2019 American Ultimate Disc League season

The 2019 American Ultimate Disc League season was the eighth season for the league. It began on April 5, 2019, and concluded on August 11, 2019, when the New York Empire defeated the Dallas Roughnecks to earn the team's first title. Ben Jagt of the Empire won his first league MVP award after the season.[1] The season marked Steve Hall's first as league commissioner, and was the first with an all-star game for the league.

2019 American Ultimate Disc League season
LeagueAmerican Ultimate Disc League
SportUltimate
DurationApril 5 – August 11, 2019 (2019-04-05 – 2019-08-11)
Number of teams24
TV partner(s)Stadium
Regular season
Postseason
East Division championsNew York Empire
Midwest Division championsIndianapolis AlleyCats
West Division championsSan Diego Growlers
South Division championsRaleigh Flyers
Finals
ChampionsNew York Empire

Offseason

In early October 2018, AUDL franchise owners selected Steve Hall, a co-owner of the Atlanta Hustle, to be the new league commissioner for a three-year term. He succeeds previous commissioner Steve Gordon.[2] Around the same time, the league announced tentative plans for a women's ultimate league to be started as early as 2020.[3] Adding to the new endeavors, AUDL added an all-star game for the first time in league history and accordingly shortened the schedule from 14 to 12 regular-season games.[4] 2019 marked the second year of the league's television agreement with Stadium.

Two teams folded over the offseason, the San Francisco FlameThrowers and the Nashville NightWatch.[5] No new teams joined the league for the 2019 season.

Regular season

Each team played twelve games, contested over fifteen weeks in the regular-season schedule.

Week 1
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

Week 2
Date Home Goals Goals Away
4/12 San Jose Spiders 18 22 Los Angeles Aviators
4/13 New York Empire 21 18 DC Breeze
4/13 Austin Sol 19 17 Dallas Roughnecks
4/13 San Diego Growlers 25 24 San Jose Spiders
4/13 Atlanta Hustle 21 24 Raleigh Flyers
4/14 Indianapolis AlleyCats 20 22 Madison Radicals

The Austin Sol beat Texas rival Dallas Roughnecks for the first time in franchise history, snapping a twelve-game skid.[6]

Week 3
Date Home Goals Goals Away
4/20 DC Breeze 20 18 Philadelphia Phoenix
4/20 Seattle Cascades 20 24 Los Angeles Aviators
4/20 Minnesota Wind Chill 25 26 Chicago Wildfire
4/20 Madison Radicals 26 17 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
4/20 San Jose Spiders 16 21 San Diego Growlers
4/20 Indianapolis AlleyCats 26 22 Detroit Mechanix
4/20 Dallas Roughnecks 21 17 Austin Sol
4/20 Tampa Bay Cannons 17 14 Atlanta Hustle

Week 4
Date Home Goals Goals Away
4/26 San Diego Growlers 20 18 Seattle Cascades
4/27 Ottawa Outlaws 13 19 Toronto Rush
4/27 Detroit Mechanix 16 19 Indianapolis AlleyCats
4/27 Minnesota Wind Chill 25 22 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
4/27 Philadelphia Phoenix 16 25 New York Empire
4/27 Atlanta Hustle 15 21 Raleigh Flyers
4/27 Los Angeles Aviators 25 19 Seattle Cascades
4/28 New York Empire 23 19 Montreal Royal

Week 5
Date Home Goals Goals Away
5/4 Toronto Rush 21 16 Montreal Royal
5/4 Atlanta Hustle 23 19 Austin Sol
5/4 DC Breeze 24 15 Ottawa Outlaws
5/4 Chicago Wildfire 23 17 Minnesota Wind Chill
5/4 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 16 19 Indianapolis AlleyCats
5/4 Seattle Cascades 25 21 San Diego Growlers
5/4 San Jose Spiders 16 25 Los Angeles Aviators
5/5 Detroit Mechanix 22 31 Minnesota Wind Chill
5/5 Raleigh Flyers 23 18 Austin Sol
5/5 Philadelphia Phoenix 21 16 Ottawa Outlaws

Week 6
Date Home Goals Goals Away
5/11 Toronto Rush 26 25 Ottawa Outlaws
5/11 Los Angeles Aviators 21 27 San Diego Growlers
5/11 Madison Radicals 19 20 Minnesota Wind Chill
5/11 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 21 18 Chicago Wildfire
5/11 New York Empire 26 25 DC Breeze
5/11 San Jose Spiders 24 19 Seattle Cascades
5/11 Indianapolis AlleyCats 22 27 Atlanta Hustle
5/11 Austin Sol 21 25 Dallas Roughnecks
5/11 Tampa Bay Cannons 19 24 Raleigh Flyers

