"Wilmot encourages me" Woods said. "He keeps me going; he is the minister of defense. Messing is a great guy; he is the key to my performance. He keeps saying 'all right Rob' or 'tighten up there'. Wilmot helps by just being there, but the best relationship is having Shep behind me."

Philosophy too plays its role in relieving the pressure. "In actual performance, I find myself making a mistake and acting as though its the normal procedure. I just bounce back, instead of getting angry," Woods said. "They are hoping I will do the right thing when the ball comes to wing, and I fight like hell."

Proving It

In the Hartwick game, Woods recalled, "We knew we were better; we came back in a huddle, and said, 'we are going to prove it,' and returned to score within four minutes (of the third period)."

"I cannot wait to hit Miami" he said, "The scenario for San Jose was to see those guys looking like an army, ties, short hair; and then we came in, a bunch of individuals."

Psyche, Woods believes, will be an important factor in the Miami game against Howard University. "We will win if we measure up to the feeling that we are the best. We have got to have that vision. If we get our bravado up, we will win," he said.

Artful Experience

Descrlbing soccer in general, Woods said "A lot of guys would call it an artful experience."