September 1, 2026
By Evan Lepler

“Seven On The Line” is part two of The Tuesday Toss, highlighting seven more important storylines around the UFA. Read part one here.

1. Crawford Spans the Eras of UFA Champions

When the franchise debuted as the San Jose Spiders back in 2014, they were an immediate powerhouse. Their first signee, the great Beau Kittredge, would win two MVP awards with the Spiders and five UFA championships before his career was over. But after the franchise claimed back-to-back titles in ’14 and ’15, a full decade went by between postseason victories.

In fact, Matt Crawford is the only player to connect the two championship eras. The now 39-year-old suited up for 12 games as a UFA rookie in 2015 and continued to contribute into the Oakland era, which officially began in 2022. While he only played in three games this season, coaches and teammates repeatedly praised his leadership as a veteran presence.

“Matt Crawford has been an indispensable part of our program this season,” said first-year Spiders Coach Liam Kreiss. “At the beginning of the season, we thought he’d be more in a mentor role; we know that he has that championship experience that our coaching staff doesn’t necessarily have, so we definitely wanted to lean on him. And then he played so well every single practice that we thought he could make us better on the field. That was really cool to see. He was able to set the Spiders career plus/minus record this year, passing Beau Kittredge, so that’s a huge accomplishment for Craw’s career, and in the Slack, he sends us inspirational messages before every game.”

Photo by Ron Sellers

Back in May, Crawford reflected on his tenure with the team, expressing tremendous gratitude and appreciation for his career as it ventured into its second decade.

“I’m simply thankful, now and for the journey,” said Crawford, after completing 27-of-28 passes in the team’s mid-May victory over San Diego. “They’ve kept me around the last couple seasons to serve as a veteran/mentor with no expectation to see the field, yet I’m proud of the way I’ve been able to contribute to our success on-the-field by continuing to hone my craft and stay ready.”

Even in the early stages of the season, Crawford was confident that this Spiders team had the championship feel and would put in the work to get there.

“This group is very special, and the player accountability is very high,” he said. “We all want to become the best versions of ourselves and, therefore, the best version of this team…Yes, we are young and talented, yet there’s an unbelievable amount of experience too. It’s one thing to be young and talented, another to play with a certain level of maturity. That may be what impresses me most about this group.”  

2. Unfortunate Minnesota Injuries Loom Large

When Will Brandt went down early in the third quarter of Thursday’s semifinal, it was a large dose of adversity that would obviously be tough to overcome. Teammate Gordon Larson even expressed somewhat tempered enthusiasm after the victory over the Sol, contemplating the unfortunate circumstances that had prevented the team’s 2024 Championship Weekend MVP from finishing the game.

“It was a fun game, but felt like we couldn’t be as outwardly fun as we would usually like to be, because we’re feeling for our teammate,” said Larson, who threw eight assists in Minnesota’s semifinal win over Austin. “It really made us focus. We were fighting for Will out there.”

One night later, with Brandt inactive, it felt likely that Nate De Morgan, who led the Wind Chill in scores during the regular season but had been relatively quiet offensively in Thursday’s semi, would assume a larger workload on the Minnesota O-line. But shortly before the opening pull, De Morgan endured a fluky injury during warmups, which ultimately prevented him from taking the field for the championship challenge against the Spiders.

“It was just an under-pressure collision,” said Feldman, explaining what happened during a halftime interview. [De Morgan] kinda turned into the guy who was defending him and went down hard on his arm or elbow. Really bad stinger. There was just a ton of pain. You can’t play this game with 19 guys out of the gates, and so we had to make a really tough call.”

Suddenly, the Chill were without their top two scoring threats, who produced 56 goals and 60 assists combined during the 2026 season. There’s no doubt the Wind Chill have elite depth, with arguably more capable playmakers among the bottom 10-15 names on the roster than any other team in the league. But to be missing two premier pieces against an opponent as strong as Oakland proved too much to overcome.

Minnesota, perhaps because Brandt and De Morgan were missing, was also unable to replicate their end-of-quarter prowess that they showed against the Sol. Whereas the Wind Chill scored four goals with 11 seconds or fewer remaining across the first three quarters on Thursday vs. Austin, Minnesota came up empty on all of their late-clock opportunities on Friday against the Spiders.

At halftime, they only trailed 11-8, but Feldman bemoaned the fact that his team had been beaten at its own game, unable to capitalize on possessions as the clock was winding down.

“It’s special teams,” said Feldman, frustrated. “We can’t lose both end of quarters.”

3. Late-Quarter Mistakes Stifle the Sol

There was a lot to like about Austin’s overall performance on Thursday evening. Despite falling behind 10-6, the Sol defense converted three breaks of their four breaks during a 5-1 second-quarter spurt, surging back to tie the semifinal at 11-all with 2:24 left until halftime.

