[Gabe Salas Jr.]

That is true, but it does not matter if the robot caps it early or not. They will still get penalized.

FIRST defines GOALTENDING (rule 4.3.1) when "a ROBOT interferes with a SMALL ball on its downward flight toward a goal or within a goal."

Rule G20 states that "ROBOTS cannot GOALTEND either the Mobile or Stationary Goals. If a ROBOT GOALTENDs or DESCORES any SMALL ball, the referee will throw a green penalty flag and the opponent's final score will be increased by twice the value of that SMALL ball."

The following rule (G21) mentions that, "a ROBOT holding a LARGE Ball, that ball will be considered an extension of the ROBOT."

So if I read this correctly, if a robot attempts to cap a 2X ball into a goal, and a small ball (thrown by a human player) hits the robot or the goal during this process. The team attempting to cap the 2X ball will get penalized for GOALTENDING.