Who are the best players in the Metro East region? This is an open thread to discuss All-Region nominations, All-Freshman nominations, coaching awards, and more. Stay positive and keep it civil.
POTY: All three of the women I’d like to nominate exemplify the same qualities.
They are tireless: playing almost every point, of every game in every tournament.
They are leaders: organizing their teams at practice and tournaments.
They mark up on the other team’s best players. They are the focal point of the offense.
In short, without these women the team’s they play for would be unrecognizable.
Kateri Boucher - Hamilton
Elizabeth “Liz” Kuzman-McCrea - SUNY Geneseo
Madeline “Mad dog” Schwenker-Punnett - SUNY Geneseo
Hey, I’m one of the Men’s captains at SUNY Geneseo. I’ve seen a lot of our women’s team all season against national-contention competition as well as within the region. To echo what TheRealBlueMune said, both Liz Kuzman-Mcrae (#9) & Maddy Punnett (#14) should be in contention for POTY. Both of these women play enormous roles on a Geneseo team that’s seen a lot of success so far this year. Off the field, they are team leaders that have had a big part in building Geneseo’s Ultimate program into something much more serious. I tried to find some photos to attach, but honestly if you watch any amount of Escargot’s games, you will see these two stand out. Good luck to all teams competing this weekend at Regionals, I’m sure there will be many impressive players to talk about as far as All-Region teams in another post after!
I am a senior at the College of New Jersey for their men’s team and want to give two shout outs to two senior women on TCNJ Anarchy.
Cara Silvestri (19) is one of the best cutters and overall players in the region. After baggaging with her for summer league and seeing her growth after playing Jughandle this summer, I am confident that she can dominate at Regionals. Somehow she has energy every point of the game to run down a deep huck or help out on defense. She is incredibly consistent in all facets, completing all throws and laying out whenever necessary. As a second year captain, she has the respect of her teammates and can lead them to a strong performance.
Liz O’Grady (13) is also a very strong player in the entire region. This is going to be her third year on Jughandle and her game has progressed very quickly. She has the ability to facilitate the offense in the handler set as well as go up and get hucks using her strong height. On defense she always the ability to turn it on and shut down almost any player on the field. She has the ability to get her teammates involved on offense, allowing the disc to move very smoothly on that end. Expect Cara and Liz to be featured cutters on the Anarchy offensive line.
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I live in the area, and I totally agree! I came to this thread to nominate Cara Silvestri, and I’m glad to see she is already here. She is such a fit, fast workhorse with great hands. She lays it all out for her team.
And DUH, Liz O’Grady! I actually forgot she is in college because she is so good. She can take anybody deep, and she will sky you. Also, it’s not what she’s know for but look out for her backhand huck.
Check out Kateri Boucher’s (Hamilton College) Donovan nomination!
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I’m on the men’s team and just want to give a few shoutouts to some stand out players.
Syd Taylor-Klaus is for first-year but already is one of the key players for Vicious Circles. She plays valuable points and makes her presense felt phsically by making plays downfield and with her polished throws. A Paideia alum, she comes from a wealth of ultimate skill and IQ. She is very deserving of freshman of the year consideration.
Chi Chi Wakabayahi is a do it all player for Vicious circles. She’ll shut you down on the mark, handblock you, throw a break, then streak for the score. She excels at all facets of the game and is one of the main handlers for the team but also will cut and catch goals when she is needed. Vish and Chi Chi will surely put teams on notice this weekend at regionals.
Tessa Hill is a force. An athletic player who plays without fear she dominates the cutting space for the defending regional champs. The fact that she didn’t get an all-region nod last season is a disappointment. She was one of the top goal scores at nationals last season scoring 19 goals. At regionals you’ll see her skills.
SUNY Oneonta:
Laura Murphy #9 - easily the best player on the team. She literally plays every point of every game. She handles, she cuts, she jumps higher than any girl I know. She uses her incredible athleticism to completely shut down teams deep throws. She fires up the team with her amazing D’s and out of no where catches. She has a throw for every situation she’s in. She was All- Freshman in 2015. This season Laura had 37 goals, 52 assists, 57 D’s according to our stat tracker (Ulti-analytics).
Hamilton:
Audrey Love #39- very similar player to Laura. Its very fun to watch them cover each other. She is a difference maker on Hamilton’s team. If she isn’t playing then it seems like Hamilton’s game drops a level (even though they still ball hard always). If Aud is on the field, she isn’t just covering her girl, but the whole field. You can’t get past her on defense. On offense, you should put 2 girls on her because one isn’t enough. This is all even more impressive because rumor has it she’s injured. Definitely has my vote. Good luck at Bent tryouts!
Oneonta:
Candace Haskell (48) - She’s arguably the hardest working player in the entire Metro East. She suffered a torn ACL in late October and rehabbed her butt off so she could play along side her teammates at sectionals less than 6 months after her surgery. She came back from her injury better than ever. On offense, she’s one of the Metro East’s top throwers and gets the disc every second or third pass. On defense, she’s a key piece of Love Seat’s deadly zone. She’s a Donovan award nominee and more than deserving of the All Region honors, could even be the region’s POTY.
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