But a disastrous sequence late in the second proved incredibly costly.

Brandt snagged one of his five pre-injury scores with just five seconds left in the second, inching the Chill in front by one. Austin had a chance to tie it up, or at worst, trail by just a single score at the half.

But Kyle Henke’s centering pass was stunningly blocked by a sprinting Kyle Suelflow, and Minnesota quickly used a timeout to preserve the remaining seconds. On the restart, Brandt delivered a high-stall scoring pass to Bryan Vohnoutka, giving the Wind Chill a 14-12 lead with just one second left.

“We’ve practiced it multiple times, and one of these times we’ll get it right,” remarked Sol Co-Coach Joe Iannacone at halftime, clearly frustrated by the team’s inability to be better in these critical situations.

Considering that Austin also allowed Zach Morton scores with one second left in the first and 10 seconds remaining in the third, all together the Wind Chill scored four goals in the final 11 seconds of the first three periods. In a game that ended 28-24 in Minnesota’s favor, those end-of-quarter miscues were even more magnified.

Overall, Kyle Henke led the Sol with nine scores and 659 total yards, while Mark Henke had seven scores, including several dramatic snags that fired up the Austin fans in the stands. But the team will spend much of the offseason contemplating how it can improve in all the special team situations, which can obviously contribute significantly to the small margins that separate joyful victories from disappointing defeats.

4. What Happened to the Empire?

Watching New York struggle so mightily against Oakland on Thursday was probably the biggest surprise of the entire weekend.

No single Empire player had more than two turnovers, but the Spiders, by aggressively challenging resets and disconnecting key cutters, seemingly paralyzed New York’s offensive rhythm for most of the night. The Oakland defense also utilized selective double-teams on New York’s star handler Alex Atkins, minimizing his impact early in the game. Atkins did finish the night with almost 900 total yards, but the vast majority of those came in the second half when the Empire were playing catch-up, and Atkins’s body language exuded multiple layers of frustration.

Meanwhile, the Empire defense got very little production from so many of the key role players that had been huge in the East Division final against Boston. Bobby Elston, Luke Barry, and Drew Schnaudigal, all of whom had moments of brilliance in the win over the Glory, all finished with no scores and no blocks against the Spiders. And John Randolph, the team’s bona fide D-line star, was also a relative non-factor.

Look, I’m not here to completely bury the Empire. They certainly looked like the favorite after their road win over Boston, ending the Glory’s championship reign. But they also failed to rediscover that East Division playoff form at Championship Weekend, coming up short in virtually every category against an elite Oakland team that was peaking at the right time.

After the game, rumors swirled about whether Jack Williams might retire. Ben Jagt had a brilliant season, but the two-time MVP will turn 35 next summer. Furthermore, who knows if Daan De Marree will stick around New York for another season after jettisoning Chicago after just a single year? Will the Empire be comfortable continuing to roll out Solomon Ruechemeyer-Bailey and Braden Eberhard together as handlers when neither is super comfortable taking deep shots, a fact that the Spiders exploited masterfully this past Thursday?

Obviously, there are a bunch of important conversations for the Empire to confront in the upcoming offseason. Certainly, no one should count out New York when thinking about who will represent the East at Championship Weekend next year, but with the way this season ended, it would be surprising if it’s the exact same squad returning for 2027.

This did not feel like a business-as-usual season-ending loss, and it’s the second straight year you might say that about New York, following the team’s 23-12 drubbing at the hands of the Breeze in 2025. Even though they got back to Championship Weekend for the first time since ’23, the way they stumbled in the semis suggests that the Empire won’t just sit tight and run it back next season.

5. From Unknown to Champion, Kreiss Deflects Praise While Savoring the Moment

When the Spiders introduced Liam Kreiss as their new head coach over the winter, he was, outside of the Bay Area, a complete unknown. But after one season at the helm, the 28-year-old is now a championship-winning coach.

Not that Kreiss was hunting credit for all of the Spiders’ success, though.

“I give all the credit to the captains,” said Kreiss. “The captains are the leaders of this team. I was just doing my best to support them and have hard conversations when they had to happen. But these captains have been doing it so long.”

Even as the captains still carried significant weight in important team decisions, it was clear Kreiss’s work ethic, demeanor, and style fit in well pretty quickly.

“I think something that makes me really want to fight for Coach Liam is how much he puts into the team and how organized he is, how much he gives to every player, how open he is to giving individual feedback, sending film clips, etc,” said Oakland star Dan Ritthaler. “Anytime a coach shows that they care so much about the team’s success in all those little ways, it makes it a lot easier as a player to both respect and trust what they’re saying, but also want to give that level as well to the team too. From the very start, he’s treated it like a professional operation, and that’s very much worn off on the team, both consciously and subconsciously. I think we’ve all just found ourselves giving a little bit more around the edges to the program this year because he’s been leading by example in that way.”

