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.
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Out of SUNY Oneonta Iād like to shoutout a few of our guys. First, Matt (Cardinal) Eicher (#29). Dude is an all around beast, racks up layout blocks and grabs, skies, and has great throws. Heās our do it all guy and is one of the funniest, friendliest and most spirited guys I know. Next, for freshman of the year Iād like to draw some attention to Joe Ferrara (#17). Joe is a freshman who came in having played in high school. He immediately slotted into our starting D-Line and is one of our grittiest players. Heās one of our best deep threats despite being on the shorter end (5ā 6"?), and he slotted into our handling corps without a problem despite having only a month of college playing experience (and despite the fact he really really likes cutting).
Outside of our guys Iād like to mention some others. Based on the fall (we only played one spring tournament, thanks weather) Anthony Prato from Geneseo is still a beast, and their usual cast of skilled players (I donāt know their names). Alex Cureri and Andrew Yale out of RPI are also some of the best and most spirited guys Iāve ever played against.
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Disclaimer: I play with this god of a player.
Alex āCurryā āMilkmanā āThe spiced milkmanā Curerri is the best all around player I have seen in the metro east region. He plays lock-down defense and is always there for Trudge on offense. In tight situations or close games it seems as if the entire teem turns to Curry for not only on-field production, but also leadership. His up-lines are art, backhands slicing through the cup are poetry, and his layouts are a beautifully written Shakespearean sonnet. That said his temper may be short and coach David āDaddyā Ferraro often tries in vain to keep him calm. Though he has his weaknesses, it is undeniable that when he is in the zone, Curry is an unstoppable whirlwind of pure ultimate skill. One time after he throw through Wesleyanās cup no less than 7 times in one point I heard one of the exasperated cup defenders yell after the point āthis is why we donāt run zone against themā. He truly is the most complete player in DIII metro east menās ultimate and is leading Trudge to an amazing season. If all of this wasnāt enough, he wore leggings to our last party and I must admit, he has the most slap-able ass on the team.
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From Skidmore Isaac āAppleā Appel (#11) is a very deserving candidate for FOTY.
Most committed team member ever, and definitely a core member of the team. High school experience shows a ton with great field sense, and a HUGE variety of throws. Apple is already a leading handler for Skidmore, but also excels at defense and is notorious for the layout-D right off the pull. Definitely a player to watch out for the next couple years, as heās already a standout player as a freshman. Also, checkout this dudes instagram if you want to see some textbook layouts. ALSo loves making friends with good matchups-- like a true frisbee player. Vote Apple 2018.
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Gotta write another post to hype up my own team, RPI Trudge (again slightly Biased). This one is about David āDaddyā Ferraro our coach. How our captains managed to brainwash this poor man into coaching our team I have no clue. One day he is winning a national title with Ironside, the next he is coaching a metro east d-III team that didnāt even make regionals last year. Due to my rookie status, I was not there for our 2017 sectionals melt down but sources say that we played tight lines in a close loss against army and continued to play these tight lines against the next three teams and wound up losing four straight games to go. Our team at the begining of the season was a couple of top guys who are either oldies or played in highschool and a bunch of bleary eyed mathematicians. Dave has worked all season to play deep lines throughout tournaments and develop our unathletic army of engineers, even though some of our best players are often yearning to play both ways (Iām looking at you Curry).
Dave has worked tirelessly to change the teams mindset. We have been one to hang our heads after things donāt go our way but at our last tournament we really flipped it around. Our O-line got broken off of a pretty awful drop from yours truly and instead of our usual head hanging, we were bombarded with high-fives as we walked to the opposite line to receive.
Our biggest change on the playing field is our end-zone offense which Dave completely changed. When I arrived at this school in the fall, the end zone offense was completely reliant off of one throw scores and had about a two thirds success rate. Now, I believe we have a higher level end-zone offense than anyone in our region. To be honest, I think its a better system then my club teamās (get your shit together storm). Whenever we go into our end-zone offense, I am completely confident we will score AS LONG AS WE JUST RUN THE NORMAL END-ZONE OFFENSE AND NOT TRY AND DO TOO MUCH OF OUR OWN SHIT CURRY.
