River Hill's girls soccer team appeared poised for another solid win with a two-goal lead and only five minutes left against Atholton on Thursday.

The Raiders, however, had other ideas. With two fast goals, the Raiders forced overtime and while the No. 14 Hawks recovered for a 4-3 overtime win, notice has been served: Nothing is coming easy in Howard County this season.

"The top six teams are pretty even and the rest are giving everybody fits," said River Hill coach Brian Song. "I tell my kids over and over, if you don't come ready to play for 80 minutes, you're going to get knocked off."

The county has four teams ranked in The Sun's Top 15 poll and another on the "other teams considered" list.

No. 7 Reservoir (7-1-1) leads the even pack with a 5-0-1 mark and then only defeated last-place Oakland Mills (3-6, 0-6) by a 2-0 count earlier in the week. The Gators have three one-goal wins and a 0-0 tie against No. 13 Glenelg. They will travel to second-place and No. 9 Marriotts Ridge (6-1-1, 4-1) on Friday for a 5:30 start. River Hill (7-1, 4-1) hosts Centennial (6-3, 4-2) Friday night at 7.

Song said the steady stream of regular-season competition will be a big plus for all the Howard teams come playoff time.