Stanford Invite: What We Must Do to Win

I must admit, it bother me a little to use that title. It's the sort of title that will appear on countless other blogs. Ah well, at least it's descriptive.

LPC's schedule is as follows:

Sat Rd 1 (8:30) - UC-Davis

Rd 2 (10:25) - Cal Poly SLP

Rd 3 (12:20) - Carleton

Rd 4 (2:15) - BYE

Rd 5 (4:10) - San Diego State

Sun Rd 1 (8:00) - British Columbia

Rd 2 (9:55) - BYE

Rd 3 (11:50) - UCLA


Before looking at any of the individual teams, I think it is important to note that we can't consider any game an "easy win." Every game will require us to put out considerable effort. I see our schedule as a sort of wave where our competitors' skill levels rise and fall with each game like the waves of the ocean. With that in mind, we can't let our game play emulate those waves. Start strong, finish stronger. That's the way to approach the weekend.

Game 1 - UC Davis
We are undefeated against Davis this year. But, they have given us a real close game every time we play them. I love the fact that we are playing Davis first at Stanford. Each time we have played Davis this year, we have been pumped to play them. Our top tier guys, our middle tier guys and our bottom tier guys all put out maximum effort. It is awesome to see. I think the same could be said about Davis (except for one game). They are pumped to beat us. They really want to beat us. They will fight for every inch. We need to come out strong for this tournament. And I think Davis is perfect for that. I am looking forward to that fight. I wish I could guard Robert every point. I guess I'll settle for Taylor or Ashlin.

Game 2 - Cal Poly SLP
This is a very crucial game. Typical LPC style would have LPC coming off strong against Davis (with either a win or a loss) and then have us losing all our momentum against a weaker team. If we lose our momentum at the beginning of the game, it is very important for us to regain it in time for Carleton. The 2nd half of this game may well determine how we do against Carleton. Keeping this team fired up for this game, especially during the 2nd half will be huge for us against Carleton. Keep that energy high. We need to be excited and ready to layout D that Carleton player come the first point.

Game 3 - Carleton
They are #1 in the UPA rankings right now. In the last 5 years, we have a 1-0 record against them. They will want to pay us back for that. Plus they received a little shit-talking from a couple of our players at Vegas (myself included). They are the second toughest opponent of the weekend. We can't let our guard down

BYE
Once again, no matter what happens with the previous games, we need to use this time to prepare for the next game. We should be ready both mentally and physically. We can't come off a great game and suddenly become lazy.

Game 4 - SD State
They are not as good as they were last year, but they can still make us work hard. That being said, few things would be worse than beating Carleton and losing to SD State.

I'll have to get to Sunday at another time.