
 
In the opening game, Concordia kicked things off with their demon hunter deck while Northwestern began with their mage deck. It was a fairly even start as the Wildcats held a slim lead with some board advantage through seven turns, but a big turn eight for CSP gave the Golden Bears a 25-12 damage lead. The Wildcats filled the board with large minions a turn later to put the pressure on, but CSP picked up enough damage to finish off the win.
 
The Golden Bears turned to their paladin deck in game two while Northwestern went back to their mage deck. CSP kept things close through the middle stages of the game as both teams sat nearly even through well over 10 turns, but eventually Northwestern's board control combined with Concordia running out of cards caused the Golden Bears to concede as the Wildcats evened the match at 1-1.
 
Game three featured CSP's paladin deck for the second time in a row while Northwestern went to their rogue deck. It was another fairly slow moving game as the Golden Bears chipped away to build a 28-17 lead through 10 turns. A huge turn one turn later delivered enough damage for Concordia as they jumped back out front 2-1 heading to game four.
 
Concordia looked to close things out with their rogue deck against Northwestern's demon hunter deck in the fourth game. CSP managed to pull ahead early, but the Wildcats turned the momentum in their favor on turn eight. That momentum carried all the way to turn 10 as Northwestern put up enough damage to force a fifth game.
 
The match would be settled with a battle of rogue decks as both teams were left with their rogues in the final game. The Golden Bears claimed the upper hand early as they chipped away and had the Wildcats down to 13 health through nine turns. CSP finished the job one turn later as they cruised to a win in the game and a 3-2 victory in the match.
 
CSP will look to continue their winning ways on Thursday night as they returned to action at 7 p.m.