ESPORTS | 11/28/2022 11:59:00 PM

Charlotte, North Carolina - Borough of Manhattan Community College's Rocket League Squad Angel Castillo (Trappyy), Rodolfo Gonzalez (throneRl), and Michael Sing (A1Apostle) dominated the first three rounds of the 2022 NJCAAE Playoffs defeating Snow College and Iowa Central C.C. by the scores of 3-1 and 3-0 then avenged an early season loss with an upset of top seed Dallas College - North Lake 3-0 in the third round sending them to the program's first-ever semifinals appearance. The Panthers will face #5 seed Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in the semifinals match Sunday, December 4, at 1 p.m. 

Borough of Manhattan C.C. 3 Snow College 1
After exchanging the first six goals, the Panthers were able to grab two straight goals, all coming from Castillo, to take game one 6-4, with the winner coming with 33 seconds left and the insurance goal as time expired. Gonzalez led the way with four goals and two assists in the first game.

The Badgers opened the scoring at 4:55 to start game two before Gonzalez tied it at one apiece at the 4:28 mark. However, the Panthers would roll off nine straight goals to take game two, with the game-winner coming from Sing at 4:22 and four straight from Gonzalez to make it 6-1 at the 1:56 mark, and then Sing scored three of the remaining four goals putting the exclamation mark on the 10-1 rout with a tally with 19 seconds to go. Gonzalez finished with six goals, and Sing had four in the match. 

Snow College fought back to take game three 3-2, erasing a 2-1 Panther advantage with the last two goals burying the equalizer with 43 seconds remaining and the game-winning marker as time expired for the 3-2 victory.

The Panthers ended the suspense right there in game four, rolling off the first two goals at 4:40 and 4:11 courtesy of Gonzalez en route to a 6-0 romp to take the match three games to one.

Borough of Manhattan C.C. 3 Iowa Central Tritons 0
Both squads exchanged the first two goals of the match through the first four minutes of the game, with Iowa Central C.C. wasting no time getting to work scoring the first goal of game one at the 4:43 mark before BMCC evened it up at one with 3:44 to go on a Gonzalez marker. After the Tritons went back in front 2-1 with 3:01 to go, the Panthers responded right after, courtesy of Gonzalez burying the equalizer with 1:01 remaining to force overtime. Sing wasted no time putting the game away, scoring 18 seconds into overtime to give the Panthers a 3-2 victory in game one.

It was déjà vu for both teams in game two, with the Panthers and Tritons exchanging the first four goals. BMCC grabbed the first two goals at 4:27 by Sing and 3:16 by Gonzalez before Iowa Central C.C. knotted it up with the following two goals at the 2:28 and 1:56 mark. Gonzalez buried the game-winning marker 40 seconds later to make it 3-2 and put the Panthers one game away from taking the match.

BMCC came into the third game with the mentality of ending it early, scoring the first goal at the 4:25 mark on a tally from Castillo and at 1:25 on a goal from Sing to make it 2-0. The Tritons got within one, 2-1, with 1:16 to go, but the Panthers kept them from grabbing the equalizer to take the match in consecutive games 3-0.

Borough of Manhattan C.C. 3 Dallas College – North Lake 0
The Panthers took it right two the top-seeded Blazers from the start registering the first four goals of game one, with the opener coming at 3:45 courtesy of Gonzalez to make it 1-0. Then Sing notched the second one to make it 2-0 at the 3:29 mark then both made it 3-0 and 4-0 at 3:17 and 2:38. BMCC's shutout attempt was thwarted with 1:48 to go, but the Panthers got the result that mattered taking game one 4-1.

BMCC continued their red-hot momentum in game two, netting three of the first four goals with the opener coming at 4:23 by Castillo and two straight coming at the 3:00 mark to make it 2-1 and at 2:38 to make it 3-1. After the Blazers got within one, 3-2, with 2:30 remaining before the Panthers scored two straight to take game two by the score of 5-2, Castillo added some insurance to make it 4-2 at 1:18 then Gonzalez ended the scoring with 31 seconds left to make it 5-2. 

The Panthers upended #1 in the third game, with Castillo notching all three BMCC goals, with the game-winner coming at 1:03 to secure the program's first NJCAAE semifinals appearance.

The playoff brackets are available, and for more information, please visit the BMCC Esports Schedule Page. 

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of seven varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).