Carleton CUT advanced to their first final since 2017.
May 26, 2025 by Alex Rubin in Recap
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BURLINGTON, WA — In front of a raucous crowd at Burlington-Edison High School, #5 Carleton CUT pulled away in the second half to knock off #3 UMass Zoodisc and earn their place in Monday’s final.
“It was so awesome,” Zoodisc’s Ethan Lieman recalled after the game. “Obviously the crowd, mostly Seattle people, were not cheering for us, but it went by so fast. It was awesome having people react for every close bid or huck that went up. Just hearing the crowd roar was amazing.”
Known for winning games on the strength of their nearly-pristine offense, CUT’s defense took center stage and shut down a UMass O-line that up to this point looked like one of the best in the division.
“They definitely brought a different type of intensity than we saw this weekend,” Lieman said. “They hit us with some flatter marks and more pressure on the resets. They junked up the cutting lanes that we were used to being able to move in so easily in the rest of the tournament. They pushed us into a corner and the pressure built up and we felt like we had to make some decisions that didn’t always represent us and our motto and they ended up punishing us and capitalizing on our mistakes.”
While CUT needed to gut out close games against #2 North Carolina Darkside in pool play and #6 Cal Poly SLO SLOCORE in a tight quarterfinal, UMass was not as challenged at Nationals. They dispatched #8 Oregon State Beavers in pool play, but otherwise played the teams ranked #13, #14, #17, and #23 in our power rankings.
CUT were able to play this game comfortably, building a two point lead during the first two points of the game. For the first break, Ryan duSaire drew the Ethan Lieman matchup, and raced down Wyatt Kellman’s away shot, getting two hands on it before Lieman could adjust to the underthrown huck. The other direction, Nate De Morgan’s hammer has not missed its target yet this tournament and found Thomas Shope all alone in the end zone. As many redzone defenses collapse around the open side underneath space, De Morgan’s hammer has become a weapon to attack the break side of the field, which is often wide open.
From there, Carleton had the luxury of crossing over their stars for key break moments. With loads of fresh legs on the sidelines, CUT pressured UMass into smaller and smaller windows. Needing to relieve the pressure somehow, Luca Harwood boomed a huck just before halftime that Daniel Chen and De Morgan were able to cover. De Morgan ended up with the goal, charging to the front of the end zone to receive a little dish from Axel Olson.
Those two would also connect on the final score of the game, a fitting symbol of the importance of this rookie class to CUT’s success. On top of that, it also highlighted the growth seen from Olson over the course of the season. Olson entered the college ranks as a highly touted throwing prospect, but with questions about his durability and ability to handle the physicality of the D-I college game. He not only has been able to hold his own against bigger, stronger defenders, but he gets called upon often to cross over to the D-line himself.
“You see the videos of the skinny short dude who is really good at throwing, and I think, ‘oh yeah I’ve seen this mold before. This guy will play on O-line for four years,’” CUT coach Tim Schoch said. “And he has just been exceptional. He has tools all over the field and handler defense is one of his best.”
Using the halftime break to gear up for a final push, CUT took the reins for good early in the second half with two quick breaks following the intermission. What was a 6-6 slugfest turned into a 10-6 rout. Though to neutral onlookers it seemed clear this CUT team was simply too overpowering, and once they got a multi-goal lead they were not going to give it up, UMass never backed down from the game. Their spirits stayed high, they supported each other, and they kept believing in their ability to come back.
“Throughout the whole season we built up so much love and trust for each other,” Lieman said. “With the little things: high fiving each other after we get broken and the smiles, and ‘yes’ chants. All those little things add up and really just digs into the deep love and trust we have for each other. We know that whatever happens we’re there for each other. We’re not going to be mad at each other. We’re just going to support each other as best as we can.”
Carleton CUT entered this tournament focused and disciplined, and they’ll ride that business-like energy to the final day of the season. “One of our team words this year was discipline,” Schoch said, “and it was really easy to key into that and to be disciplined in our recovery, in our sleep, putting our phones on airplane mode and being with each other. This is the last time we get to be together. Nationals is a celebration of all the months of hard work–the years of hard work for the seniors–and this is the culmination. All year we think about being here.”
This weekend, CUT have seen nothing but winning and success. They already avenged one loss from the regular season by taking down UMass–they’ll have another chance tomorrow to exact revenge for their loss to Colorado at Smoky Mountain Invite in early March.
“Colorado is a really great team,” Schoch said. “We got to see them play a few times in some of the games we were scouting. We haven’t done our deep dive yet. It’s going to be a real challenge, but we do the best when we think about ourselves. We have so many defensive tools. We get to choose how we want to guard them.
“It’s great to have one more day with these guys,” Schoch continued. “The game will come. The scouting will come. But, making it to the final day of the season–only two teams get to do that, and we’re really lucky.”
Only one of these great teams was going to advance to the last day of the season, and this is the end of the road for UMass. After a disappointing Nationals campaign in 2024, Zoodisc bounced back, battled through adversity, and returned to the biggest stage the sport has to offer: the stadium games at Nationals. Between injuries to important O-line contributors like Kellman and Caelan McSweeney and the mental battle of losing all three major tournament finals during the regular season, Zoodisc overcame more than it might seem for a top seeded team at Nationals and succeeded in maintaining the kind of culture that propels programs to success rather than an experience a team might have for one magical season.
“A lot of people on this team have been through hella stuff, and it’s taken a lot to be here,” Tobias Paperno said. The graduating senior class, led by Paperno, Harwood, Artie Aucoin, and Carter Hawkins, brought UMass to new heights over the last three seasons. Aside from the on-field results, they helped to reshape the team’s culture and build buy-in among a large group of talented athletes. All 22 UMass players recorded a positive stat over the weekend, and their love for each other and support for each other is legendary–and that is as good a legacy as any title could offer.