Week 7
Date Home Goals Goals Away
5/17 San Diego Growlers 32 20 San Jose Spiders
5/18 Los Angeles Aviators 24 21 San Jose Spiders
5/18 Chicago Wildfire 22 25 Madison Radicals
5/18 Minnesota Wind Chill 11 13 Indianapolis AlleyCats
5/18 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 24 11 Detroit Mechanix
5/18 Ottawa Outlaws 22 21 DC Breeze
5/18 Raleigh Flyers 25 22 Atlanta Hustle
5/18 Austin Sol 17 19 Tampa Bay Cannons
5/18 New York Empire 22 17 Toronto Rush
5/19 Montreal Royal 19 20 DC Breeze
5/19 Dallas Roughnecks 28 21 Tampa Bay Cannons
5/19 Philadelphia Phoenix 18 16 Toronto Rush

Week 8
Date Home Goals Goals Away
5/25 New York Empire 20 15 Ottawa Outlaws
5/25 Toronto Rush 22 15 Madison Radicals
5/25 Philadelphia Phoenix 15 25 Montreal Royal
5/25 Chicago Wildfire 18 17 Indianapolis AlleyCats
5/25 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 24 17 Minnesota Wind Chill
5/25 Atlanta Hustle 23 14 Tampa Bay Cannons
5/25 Dallas Roughnecks 20 15 Austin Sol
5/26 DC Breeze 27 17 Montreal Royal
5/26 Detroit Mechanix 14 16 Madison Radicals

Week 9
Date Home Goals Goals Away
6/1 Madison Radicals 15 18 Indianapolis AlleyCats
6/1 Detroit Mechanix 12 17 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
6/1 Minnesota Wind Chill 27 26 Chicago Wildfire
6/1 DC Breeze 19 20 New York Empire
6/1 Ottawa Outlaws 19 21 Montreal Royal
6/1 Seattle Cascades 22 25 San Jose Spiders
6/1 Tampa Bay Cannons 24 16 Austin Sol
6/1 Los Angeles Aviators 18 20 San Diego Growlers
6/2 Atlanta Hustle 24 25 Austin Sol
6/2 Toronto Rush 19 13 Montreal Royal

Week 10

No regular season games were held in week 10; instead, the inaugural AUDL All-Star contest was held.

Week 11
Date Home Goals Goals Away
6/14 Tampa Bay Cannons 20 25 Dallas Roughnecks
6/15 New York Empire 19 14 Philadelphia Phoenix
6/15 Montreal Royal 21 22 Ottawa Outlaws
6/15 DC Breeze 23 22 Toronto Rush
6/15 Minnesota Wind Chill 21 19 Madison Radicals
6/15 San Diego Growlers 17 18 Los Angeles Aviators
6/15 Raleigh Flyers 27 18 Dallas Roughnecks
6/15 San Jose Spiders 25 26 Seattle Cascades
6/16 Chicago Wildfire 24 16 Detroit Mechanix
6/16 Philadelphia Phoenix 16 21 DC Breeze

Week 12
Date Home Goals Goals Away
6/22 DC Breeze 21 18 Philadelphia Phoenix
6/22 Detroit Mechanix 11 24 Chicago Wildfire
6/22 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 21 20 Madison Radicals
6/22 Seattle Cascades 25 30 San Diego Growlers
6/22 Montreal Royal 23 22 Toronto Rush
6/22 San Jose Spiders 27 31 Los Angeles Aviators
6/22 Indianapolis AlleyCats 24 23 Minnesota Wind Chill
6/22 Raleigh Flyers 24 25 New York Empire
6/22 Dallas Roughnecks 29 22 Tampa Bay Cannons
6/23 Austin Sol 23 14 Tampa Bay Cannons
6/23 Ottawa Outlaws 17 22 Toronto Rush

Week 13
The Madison Radicals and Chicago Wildfire play at Breese Stevens Field on June 28.
Date Home Goals Goals Away
6/28 Madison Radicals 18 21 Chicago Wildfire
6/29 Toronto Rush 24 26 Philadelphia Phoenix
6/29 Minnesota Wind Chill 27 12 Detroit Mechanix
6/29 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 20 23 Indianapolis AlleyCats
6/29 Montreal Royal 19 22 New York Empire
6/29 San Diego Growlers 26 25 Seattle Cascades
6/29 Dallas Roughnecks 18 15 Atlanta Hustle
6/29 Tampa Bay Cannons 20 22 Raleigh Flyers
6/30 Austin Sol 21 22 Atlanta Hustle
6/30 Chicago Wildfire 12 6 Detroit Mechanix
6/30 Los Angeles Aviators 27 14 Seattle Cascades
6/30 Ottawa Outlaws 23 27 New York Empire