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Coming from a teammate, but Josh Winward (#4) has to be in the conversation for player of the year. He is dynamic on offense as an athlete and can make any throw on the field. His field sense is off the charts and has proven to be a great leader for our team. Beyond that we have two freshman who should be in the conversation as well. Ethan Reiser (#6) is the best athlete to come through our ultimate program during my time here, and it shows in how he plays. He plays lock down defense against some of our regionās best players and is constantly open on offense (like literally all the time). Beyond that, Pete Paasche (#29) has become one of our starting handlers and has made big throw after big throw for us this spring. He has been equally important in our zone defense as his 40 foot long arms take away everything from opposing teams. Beyond looking like a combination of Draco Malfoy and Joffrey Baratheon heās got a lot going for him.
In terms of guys from other teams, Jon Wellers from Hamilton is an absolute beast and reminds me a lot of 2016 metro east player of the year Ethan āBonesā Jones from Colgate. He gets huge in the air and has an arsenal of throws to compliment his athleticism. Beyond that, he is a super nice guy and makes playing against Hamilton a lot of fun (albeit infuriating at times). Gennyās core handlers are some of the fastest guys I have played against and donāt make mistakes, ever. Cardinal from Oneonta is also an unbelievable athlete and has had some unreal layouts against us throughout the year.
See yaāll in Oneonta next week.
Marist is the DarkHorse of the region for specifically 4 reasons: Oliver Fay (Freshman), Noah Fay (Rookie Sophomore), Andrew Muskinin (Freshman), and Jack Hueber (Sophomore). Just a reminder for those who do not know Marist FOXU they are graduating one senior and have only one junior. This is a team that failed to make Regionals 3 seasons in a row. Now full of a bunch of young guns they stole a bid in dramatic fashion away from the reigning regional champions in Army, a team that brought back most of its talent from last year. Could one game be a fluke? It most certainly could, but letās look at the other major games they have played this season. In their first tournament of the season at West Point, they were up double game point to Wesleyan (#1 seed in the region). They rolled through RPI (#2 seed in the region) in the first game of sectionals with a score of 13-10. In their infamous game against Army (#3 seed in the region) the trounced them in a beat down by a score of 15-8. Marist means business.
Oliver āThe Kidā Fay is the best player the metro-east has ever seen. On offense, he is a handler? No waitā¦a cutter? Something in between? He does it all, simply a swiss army knife of talents. He does what the team needs him to do no questions asked. On defense, there is one word to describe him: Juggernaut. At 6ā5" 200 pounds, Oliver is a force on the field. He has every throw in the book and throws with uncanny consists. The offense runs through him and his twin brother, both of which are way too tall to guard. This kid is a highlight reel waiting to explode. If he doesnāt get a layout D in a game itās a surprise. Skyās are inevitable. You canāt guard him, only try to contain his wrath. He can flip a switch and take over games, as seen in the game to go against Army at sectionals in which had 8 assists and 3 goalsā¦thatās 11 out of the 15 scores. He is a 2-way player capable of playing every single point in a tournament. Wow.
Noah āThe Bankā Fay is one of the best, arguably #1 offensive player in the region. Why do we call him āThe Bankā? Itās because this kid simply throws dimes. Soaring backhands (check), laser flicks (check), cross-field hammers (check), lefty scoobers (check). Due to his height 6ā6" he is able to release the disc from anywhere, he throws the disc as if there were no mark. During the entirety of conferences, this behemoth of a man racked up 42 assists. Not including Oliver Fayās total of 29 he doubled the number of assists of the team combined. Along with Oliver Fay, Noah plays both O and D. When the turn inevitably occurs it is a two-man wrecking team from there. The only way to stop thisā¦donāt turn the disc.
Andrew āThe Showā Muscadin. Unguardable comes to mind when you see this freshman play. Just looking at his lanky 6ā3" frame you can tell this man can take off. You wouldnāt be wrong. Noah Fay and Oliver Fay will launch 50/50 discs his way 100% of the time. If you donāt place any deep help your team will end up on the wrong side of a highlight tape.
