To win and be successful, you need to play your strengths and rely on your basic fundamentals.

This Saturday against the Navy, the Penn State Lady Ruggers will implement these in their attempt to come out victorious.

This game has long been circled on the Lady Ruggers' calendar because it is their key match of the regular season. A win in Annapolis would set the team up for the top seed in the spring 2002 Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) championship. Losing means lower seeding and a harder road through the playoffs.

"This is the most important game we have this year," backrower Heather Kantorek said. "Winning it would be incredible for our team, and it makes our goal (of a championship) easier."

In preparation for the highly anticipated matchup, all week in practice the team has focused on fundamentals. Since Navy is a very similar team to Penn State, playing their strengths and fundamentals well will be of utmost importance.

"We need to work hard to support the ball in contact," head coach Pete Steinberg said. "We have to be prepared to do the dirty work first by winning the ball in the rucks and look to carry the ball second."

"They play a similar style to us, with very quick movement of the ball and quick rucks. They like to attack on the fringes with their forwards then move the ball wide. They have some speed on the outside that we need to make sure to look after."

Steinberg pointed to captain Kelly Evanovich and Kantorek as key players for the game. They both have to play well offensively and defensively, and have continued field presence for the Lady Ruggers to succeed.

Forward Maria Eby also will have to step up and play. Prop Kirsten Aerts will not play against Navy due to a broken nose suffered last week, and Eby takes over her role in the most important match of the year.

Many of the Lady Ruggers' usual concerns will also be factors in the game. Tackling, holding onto the ball, scrums and lineouts will be essential this weekend.

Even more important than physical preparation may be the Lady Rugger's mentality.

"We can't be too calm," flanker Devon Boyle said. "We need to play with a heightened sense of awareness. At the same time, we can't get too pysched, or we may not play too well."

To win, the team needs to balance their physical play with patience and fortitude in face of the blitzing Navy attack. They need to play with confidence and strength on defense to keep Navy out of the tryzone and to set up the Lady Rugger offense.

"We just need to play as a team," said Boyle. "Every player on the field, on every play, needs to play for each other and use the skills we have."

"I have no doubt that we can beat these guys."