July 22, 2019
By Evan Lepler

Throughout the 2019 season, the AUDL’s weekly honor roll will be revealed each Monday, honoring seven players whose individual exploits merit recognition. The players are listed alphabetically by last name.

1. Mark Fedorenko, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds—Despite finishing scoreless in the goals and assists department for just the third time in his 57 career games as a membere of the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, Mark Fedorenko earned his place among the weekend’s sensational seven with his defense and distribution consistency on a day when top throwers’ turnovers were piling up. In a topsy-turvy game where every possession mattered, the 27-year-old cutter completed all 25 of his throws, but his biggest impact might have been the three blocks he recorded, including a denial of Chicago’s last-second huck that could have tied the game at the buzzer. The skying D ignited a delirious celebration for the Thunderbirds, who are heading to the Midwest title game for the fourth time in Fedorenko’s five years on the team.
    
2. Max Hume, San Diego Growlers—Not too many D-line guys score multiple goals in the first four minutes of a game, but that’s exactly what Max Hume did on Saturday night in San Diego, helping the San Diego Growlers defense set the tone by breaking LA’s offense twice in their first three chances. On a night when the Growlers had 11 different players who recorded at least one block, Hume was a clutch and timely striker when the D-line had the disc, scoring three goals overall as San Diego advanced to Championship Weekend for the first time in franchise history. After the game, Hume’s long-time teammate Dom Leggio declared, “Max Hume is the most underrated player in frisbee! He always has the toughest assignment and then, after we get the disc, he’s the fastest player on the field. He’s an absolute stud, and if you don’t know his name, you’re not watching close enough.”
    
3. Isaiah Masek-Kelly, Toronto Rush—While unable to replicate his near-flawless Saturday performance on Sunday, the Toronto Rush would not have advanced to the East title game against New York if not for Isaiah Masek-Kelly’s all-around performance against the Breeze. Playing O-line consistently for the first time in 2019, he completed all 35 of his throws against DC, accumulating five assists, three goals, and one block. Furthermore, he calmly handled the abundant defensive pressure in the pivotal moments to find an open Andrew Carroll for the game-winning score with three seconds left. He touched the disc even more in Sunday’s setback, completing 43-of-46 passes for a Toronto team that was missing a couple of its O-line stalwarts from the season in Nathan Hirst and Geoff Powell. In fact, Masek-Kelly played almost as many offensive points this past weekend (40) as he did in the 12-game regular season (47).
    
4. Rowan McDonnell, DC Breeze—Though his team’s 2019 season ended on Saturday against Masek-Kelly’s Rush, Rowan McDonnell remained the unguardable for the DC Breeze downfield presence he has been all season, catching eight goals and dishing four assists, almost 60 percent of his team’s 21-goal offensive output. As usual, McDonnell also crossed over and played a ton of D-points, putting him at 33 points played in the game, eight more than any of his teammates. His final goal on Saturday was the 150th of his career, 106 of which have come over the past two seasons. He also has 103 assists and 68 hockey assists since the start of 2018.
    
5. Jibran Mieser, New York Empire—A somewhat unlikely hero on the New York Empire superteam, the 26-year-old Jibran Mieser, who had recorded just three blocks all season, came up with three clutch Ds on Sunday against Toronto. In his case, it was particularly noteworthy because  Mieser played 90 percent O-line over the past two seasons, but he thrived on defense against the Rush, chasing and limiting Akifumi Muraoka throughout much of the game. After the game, Mieser told the AUDL.tv telecast, “I’ve always been a D-line player at heart. I started there and I love playing defense. Last couple years, I’ve been playing O, cutting and getting my  throws up, but I’ve always loved playing defense. I think it’s so much fun. I was excited when [Coach Bryan Jones] wanted me to cross over. So I was ready. And it’s the East Division champs, so I was pumped!”
    
6. Scott Radlauer, San Diego Growlers—With a modest final stat line of one goal, one assist, and one block, Scott Radlauer’s defensive explosiveness and offensive skill were on display in critical moments of San Diego’s 25-21 triumph on Saturday night. In the opening quarter, his gorgeous lefty flick threaded the needle to the back corner of the end zone for one of Hume’s early goals. But his biggest play of the game came after the Aviators had taken their first lead with 4:48 left in the third. Following a Growlers’ offensive hold, Radlauer delivered brilliant bookends to surge his team back in front, and San Diego would not trail again in its first ever postseason victory. After the game, his teammates raved about his playmaking ability and clutch conversions to help carry the Growlers to Championship Weekend.
    

7. Jack Williams, New York Empire—While four of New York’s top five disc distributors all had multiple throwaways on Sunday, Jack Williams was a perfect 30-for-30, sprinkling in three assists and a goal in his steady 22 points on the field, tied for the most on the team. Believe it or not, it was Williams’ first zero-turnover performance of the season and just the second time he has finished a game with a 100 percent completion rate over the past two years, spanning 25 games. The Rush defense put plenty of pressure on New York thought the game, but Williams’ steadiness and consistency helped the Empire win another close one to improve to 13-0 and move on to the final four.