DANVILLE, Ky. – The National Esports Collegiate Conferences (NECC) Championship has come to an end, Rocket League closing their campaign in the National Championship match versus Tarleton State.

First Round: (April 24^th)
Centre 3, Saginaw Valley State (Blue) 0
2-1, 6-1, 4-0
 
The first two rounds of the Nationals bracket were best of five. Round one vs SVSU Blue was a familiar face from the regional conference and looked even more dominant for the Colonels than their regular season match. Round one was close with Centre only winning by one. After a slow start, all three goals were scored with only two minutes remaining. Round two began the onslaught from Centre. Things started off with a long-range pinch from Sush (Grant Walker) and Duroxy (Eddie Mora) and ended with an aggressive buzzer beater from the pair, adding four goals in between. Allstar (Porter Kelley) led in goals and shot attempts in the third round with three and six.
 
Quarterfinals: (April 24^th)
Centre 3, University of Saint Mary (Gold) 0
5-2, 5-0, 2-0

The Quarterfinals vs Saint Mary were a similar clean sweep. USM took the first goal but was matched by Allstar. Duroxy scored second and was answered by USM. This would be USM's last point of the evening. Three more technical shots from Centre let them finish with a strong lead. Round two was Centre's most dominant. Duroxy tied with Sush for goals at two a piece but Duroxy led in saves with an impressive six. Game three was the heartbreaker for USM. Several promising offensive maneuvers from USM were stopped by Centre on defense, giving the Colonels an opportunity to effortlessly convert into their own two goals in the final of the series.
 
Semifinals: (May 1^st)
Centre 4, Post 0
4-2, 5-2, 2-0, 4-1

Centre earned themselves another clean sweep in their best of seven semifinals match. Centre was scored on first which allowed them to get a sense of their opponent's playstyle and adjust. Pivoting to an aggressive, team-play style, Centre was able to overwhelm Post and did not trail again. Kickoff goals played a big part in Centre's win. After a slow start in round two, Centre's offense came alive with 13 total shot attempts. Post called a timeout before game three and proceeded to play their most competitive round. In the final moments, two shots from Post looked nearly perfect but saved by Allstar and Duroxy. Duroxy converted the second of these into a goal with nine second left to seal the deal. In game four, team captain Allstar showcased his prowess with kickoffs, scoring three goals in a row in tight succession.
 
Championship: (May 8^th)
Centre 2, Tarleton State White 4
5-1, 2-3, 1-2, 1-2, 3-2, 0-1

A win streak of 23 was put to an end in an extremely tight match. Centre ended the evening with one more goal than Tarleton with a score of 12-11 but fell short in a few key moments in game two, three, five, and six. The Colonels started strong, winning game one easily with Duroxy putting on a masterclass performance towards the end. However, in the following three rounds, Tarleton tightened their defense substantially to match Centre's pressure. The Colonels lost the next three rounds by a single goal. In game five, the match point, Tarleton gained an early 2-0 lead, but an overextension on a defensive play by Tarleton let Duroxy send a goal in. Allstar followed with a textbook goal with 18 seconds remaining. Overtime lasted for three minutes when Allstar found the golden goal after a scramble at the Texans' net. Unfortunately, Centre's luck ran out and Tarleton would finish the match in game six with a single goal, despite several very close shots on goal from Centre. 
 
In addition to two Conference Championship wins (PBC Champ Div and NECC Div VI East), this year marked the most successful Nationals run and longest win streak in program history.