2019 American Ultimate Disc League season facts for kids
| Season | 2019 |
|---|---|
| East Champions | New York Empire |
| Midwest Champions | Indianapolis AlleyCats |
| West Champions | San Diego Growlers |
| South Champions | Raleigh Flyers |
| AUDL Champions | New York Empire |
| Matches played | 126 |
| Goals scored | 5,246 (41.63 per match) |
| Most goals | 83 goals Quentin Bonnaud (MON) |
| Most assists | 74 assists Pawel Janas (CHI) |
| Most blocks | 28 blocks James Kittlesen (MIN) |
| Biggest home win | MAD 33 – 9 DET (July 14, 2019) |
| Biggest away win | DET 11 – 24 CHI (June 22, 2019) CHI 16 – 29 PIT (July 13, 2019) |
| Highest scoring | 58 goals SJ 27 – 31 LA (June 22, 2019) |
| Lowest scoring | 18 goals DET 6 – 12 CHI (June 30, 2019) |
| Longest winning run | 12 matches New York Empire |
| Longest losing run | 12 matches Detroit Mechanix |
|
← 2018
2020 →
All statistics correct as of July 1, 2019. |
|
The 2019 American Ultimate Disc League season was the eighth season for this exciting ultimate frisbee league. It started on April 5, 2019, and ended on August 11, 2019. The New York Empire won their very first championship title by beating the Dallas Roughnecks. Ben Jagt from the Empire team was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) after the season. This year was special because Steve Hall became the new league commissioner, and it was the first time the league held an All-Star Game!
Contents
What Happened Before the Season?
In October 2018, the owners of the AUDL teams chose Steve Hall to be the new leader, called the league commissioner. He would serve for three years. Around the same time, the league also talked about possibly starting a women's ultimate league in 2020.
To make things even more exciting, the AUDL decided to have its first-ever All-Star Game. Because of this new game, the regular season schedule was made a bit shorter. Teams played 12 games instead of 14. Also, 2019 was the second year that AUDL games were shown on the Stadium sports TV network.
Sadly, two teams, the San Francisco FlameThrowers and the Nashville NightWatch, stopped playing before the season began. No new teams joined the league for 2019.
The Regular Season Games
Each team played twelve games during the regular season, which lasted for fifteen weeks. Teams competed to get a good spot in the playoffs.
First Week of Games
The season kicked off with some exciting matches. Here are the results from the very first week:
| Date | Home | Goals | Goals | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/5 | Dallas Roughnecks | 19 | 17 | Raleigh Flyers |
| 4/6 | Austin Sol | 22 | 28 | Raleigh Flyers |
| 4/6 | Seattle Cascades | 27 | 28 | San Jose Spiders |
| 4/6 | San Diego Growlers | 20 | 18 | Los Angeles Aviators |
| 4/6 | Tampa Bay Cannons | 18 | 17 | Atlanta Hustle |
Season Highlights
Over the season, many exciting games happened. For example, the Austin Sol team beat their rivals, the Dallas Roughnecks, for the first time ever! This was a big win for them.
In Week 13, the Madison Radicals and Chicago Wildfire played an important game.
A special moment happened in Week 14. Cameron Brock from the Indianapolis AlleyCats became the first player in AUDL history to score 500 goals in his career! This is a huge achievement in ultimate frisbee.
Team Standings
After all the regular season games, teams were ranked in their divisions based on how many games they won and lost. The top teams moved on to the playoffs.
East Division
| Team | W | L | Qualifying position |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Empire | 12 | 0 | East Division Final |
| Toronto Rush | 7 | 5 | East Division Playoff |
| DC Breeze | 7 | 5 | |
| Montreal Royal | 4 | 8 | |
| Philadelphia Phoenix | 4 | 8 | |
| Ottawa Outlaws | 3 | 9 |
Midwest Division
| Team | W | L | Qualifying position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis AlleyCats | 8 | 4 | Midwest Division Final |
| Pittsburgh Thunderbirds | 8 | 4 | Midwest Division Playoff |
| Chicago Wildfire | 7 | 5 | |
| Minnesota Wind Chill | 6 | 6 | |
| Madison Radicals | 6 | 6 | |
| Detroit Mechanix | 0 | 12 |
The Madison Radicals team did not make it to the playoffs this year. This was the first time they missed the playoffs since 2013!
West Division
| Team | W | L | Qualifying position |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Growlers | 10 | 2 | West Division Final |
| Los Angeles Aviators | 9 | 3 | West Division Final |
| San Jose Spiders | 3 | 9 | |
| Seattle Cascades | 2 | 10 |
South Division
| Team | W | L | Qualifying position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh Flyers | 10 | 2 | South Division Final |
| Dallas Roughnecks | 8 | 4 | South Division Final |
| Atlanta Hustle | 5 | 7 | |
| Tampa Bay Cannons | 4 | 8 | |
| Austin Sol | 3 | 9 |
The First AUDL All-Star Game
The very first AUDL All-Star game was held on June 8, 2019, in Madison, Wisconsin. Instead of picking teams by East vs. West, the league had two captains, Rowan McDonnell and Kevin Petit-Scantling, draft players for their teams.
Many people who play ultimate frisbee said it was one of the best games ever played! The game was shown live on Stadium TV. Team KPS won a super close game, 28-27, after going into overtime. Max Sheppard was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the All-Star game.
The Playoff Games
After the regular season, the best teams moved on to the playoffs to compete for the championship.
Divisional Playoff Games
These games decided which teams would move on to the Divisional Finals.
| Date | Division | Home | Goals | Goals | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/20 | Midwest Division | Pittsburgh Thunderbirds | 21 | 20 | Chicago Wildfire |
| 7/20 | East Division | Toronto Rush | 22 | 21 | DC Breeze |
Divisional Final Games
The winners of these games earned a spot in the big Championship Weekend!
| Date | Division | Home | Goals | Goals | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/20 | West Division | San Diego Growlers | 25 | 21 | Los Angeles Aviators |
| 7/21 | East Division | New York Empire | 19 | 16 | Toronto Rush |
| 7/27 | South Division | Raleigh Flyers | 17 | 21 | Dallas Roughnecks |
| 7/27 | Midwest Division | Indianapolis AlleyCats | 23 | 17 | Pittsburgh Thunderbirds |
The Indianapolis AlleyCats made it to the Championship Weekend for the first time since the AUDL's very first season in 2012!
Championship Weekend 8
The final championship games were held at Foothill College in San Jose, California, on August 10 and 11, 2019. This is where the champion was crowned!
| Date | Match | Seed | Team | Goals | Goals | Team | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/10 | Semifinal | 1 | New York Empire | 17 | 15 | Indianapolis AlleyCats | 4 |
| 8/10 | Semifinal | 2 | Dallas Roughnecks | 23 | 18 | San Diego Growlers | 3 |
| 8/11 | Final | 1 | New York Empire | 26 | 22 | Dallas Roughnecks | 2 |
The New York Empire won their first-ever AUDL championship title! A player named Beau Kittredge won his fifth title overall, which is amazing. The New York Empire also joined a special group of teams, like the 2016 Dallas Roughnecks and 2013 Toronto Rush, as one of the few AUDL teams to finish a whole season without losing a single game!
