Haverhill, MA (April 29, 2020) – The Northern Essex Community College eSports Rocket League team has captured the NJCAA Championship for the spring 2020 season with a 4-0 sweep over Snow College of Utah in the best of seven play. Match scores were 3-0, 2-1(OT), 6-4 and 4-1.
Christian Bova (Unky)(Lawrence, MA) got the Knights on the board first just over a minute into the first match when he put a high through ball straight into the back of the goal. Erik D'Attilio(Emanc6)(Boxford, MA/Masconomet) gave NECC a two goal cushion when he tucked a shot into the lower right corner past a streaking defender at the midway point of the period and added a second goal with thirty-five seconds remaining in the period for the 3-0 result.
The second match was more of a defensive battle, after falling behind in the first minute, the Knights would tie the match up at one apiece on goal from Emonkc6 before heading to a sudden death overtime period to determine the match winner. Just nine seconds into the extra session Bova would score on a rebound shot from Edwin Guzman (Kizek)(Lawrence, MA)
In the third match, NECC would twice rally back from one goal deficits for before going ahead 3-2 and securing the match when Guzman scored on a quick touch on the immediate restart after Bova tied the match at two with his second goal of the period. D'Attillio would add two and Bova one goal including the match winner to account for the 6-4 final in the third match.
In the final match to conclude the sweep, Guzman put the Knights up 1-0 just over a minute before Snow would not the match at one. It wasn't long before D'Attilio would rattle off three more goals before the final horn to result in the 4-1 match final give the Knights their first esports Championships.
A very proud Knights head coach David Arivella had this to say on the team's championship, "The practice and dedication our players put into this season was incredible, especially during these stressful times. Seeing our Rocket League team follow through and come out with our first NJCAA championship victory was amazing and I truly respect and commend their accomplishment."
SEMIFINAL MATCH 4/22
NECC 3 St. Clair County CC (MI) 0
The Knights swept through the best of five match with game score of 4-1, 2-1 (OT) and 3-1.
NECC got off to a hot start as Erik D'Attillio (Emonkc6) (Boxford, MA/Masconomet) got the team on the board just 23 seconds into the first round. The goals would come fast and furious in the first game as NECC went up 4-0 before St. Clair would get onto the board. Edwin Guzman (Kizek) (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) would add two goals in the first game and Christian Bova (Unky) (Lawrence, MA/Lawrence) tallied three assists.
Bova (Unky) would be the difference maker in the second round as he scored both of the Knights goals, with the winner coming 1:45 into the sudden death overtime period. After falling behind early in the third round NECC finally broke through the St. Clair defense to tally three goals in the final 1:26 of the match to secure the sweep. D'Attillio (Emonkc6) squared the match up, before Bova (Unky) added two goals in the final minute to seal the win.
QUARTERFINAL MATCH 4/15
NECC 3 Crowder College (MO) 0
The Knights cruised past Crowder in the quarterfinal round by game scores of 4-1, 2-1 and 5-3.
After suffering a forfeit loss (their only loss of the season) in the final week of the regular season due to complications related to computer access due to the Coronavirus situation, the Knights were able to return to competition as the top seed when the captain Bova was able to return to competition. With limited preparation heading into the quarterfinal, the early post-season success was even more impressive.
Guzman (Kizek) scored an impressive goal in the second game as time expired to give the Knights the 2-1 second game victory. After an early deficit in the third game Erik D'Attilio (Emonkc6) was able to bring the team back up to 3-3 tie in round 3, before two more quick goals for the Knights secured the quarterfinal victory. Bova (Unky) put up a solid performance all around.
Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors 12 varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's soccer, Esports and men's and women's track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (www.neccknights.com)