Week 14
Date Home Goals Goals Away
7/4 Montreal Royal 25 22 Ottawa Outlaws
7/5 Raleigh Flyers 22 15 Dallas Roughnecks
7/6 Detroit Mechanix 23 24 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
7/6 Toronto Rush 26 21 DC Breeze
7/6 Seattle Cascades 23 31 Los Angeles Aviators
7/6 Madison Radicals 22 17 Minnesota Wind Chill
7/6 Philadelphia Phoenix 20 22 New York Empire
7/6 San Jose Spiders 20 26 San Diego Growlers
7/6 Atlanta Hustle 23 19 Dallas Roughnecks
7/6 Indianapolis AlleyCats 24 21 Chicago Wildfire

Cameron Brock of the Indianapolis AlleyCats became the first player in AUDL history to score 500 career goals, a feat he accomplished in the Week 14 matchup against the Chicago Wildfire.[7]

Week 15
Date Home Goals Goals Away
7/13 Chicago Wildfire 16 29 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
7/13 Ottawa Outlaws 20 19 Philadelphia Phoenix
7/13 Raleigh Flyers 25 24 Tampa Bay Cannons
7/14 Madison Radicals 33 9 Detroit Mechanix
7/14 Montreal Royal 20 21 Philadelphia Phoenix
7/14 Indianapolis AlleyCats 17 25 Pittsburgh Thunderbirds

East Division
Team W L Qualifying position
New York Empire 120 East Division Final
Toronto Rush 75 East Division Playoff
DC Breeze 75
Montreal Royal 48
Philadelphia Phoenix 48
Ottawa Outlaws 39

Midwest Division
Team W L Qualifying position
Indianapolis AlleyCats 84 Midwest Division Final
Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 84 Midwest Division Playoff
Chicago Wildfire 75
Minnesota Wind Chill 66
Madison Radicals 66
Detroit Mechanix 012

The Madison Radicals did not participate in the postseason for the first time in franchise history, having made playoff appearances from 2013 to 2018.[8]

West Division
Team W L Qualifying position
San Diego Growlers 102 West Division Final
Los Angeles Aviators 93 West Division Final
San Jose Spiders 39
Seattle Cascades 210

South Division
Team W L Qualifying position
Raleigh Flyers 102 South Division Final
Dallas Roughnecks 84 South Division Final
Atlanta Hustle 57
Tampa Bay Cannons 48
Austin Sol 39

All-Star Game

The inaugural AUDL All-Star game was held on June 8, 2019, at Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin. The league opted not to go with conference all-star teams and instead utilized a draft format, with Rowan McDonnell of the DC Breeze and Kevin Petit-Scantling of the Madison Radicals serving as captains. It was regarded by those within the league as one of the highest-level games of Ultimate ever played. The game was televised live on Stadium as part of the network's deal with the league.[9] Team KPS won 28 – 27 after being tied at the end of regulation and overtime, with Max Sheppard of the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds being named MVP.[10] A 2020 edition of the game was later confirmed to be taking place in Washington, D. C.[11]

Postseason

Divisional playoff
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
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 advanced to their first Championship Weekend since the inaugural season of the AUDL in 2012.[12]

Championship Weekend 8

Championship Weekend 8 took place at Foothill College in San Jose, California from August 10–11, 2019.[13]

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 title, and Beau Kittredge won his fifth title overall. New York joined the 2016 Dallas Roughnecks and 2013 Toronto Rush as the only AUDL teams in history to finish a season undefeated.[14]

References
  1. "Ben Jagt Named 2019 AUDL MVP". American Ultimate Disc League. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  2. Eisenhood, Charlie. "AUDL Ratifies New Commissioner, Planning 2019 All-Star Game". Ultiworld. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  3. Eisenhood, Charlie. "AUDL Announces Plan To Form Women's League". Ultiworld. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. Eisenhood, Charlie. "Details On The AUDL All-Star Game, New Shortened 12-Game Season". Ultiworld. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. "Nashville NightWatch and San Francisco FlameThrowers Cease AUDL Operations". Sludge Output. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  6. "AUDL Throwaround: Austin Snaps Skid, Spiders Squashed, Empire Building". Ultiworld. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  7. "AUDL 2019: Cameron Brock 500th Career Goal". American Ultimate Disc League. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  8. "8 of 10 Teams Qualify For 2019 Playoffs". American Ultimate Disc League. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. Milewski, Todd. "AUDL sees marketing opportunity in inaugural all-star game at Breese Stevens Field". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  10. "AUDL All-Star Game". Sludge Output. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  11. "Washington DC to Host America Ultimate Disc League All-Star in 2020". Sludge Output. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  12. Lepler, Evan. "Friday Forecast August 9 2019". SoundCloud. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  13. "Highfive and the American Ultimate Disc League Announce National Partnership". Highfive. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  14. Ruffner, Adam. "Empire Stay Undefeated, Win First Title". American Ultimate Disc League. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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