Esports Rockets to National Semifinals

The ACC Lumberjacks are two wins away from a national championship.

Alpena Community College's Rocket League squad punched their ticket to the NECC Division 8 national semifinals Wednesday evening, defeating Mount Union in a seven-game quarterfinal series that swung back and forth before the Lumberjacks took control for good. The victory sends ACC into a semifinal matchup next Wednesday against Mercyhurst University (Pa.) — a program the Lumberjacks know well and have already beaten once this postseason.

The quarterfinal was anything but clean. Both programs traded punches throughout the night, and ACC had to fight from behind more than once to keep their season alive.

There was added suspense as team leader Charlie Best played the game, not from the ACC commons with his teammates, but remotely from a hotel room in South Dakota where he had traveled, leaving at 3:00 a.m. for the 2026 College Lineman Rodeo. The Lumberjacks' teamwork didn't suffer, but connection was lost with Best on a few occasions, including for an extended period of time in game five.

Game 1 — Mount Union 3, ACC 1. The Raiders came out sharp and handed the Lumberjacks an early deficit. Isaac Zocco provided ACC's lone goal, with Charlie Best picking up the assist and adding a save in a losing effort.

Game 2 — ACC 4, Mount Union 1. The Lumberjacks answered with force. Zocco caught fire with three goals, Best added one of his own, and the two combined for assists as well — Best and Max McCarty each credited with one. Best came up with a key save. ACC evened the series at one apiece.

Game 3 — Mount Union 3, ACC 1. Mount Union regrouped and retook the series lead. Zocco scored again to keep ACC on the board, McCarty had the assist, and both Zocco and McCarty made saves — but it wasn't enough. The Lumberjacks trailed in the series, 2-1.

Game 4 — ACC 3, Mount Union 2. The Lumberjacks needed a response, and they delivered a team effort. All three players scored — Zocco, Best, and McCarty each with a goal. McCarty and Best added assists, and it was Zocco who stood tallest defensively with six saves, McCarty adding two more. A complete performance, and the series was knotted at two.

Game 5 — Mount Union 6, ACC 5. This one stung. Best was offline at the start of the game and Mount Union raced out to a 3-0 lead, playing 3-on-2. ACC mounted a furious offensive comeback with Best reconnected — Zocco with three more goals, Best with two, Best adding an assist and Zocco three saves with Best and McCarty one each — but Best again lost connection in overtime and Mount Union edged the Lumberjacks in a high-scoring slugfest to retake the series lead at 3-2. The Lumberjacks were one loss from elimination.

Game 6 — ACC 5, Mount Union 1. Backs against the wall, ACC responded the way good teams do. Best and Zocco each scored twice, Best and McCarty each added an assist, and both Best and Zocco came up with saves. A dominant performance that forced a deciding game and brought the crowd — a room of fellow Lumberjack athletes and ACC sports fans watching on the projected big screen — back to life.

Game 7 — ACC 5, Mount Union 2. When it mattered most, the Lumberjacks delivered their best. Best scored twice, Zocco scored twice, and Best added two assists while McCarty chipped in one. Best came up with three saves, Zocco one more. ACC controlled the deciding game from start to finish and punched their ticket to the national semifinals.

When the dust settled on seven games, the Lumberjacks' trio had produced a remarkable collective performance. Zocco led all scorers on the night with 13 goals, Best added 8, and McCarty 3 — 24 total for the program. On the playmaking side, Best led with 7 assists and McCarty added 5. Defensively, Zocco was the anchor with 12 saves, Best contributed 8, and McCarty 4.

Zocco's 13-goal night was the offensive engine that kept ACC alive through three losses and powered the winning stretch. But it was the balanced contributions across all three players — particularly in Games 6 and 7 when every piece had to perform — that made the difference.

The Lumberjacks have built this program around exactly this kind of resilience. Coach Aaron Guitar's squad — led by Zocco, Best, and McCarty, all three of whom also suit up for ACC baseball — has proven all season that they can compete at the national level. Wednesday night proved they can also fight through adversity and close out a series when everything is on the line.

Now comes the next test.

The Lumberjacks and Mercyhurst University are no strangers. ACC dropped their regular-season meeting with the Lakers — a loss that no doubt sharpened this group's focus heading into the postseason. But when the two met again in the regional playoffs, the Lumberjacks turned the tables and sent Mercyhurst home. Next Wednesday's semifinal will be the rubber match, and it comes with a trip to the national championship game on the line.

A win sends ACC to the final, two wins from the first national title in ACC school history.

Alpena Community College. Two wins away.