One thing about the modern era of the UFA is that a single head coach cannot really do it alone, and year after year, some of the league’s greatest masterminds are some of the unsung assistants. Kreiss repeatedly emphasized how critically important it was that Joey Ricks, who served as an assistant for the Spiders in 2025 under Caleb Merriam, chose to remain as an assistant for the ’26 Spiders as well.

“[Ricks’] relationships with the players gave us credibility and trust that was essential in getting the team to buy in to our game plans and processes,” said Kreiss. “And he’s beloved by everyone on the team. He was our defensive coach for the season and architected the most comprehensive shutdown of the ‘greatest offense in league history’ in semis, then turned around and held a team averaging over 24 goals per game to just 16 goals in the finals…I absolutely believe he was the best coach in the country this year. In any other pro sport, he’d have 10-plus offers to head coach the other teams in the league right now.”

6. Another Awesome Championship Weekend Atmosphere

I wanted to take a moment to shout out all the fans who traveled in from out of town to attend Championship Weekend. It really felt like all four teams arrived with their own core group of fans, and even with the unprecedented Thursday-Friday dynamic for the semis and finals, it was another awesome atmosphere at Breese Stevens Field.

Not sure anything will ever compare to the Madison Radicals becoming champions in front of a completely packed house on their home field in 2018, but considering that the hometown Radicals were not competing, Breese Stevens Field was still lively and loud throughout all the games this past weekend.

This was the fifth time that Madison has hosted Championship Weekend, and the Capital City of Ultimate always delivers. On a personal note, Friday’s final was the 38th UFA game I’ve had the privilege of broadcasting at Breese Stevens Field, and I truly hope there will be many more. 

7. The Premier Women’s Ultimate League

For the second year in a row, the undercard for the UFA Championship tilt was another compelling frisbee showcase. And for the second consecutive time, the PUL looked like the superior collection of women and non-binary athletes.

The Western Ultimate League, buoyed by Katelynn Roling’s team-high six scores and 389 total yards, led by one midway through the third quarter, but then the Premier Ultimate League rallied for seven straight scores, transforming a 13-12 deficit into a 19-13 advantage with just over nine minutes left. Even though the WUL scrapped for the final four goals of the game, it was ultimately too little, too late.

Dena Elimelech led the PUL with six scores and Rachel Mast tallied six blocks, part of a game-high plus-10 performance, but MVP honors went to Eileen Bequette, a former nationally-ranked collegiate heptathlete, who produced a game-best 277 receiving yards along with three goals and one assist.

Photo by Daniel Cohen

The Western Ultimate League clearly made strides after losing last year’s All-Star showcase 16-9, but after going winless in the cross-coast clash for two seasons in a row, WUL leaders will be hoping that the third time might be the charm in 2027.

Personally, I hope this All-Star affair continues to happen prior to the UFA title game. It’s only two years in, but it feels like an awesome annual tradition, and it’s cool to see so many of the world’s top female superstars at Breese Stevens Field as an appetizer before our final game of the season.

The Hammer

And just like that, another UFA season is over.

The ending always feels abrupt and a little sad, but the conclusion also marks another satisfying milestone, both for the league and for the Tuesday Toss.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been crafting this weekly column since 2015, chronicling the wild stories, personalities, and emotions of our league throughout the season. The moment I submit ‘Seven on the Line’ each week serves as my natural reset button, where I usually get to take a deep breath or two before transitioning to whatever travel logistics and Friday Night Frisbee broadcast are up next. Since January, it’s been 40 separate Tosses, including all the two-parters.

But who’s counting? (Obviously, me and only me.)

After 11 years writing and 12 years broadcasting professional ultimate, it truly remains a passion project, and I’m grateful to still have the opportunity to travel our land and present our sport to the world. I realize how incredibly fortunate I am, and I really appreciate all the kind words and messages that many readers have shared throughout the season.

In the aftermath of Championship Weekend—and a stretch of spending 18 of the past 20 weekends on the road broadcasting—I find myself yearning for a break. But at the same time, it’s hard not to remain hungry for another season, with so many storylines already percolating in my mind.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, watching, and following the UFA during the 2026 season! It’s a privilege to remain immersed in frisbee, and I’m already counting down the days until the ’27 opener.

(In case you’re curious, it’s only around 234 sleeps away.)

Rest well, stay in touch, and congratulations to the Oakland Spiders, a deserving, worthy, and perhaps era-shifting champion!