Jack āThe Track Starā Hueber, if you see number 6 across the line donāt guard him. He will run you off the field. Iām serious this man is relentless. In cut after in cut, it will make you question your existence. This does not mean he has no deep game. If you let Jack expose you he will. He has an unbelievable read of the disc and will come down with 50/50ās at a jarring pace. This mans has hands of magnets.
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Hi, Iām the coach of Marist College. After conferences this weekend wanted to write a post and give some credit out to those I saw play.
Marist: The Fay brothers, Noah (#36) and Oliver (#41, freshman), have made a huge impact on our team this season on both offense and defense. Noah has lead our team in assists with Oliver in second. Both use their height very much to their advantage making plays in the air and laying out all over the field.
Jack Hueber (#6) is fast as lightning. Always looking for the disc Jack gives defenders fits with quick inside cuts or burning them on deep looks.
Andrew Muscadin (#13, freshman) can jump with the best of them. The kid has hops and puts it on display every game. He has lead our team in points scored on the season.
Army: I thought Hunter Hill (#33) and Gino Nicosia (#1) were the best players for Army this weekend. Both very shifty making their defenders work on every point.
RPI: Alex Curreri (#4) got loose a few times and made us pay for it. Andrew Yale (#9) was a factor as well consistently making plays.
Hartford: Gabe Voisin (#19) was killing us all game with inside flicks. I thought he stood out for Hartford in our game.
This post is ridiculous but I love it and support it 100%
I am one of the captains of RPI Trudge the aforementioned āSpiced Milkmanā and hopefully wonāt get as annoying as my teammate (freshmen am I right). After this past weekend at sectionals, there are a number of players that I would like to shout out in the region who are absolute beasts but also have great spirit that makes playing against them both frustrating and fun. Unfortunately, I didnāt get to play much of the Western NY or Metro NY sections, but if TJ Stanton from Stevens doesnāt make the list I will quit frisbee. Dude made Empire this year.
Army:
Montana Bellinger - If you donāt know this Captain America of a man then you must be living under a boulder (which he can jump over). Not only an absurd vertical but probably the most spirited player I have ever played against.
Hunter Hill - He is definitely a main piece for Army and has developed some amazing throws over the years. We were playing on the field next to Army at one point and there was literally nothing the defense could do because any time the played well downfield he would break the mark.
Gino Nicosia - Literally the only way we were able to stop him was when they called for Gino the whole sideline screamed at his defender āits you its you.ā He still got open most of the time.
Wesleyan:
Christopher Moetell - A core player for Wesleyan that has really brought a lot of spirit to his team. Donāt try to stop his hucks because heāll just fake you out and throw it the other way.
Saint Rose:
Zach Grappone - Zach and I often matchup on each other, both in college and club. I love playing against him because I know that I am getting better every time he roasts me upline or deep.
Geneseo (forgot this initially but thought of it after)
Anthony āPlatoā Prato - Has to be one of the best young players (only a sophomore) from the Albany area. I would not be surprised to see him playing for PoNY or another nationals level club team in a couple of years.
For my team, I would like to shout out my co-captain Andrew Yale. Anyone who has played against us knows Yale for his huge layouts and 20 yard unders which he proceeds to put perfectly in the end zone for a streaking cutter. Luckily we are both on the same line so he can never layout D me in practice.
For FOTY I think Bryce Markel is a very strong candidate, he came in with club experience and immediately became a staple on our O-line. It was unfortunate to see him go out in the first game of sectionals because I know he was going to tear it up.
Sorry, I am turning into the freshman I guess, but lastly, I have to give a huge shoutout to coach. David Ferraro who is more than qualified to coach high-level DI teams but has coached Trudge up from last at sectionals to second (and hopefully further).
