Jesus "frank" Causing writes about stockton's experience in the garden state esports collegiate rocket league series final, and highlights the players and plays that lead stockton all the way to this point.
Story by: Jesus Causing
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The Final Showdown
The Final Showdown
On Friday May 18th, Stockton University hosted the conclusion of the premier season for Garden State Esports’ Collegiate League. The league began with 4 colleges fighting for the cup. Stockton University, Camden County College, Rutgers University - Camden, and Brookdale Community College played in three in person tournaments over the past semester and now only Stockton University and Camden County were remaining after regulation. They would play in a best of 5 series to determine who would be crowned champion.
Stockton University’s roster has been flexible between seven players but the university’s top players would come out to the finals to show Stockton’s full potential. Anthony “Anthony8Pizza” Cooper, John “TopCheese” Merendino, and Alex “Valk” Schindler would go head to head against Camden County’s Ant, Exodus and X to see who would take it all in Garden State Esports Inaugural Collegiate Season.
Alex "Valk" Schindler, confident before his match
Alex "Valk" Schindler and Anthony "Anthony8Pizza" Cooper focused during their match
The Fast-Paced Final Games
The Fast-Paced Final Games
The first game of the series would prove Stockton came to play as within the first thirty seconds of play, Valk would sneak in a goal to put Stockton on the Board. The long standing duo of TopCheese and Anthony8Pizza would follow up Valk’s explosive start by scoring three more goals until the clock ran out and Stockton would take game 1 4-0. Something to note here is that Camden County rarely won their first game in any given series but still managed to make an impressive run in their inaugural NACE season so maybe this was simply Camden’s plan.
Game Two started with Valk bringing the heat once again, scoring within the first TEN seconds and the following it up with an impressive defense for the first minute of the game. Camden wouldn't go down without a fight and with 2:45 left on the clock Ant would score their first goal of the series. The dynamic duo of Anthony8Pizza and TopCheese wouldn’t let the game stay tied and within the next minute would both score a goal each. Despite another goal from Ant, Stockton would finish this game with Anthony8Pizza scoring with no time left on the clock for a final game score of 4-2 and a 2-0 record in the series.
The third game became a showcase of Anthony8Pizza's offensive prowess. After a calculated possession, he set the tone with a goal within the first thirty seconds. While Exodus managed a response goal, it was merely a temporary setback. Anthony8Pizza orchestrated a dominant performance, setting up plays and scoring goals himself. Four more goals poured in from Stockton. The final buzzer sounded, sealing a decisive 5-1 victory and 3-0 sweep for Stockton University.
Stockton Emerges Victorious
Stockton Emerges Victorious
This victory for Stockton came after a long season of competing across the state of New Jersey for the prior rounds of the tournament. The Rocket League finals was hosted along with the rest of Garden State Esports' High School Finals at Stockton University, but prior to that each of the participating schools in the conference held an in-person tournament series beforehand. This meant Stockton hosted an earlier round, but our team also had to travel to Camden County College, Rutgers University in Camden, and Brookdale Community College to compete throughout the semester.
In each of these rounds, Stockton's' team gave it their all and emerged first in points prior to the finals. This achievement demonstrates the dedication of our Rocket League team as a whole, including the support and hard work of our substitute players and coaches including: Alex "Large" Lee, Michael "Ferd" Parker, Howard "Bolt" Haughton, William "Squill" Mazal, Tony "Sqzz" Roselli, and Nico "Virecy" Edwards. While these students may not have been able to play in the finals, their support was invaluable in creating a successful season.
John "TopCheese" Merendino, excited at the conclusion of the series
Story by: Jesus Causing
Jesus “frAnk” Causing was the 2022-2024 Student Competitive Leader for Stockton Esports. His coaching history began with Qualifying for the North America League Championship series in 2013 and was an integral part of developing the structure of Stockton Esports during his tenure.
Photos courtesy of Ja'Dir Turner (instagram: @ jadir.turner, www.jtshots.org)
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