The psychology of soccer is sometimes as important as the skills, strategy and individual matchups.
An example of the importance of the mental aspect was No. 1-ranked River Hill's 14th straight victory yesterday.
After playing a dominant but scoreless first half in which the Hawks held 10th-ranked Wilde Lake to one shot while hitting two crossbars and one upper post, River Hill (5-0, 4-0 league) had to battle its own complacency in the second half before achieving a 3-1 victory.
"I'd like us to be more focused than we were today because then we play faster and crisper," River Hill coach Bill Stara said.