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I canāt see anyone else being named coach of the region other than Maristās Corey āCommanderā Vaccaro. He is an absolute genius, like Brad Stevens level mastermind. Some might think that is a joke but the comparison is completely fair. Marist is a team that retired its senior core A.K.A The Big Three. Coming into this season there were little no expectations for Marist to even make a dent on the scene, yet here they are outperforming their previous counterparts. So maybe Corey Vaccaro is even better than Brad Stevensā¦
Marist is a team comprised of almost solely Freshman and Sophomores; the team that played at conferences and will play at regionals will only have one senior and one junior. Let that sink in. Marist isnāt struggling to find an identity either, this is solely due to the work of none other than Corey Vaccaro. I think his most notable work was done on the final day of Conferences when a Marist team with their back against the wall was able to pull out the most improbable win. Straight off two tough losses, both games to go, Marist was in disarray. Spirits were low and tempers were high no one expected Marist to beat the reigning regional champions in west point. But like a steady flame cutting through the darkness, Corey was able to rally his legion of men around him and will them to victory.
Now letās get into why Corey is the greatest coach to grace the Metro East. He is a true players coach; every single player on this team is willing to give arm and leg for him. He doesnāt over coach. This is a major problem that affects many other coaches. You will never see Corey spending an hour on the line explaining the minutia of the game. He knows that what he has taught in practice will be brought into the game, and does not have the insecurities to second guess that. Yes, there is a time and place for in-game adjustments but he will not jeopardize the flow of the game to get them across. Lastly, he excellently navigates the issues that need to be addressed between his high skill players and the ones new to the sport. This last attribute that Corey has under his belt is most paramount in D3 ultimate where a team is receiving players of great disparities in skill.
āāThe key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.ā -Bobby Knightā
-Corey Vaccaro
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Hey guys this is Josh Winward (#4), one of the captains of Colgate Jabberwock. After this weekend at Regionals there are a few people that I want to shout out. First on our own team I need to shout out my co-captains Ben Reiser (#5) and Brian Rose (#33), they are some of the fastest guys out there making them dominant cutters and defenders and will get open whenever they want. Reiser and his younger brother are our go to endzone cutters as nobody seems to be able to stay with them for more than a second. Additionally, we have two freshman Ethan Reiser (#1) and Ethan āPeteā Paasche (#61) who absolutely deserve to make the all-freshman team. Ethan reiser is one of the most physically dominant and athletic players to come through Colgateās program. There is hardly anyone in our region who can shut him down and once he gets his throws down heās gonna be unstoppable. Pete Paasche came into college with 4 years of high school experience and it shows. He is one of our starting D-line handlers with really solid throws and uses his height to play some solid lock down defense.
Geneseo: Tim Nguyen (#10), and Couch (#42) are both really quick and frustrating players to defend. These guys can absolutely shred any zone with their handler movement and are both really fun and spirited guys to play against. Plato (#11) is a monster and can be found laying out for everything and throwing dimes across the field. Also Declan (#99) should be in the conversation for the all freshman team.
Hamilton: John Wellers (#42) and Elias (#25) are two freak athletes, these guys can beat anyone in the air and have the throws to back it up as well. They both deserve to be first team all region and are going to be a nightmare to deal with in the coming years.
Oneonta: Cardinal is clearly the best player on their team and is always super fun and spirited to play against.
Stevens Tech: T.J Stanton is hands down one of the best players in our region he already plays in the AUDL and it shows.
Wesleyan: Even though we didnāt get to play them much I have to give a shoutout to my former HS teammate Chris Moetell (#18) he is clearly their go-to guy and is a super patient and smart handler with great field sense.
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Hey all, this is Steven Criscione a Clarkson Mountaineers player. We would like to acknowledge a few players who really stood out in our minds.
Hartel Smith - The captain of the Saint Lawrence Rukus Bus. He is the obvious leader of the team, and has played a major role on their team for the last four years. Itās clear in his playing, that he is confident, and has a wide variety of throws in his arsenal. Despite the rivalry that our schools share in every other sport, he has helped us maintain good relations, and has great spirit. Weāre sad to see him leave.
Bubs - Player on Fredonia. We donāt know his real name, but every seemed to know his nickname. On the field he shredded our cup with his insane high release throws, and quick strike cuts. Thatās not all he is capable of, heās got every throw and great man to man defensive skills.
