Columbia, MD – The Howard Community College Dragons pulled off a shocking upset to defeat the #1 seed Northcentral Technical College (NTC) and take home the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Rocket League championship. The Dragons were able to sweep the match 4-0 in the best of seven series to stun the esports community.
Howard CC came into the match having lost to NTC twice in the regular season; both by the score of 3-1. After a grueling path to reach the finals, Howard CC found their peak play at just the right time.
In game one the Dragons fell behind early, but star player
Logan Ghandi (/) scored two goals in to give Howard a 3-2 victory to jump ahead in the match. In game two,
Akaash Patel (/) scored an amazing aerial goal to take the lead, but NTC tied the game with one second remaining to send the game to overtime. In the extra period, Patel slammed home a ball from point blank range two minutes in to take game two 3-2.
Game three saw the Dragons fall behind early until team captain
Jeremy Hotchkiss (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) hit a beautiful cross to set up Ghandi, then Hotchkiss scored himself on a high flying goal to tie the game at 2-2. Hotchkiss scored a second goal closely after, but NTC tied it seconds later for a 3-3 slugfest. In the waning seconds, Patel turned a great defensive clear into a breakaway goal to take the lead with 30 seconds left and take the 3-0 lead in the match.
On championship point, Patel boosted into the air to power a goal in 15 seconds into the game then scored 30 seconds later on a Hotchkiss assist from way above. NTC tied it up at 2-2, but Ghandi fought through the entire NTC defense slam home the go ahead goal with a minute left. Hotchkiss came flying in with 30 seconds left to score the insurance goal and ensure the championship trophy came home to the Dragons.
Howard CC made an incredible run through the playoffs, coming from behind in the quarter finals to defeat the Army West Point Academy 3-2 then repeating that task in the semifinals against the vaunted University of Alabame Crimson Tide.
With the victory, the Dragons became the first team in NECC history to win multiple championships and the first team to win championships in different game titles.
