The first spring tournament was the Stanford Invite held in Palo Alto, California just outside of San Francisco. This tournament is regarded by many teams as the best tournament in the west. It features a mere sixteen teams from throughout the whole country who are allowed to play because of their reputations as high-quality teams. The Hodags were accepted into this tournament and ranked tenth overall in the tournament. They were placed in a four team pool with UC-San Diego, UC-Davis and the University of British Columbia. Following are short summaries of the games.

Game 1: Hodags vs. UC-Davis

The Hodags got a chance for an upset right away as they faced the seventh seed in the tournament. However, they had to overcome the fact that this was the first time this spring that they had a chance to play a game outside on grass against another team. This fact became apparent early as UC-Davis rallied for a 3-0 lead, but the Hodags under the consistent play of their handlers Matt Anderson and Eric Moore and some high flying plays by Bert Kang and Hector Valdivia stormed back in the second half to win 13-9.

Game 2: Hodags vs. UC-San Diego

Another chance for a Hodag upset, but this time it was against the second seed in the tournament. The Hodags, now rid of the nerves associated with first games, came out with confidence and intensity. After trading the first few points the Hodags decided to play some zone defense against UC-San Diego and the game became a blowout. The zone defense, centered around Pete Rank, Nate Franz, and Zach Morrison, befuddled UC-San Diego and resulted in a 13-6 win for the Hodags.

Game 3: Hodags vs. U-British Columbia

A victory in this final game of pool play would guarantee first place in the pool and consequently a bye to the quarterfinals. It also would give the Hodags a chance to rest some players and give other players a chance to show their skills. The game stayed close as the Hodags couldn’t quite pull away despite the seemingly apparent difference in talent between the teams. In the end it was the six second half goals by two veterans, Bryan Paradise and Lee Swingen, that finished off UBC. Final score, 13-11 Hodags on a Callahan (defensive) goal by Lee Swingen.

Quarterfinals: Hodags vs. Stanford

This game featured the tournament host (and perennial nationals qualifier) Stanford against the Hodags, who wanted some national respect. The game started out with the teams trading points mostly because of some incredible defensive plays by Zach Morrison. The Hodags seemed to rally around the intensity of Zach. The shocking emergence of Michael Bluhm and a host of others rallied the Hodags and sent Stanford back to their dorms 13-8.

Semifinals: Hodags vs. UC-Santa Cruz

The Hodags would now have to go up against another formidable west coast team after a very emotional victory over Stanford. The Hodags, after falling behind by a few points, never seemed able to bring up the intensity enough to pull even with UC-Santa Cruz, and fell 9-13 in their first loss of the season.

The players, after the tournament, had a week off for spring break. Some returned to Madison, most enjoyed the west coast. Some players used their vacation to do some backpacking, others spent their time in San Francisco, and still others visited relatives or prospective employers. This tournament not only provided the Hodags with a sense of confidence and national respect, but also with some great memories.

By Bryan J. Paradise

Stanford Photos | Past Tournaments