Cardinal - SUNY Oneonta. We couldnāt count how many goals he scored on us during sectionals. Every disc was his, and thatās all we need to say. Probably the best cutter we saw, and great defender too.
Geneseo- The snails have a lethal group of players that we have played against many times, and they just keep getting better. Prato, Couch, Tim, and Dan can work through any zone with great patience and given the opportunity, any of them can break it and score with ease. They are also great all around athletes, in all aspects ultimate.
I would also like to thank our captains this year, Cameron Smith #6, and Greg Burganowski #00.
Greg is a self proclaimed Coach/captain/player in that order and while you may never see him on an upwind hold, he puts in work on the sidelines and off the field making sure our team is always ready to go.
Cameron is a great player who can lead the team on the field. He is a little quiet, but as only a sophomore he shows great potential as a future leader on the team.
They along with a handful of our players have been trying to get our new team āThe Mountaineersā moving forward. Coming from a small school with little interest in competitive play, we have come along way over the past two years and are trying to keep growing and become more involved in the competitive ultimate community. Hopefully we can keep the numbers on this team, and see you all next year.
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Couch from Geneseo here (Real Name: Kevin Burke for those who were wondering). Just wanted to post to shout out everyone who played this weekend for bringing such a high level of competition and spirit to the uncontestably most Metro-East Regionals tournament of my college career. We played semis and finals in literal snow, in April, how much more on brand could we be? Anyway, I wanted to highlight a few players that stood out through the weekend and the four years Iāve played, that I think deserve to get All-Region nods.
TCNJ: #88 was maybe the most athletic player on the field and ripped a few discs out of the air when we tested him. Really impressive throws and person-defense all game as well.
Hamilton: First of all, you guys have been my favorite team to play against. The past few years we have had so many incredibly close games and managed to maintain exemplary levels of sportsmanship in all of them. #4 Eric Jo-handsome is really athletic downfield and has big hucks. #7 Tom Morris is one of the most stable pure-handlers. He hangs out near the disc but always manages to get it back even with strong defenders on him. Plus he has nice lefty backhands. #42 was their go-to cutter who rips discs out of the air. #49 (jack?) has great inside breaks and quick handler movement. All deserve nods for first and second-team all region.
Colgate: Josh is their best athlete, and always willing to put his body on the line. He laid out like crazy in our quarterfinals game. The Reiser brothers are also extremely good cutters who deserve mentioning.
Wesleyan: This team had a consistently high level of talent for their top 10-12 guys. #23 stood out for great throws and a great mustache. #2 was extremely fast and had great break throws and defense. #18 seemed like their go-to guy with the disc. #3 (Freshman?) was extremely fast, good out of the air, and consistent with throwing. Really good team overall thatās gonna be in the mix for the next few years. Sorry that our twitter guy thought you were named āWestleyanā.
Stevens: we didnāt play you guys in the postseason, but matched up early this semester and TJ Stanton is still fast as hell and great at throwing his other cutters open.
RPI: Curry can do it all for them on the field and Ferraro is a great coach. They honestly flustered the hell out of our O-line with a really good force-middle and managed to find the end-zone way more than we did on marathon points. So many reliable throwers who donāt turn the disc. Great vert stack offense.
Geneseo: Anthony Prato #11 is the first or second best player in the Region. If you played us, you probably know he is the go-to guy. He can cover your best guy, cut downfield and roof kids, or handle with great hucks and consistent throws. Definitely First team all-region, could be POTY in the next few years. Dan Stern #54 has the biggest hucks of anyone in the region. The biggest layout Dās too. Check out his Donovan video. Max Moritz #28 is the most athletic person I have ever played any sport with. Every tournament I wait for him to come back to earth but no he keeps jumping out of his shoes or laying out around defenders for the disc. Best hands on the team ( 
) and every now and then a big huck to keep the D honest. Tim Nguyen #10 is the quickest handler I know with crazy inside breaks and will literally risk his life to maintain possession on offense. Finally, Declan McLary #99 has to be the best freshman in the Region. If we played you, Declan probably had at least two skies for goals. He matched up with other teamsā best players all weekend and managed to get a bunch of layout Dās.
