Moon, PA- They don't call it the Elite Eight for nothing. Two of the top teams left in the NACE Rocket League Playoffs went head to head in a massive matchup for a chance to advance to the Final Four. Robert Morris entered as the 3 seed in Bracket Seed, the lowest seed in any bracket to reach the Elite 8. Their opponent was the University of Texas at Dallas, the #1 seed in Bracket C and the 3rd overall team out of the 61 team field.
The two teams went back and forth in a grueling best of 5 series that went the distance. Despite finding themselves down 2-1 after Game 3 and facing elimination from the tournament, RMU rose to the occasion winning games 4 and 5. They completed the comeback to win the series 3-2, and would move on to play Missouri in the Final Four. The recap of that match can also be found here at rmuclubsports.com.
Game 1: RMU Wins 2-1 (OT)
The opening game of the match signaled two patterns to watch out for throughout the series. The first being UT Dallas' ability to score early in a game. The Comets scored within the first 30 seconds of the game. They would score within the opening minute in 4 of the series' 5 matches. The other trend was games going to overtime. Each of the first three games of the series went to overtime. RMU was able to make the OT winner in Game 1, but not Games 2 or 3.
However, reaching overtime did not even look like a possibility with 5 seconds left. UT Dallas still held a 1-0 lead with the time remaining trickling into the final seconds. RMU would need some more late game heroics similar to their thrilling series clinching goal against Northwood to force overtime. As fate would have it, the man who was in perfect position to end the Northwood series was also the one to extend Game 1 of the UT Dallas Series. Reprivation (
Michael Campbell) sent a last second floater from his own zone, and Captain_IceFire (
Chris Willard) launched an aerial screamer home with only 1 second to go to force OT!
In overtime, it only took another minute for RMU to seal the deal. UT Dallas cleared the ball to the midfield line on the nearside and both Reprivation and a UT Dallas defender went for the loose ball. Rep got to it first and launched a long shot on goal. UT Dallas had no one back and the ball found its way home to give the Colonials the 2-1 win and the 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: RMU Loses 2-1 (OT)
Game 2 started eerily similar to Game 1 with the Comets taking a very early lead. This time around though, the Colonials did not need to wait till the closing seconds to tie the game. Reprivation crossed a wonderful ball to the middle of the field where Captain_IceFire buried with a overhead aerial to tie the game only a minute in. From there the teams traded quality chances but neither could get one to go until overtime.
The Comets scored two and a half minutes into the overtime period to tie the series back at 1-1. While he hadn't made his presence felt on the scoreboard yet, captain Slurpe (
Ryan Conti) was brilliant defensively in the bout, recording 4 saves in the Game 2 loss.
Game 3: RMU Loses 3-2 (OT)
Once again Robert Morris found themselves in a hole early when the Comets struck first for the 3rd straight game. Despite the early deficit once again, the Colonials drew even again 40 seconds later with a screamer from Captain_IceFire right in front of the net. UT Dallas retook the lead to make it 2-1 with just over two minutes to play in the game, but it would be a short lived lead. Less than 15 seconds after UT Dallas scored, RMU scored as well. Captain_IceFire drove hard to the net and got a lucky bounce from the post and the defender's positioning and snuck it home to make it a 2-2 game.
UT Dallas ultimately won the game 3-2 in OT and put RMU on the brink of elimination. Pressure began to mount for RMU, and the spectators watching live on the stream started jawing at each other a bit as we entered the 4th game. One that would be RMU's last of the season if they didn't pick it up.
Game 4: RMU Wins 4-2
For yet another straight game, the odds weren't looking good for the Colonials. The Comets got on the board first to make it a 1-0 game for the 4th straight game in the series. Yet it didn't stop Robert Morris. They came out with a mission in mind and started finally connecting on high quality chances they failed to bury earlier in the series. Slurpe finally broke through offensively with his first goal of the series to tie the game at 1-1 with 4 minutes to play.
Over the next 35 seconds, RMU would add another 2 goals to extend their lead to 3-1. The 2 goal lead was the largest either team had all series to that point. Slurpe got his second of the game within 15 seconds of his first to give RMU their first lead in any game since the OT winner in Game 1. Captain_IceFire banked in a sharp angle shot off a defenseman seconds after to make it a 3-1 Colonial lead. Reprivation added into the action later in the match to make it 4-1 RMU. The Comets got a goal as time expired, but RMU forced a Game 5 with the victory.
Game 5: RMU Wins 4-2
The first four games of the series now became irrelevant. Both team had 1 game left to prove who would be moving on to play against #1 Overall Missouri later that night. For the first time all series, it was the Colonials who struck first. It took nearly two minutes for RMU to score, but a cheeky dropshot from Captain_IceFire found its way home. UT Dallas tied it seconds later to make it a 1-1 game.
At the 2:51 mark remaining in the game, IceFire scored again with a nearside aerial to make it 2-1. The Comets fought back though and tied it just past the halfway mark of the decisive game. Both teams were playing at top speed, burning through boost at a rapid pace and constantly focused on the next offensive chance. Neither team was playing lock down defensive anymore, it was full throttle offensive. And someone was gonna win, and the other would crash and burn.
Reprivation scored what would ultimately be credited as the game winning goal with 2:23 to go. Off the faceoff, he sent a screamer from midfield that surprised the defense and found its way home. Slurpe added the insurance goal not long after to make the gmae 4-2. It was at this score the game stood, and RMU and the fans in the stream chat celebrated as the team would move on to the Final Four against the strongest team in the league, Missouri.
Alexander Gagnon '21
Club Sport Information Director