Clarkson: Steve, Ily. Please come steal the knobs from 54 again. I wonāt live there anymore. Also, youāre really good at frisbee. Congrats to you guys on deciding to play competitively and then making it to Regionals the first year, taking down a lot of established programs on the way. Understatement of the year was, āYeah, Clarkson has a solid zone and doesnāt play drunk anymore.ā You guys could definitely ball.
Honorable mentions: Matt āCardinalā Eicher from Oneonta. We didnāt play you this year but he is a wild athlete. Jon Gill and Adam Bubb from Fred are great players whoāve been spirited and competitive to match up against for the past 4 years.
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Hey everyone, my name is Anthony Prato, I am one of the Geneseo Snail captains from this year. Just wanted to shout out some dudes who really stood out to me both on and off the field throughout my first two years.
RPI: Curry is an awesome player. He was definitely my favorite match up this year, and over the summer in club practices. He is really well-spirited as well, he never got chippy about calls or disputes when we played RPI. I think heās probably the best player in the region. The rest of their squad was solid as well, everyone played good defense, crushed unders, and had solid throws. Shoutout to them for going to natties, thatās pretty awesome.
Wesleyan: #13, #2, and the kid with the long curly red hair (forgot his #) all stood out to me as really talented and spirited players. Throughout our two games with them this weekend they were never confrontational and tactfully handled disputes on the field, while respecting discussions when they were on the sideline. #7 is an awesome dude, we got into a pretty brutal collision and he didnāt call a foul because he honestly thought it wasnāt the right call to make. That is pretty hard to do in the semifinals, so props to him for putting spirit first.
TCNJ: Couch mentioned this earlier, but #88 you are insane, I canāt think of anyone that we played that wouldāve been able to chase you around for a full game. Super fast.
Hamilton: god i love you guys. Although i was injured when we played you at sectionals and didnāt play in the final game of pool play at regionals, you guys still stood out as the most spirited team we played. The banter is always great with you guys, and the past two seasons i look back on our most fun games and you guys top the list by a lot. #4 has gigantic throws and is super handsome. #42 is a beast out of the air and has throws to make himself a dual threat. Also is super handsome. #7 is a great guy who has always come up to say hey and ask how snail is doing, and heās a crafty handler who seems to always get the disc when he needs to. Oh yeah, and heās handsome af. Honestly I am finding myself saying this stuff about your entire roster, so Iāll stop here.
Colgate: Ethan Reiser is a dude who i got to match up with a lot in quarters. Heās a freshman who cuts like a vet. He is also really cool and often resolves arguments on the field, despite only being on their team for a year. Watch out a couple years down the line, he is a freak athlete.
Stevens Tech: TJ is mad good and super spirited. He is faster than everybody. Like actually everyone.
Clarkson: Steve Criscione is really good and is a big part of why they took a big step up in competitiveness this season. Canāt wait to win another summer league title with you by my side <3
Geneseo: I need to shoutout some guys who Iāve had the pleasure of playing with my first two years. Dan Stern #54 is super good at ultimate; see Couchās post for his Donovan video. Couch #42 is that dude who lays out like a maniac, and despite always landing in the most awkward ways, always just pops up and keeps playing. Tim Nguyen #10 is our really quick handler with silky throws. As couch said, Tim risks his life to keep the disc alive, I have honestly thought he seriously injured himself more than 10 times this season. Max #28 and Charlie #00 are two sophomore cutters who took up huge roles for us this year, and didnāt flinch in doing so. They are both awesome players with great spirit, and deserve recognition for playing integral roles in our success this season. Finally, Declan McLary #99 should get a nod on the all-freshmen team. He was a defensive monster this year and would frequently be put on the other teamās best athletes. He catches tons of goals and got a few crucial layout blocks on Sunday this past weekend.
Great season everyone, I canāt wait to see all of you next year!
P.S. Hereās some pics of Couch and Declan
Couch: 
Declan: 
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