BLACKSBURG, Va., June 18 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:

As the United States continues in the World Cup on Friday against Australia, the team will strive to capitalize on the home-field advantage that comes with serving as the host country. While fans often think of home-field advantage as simply having a supportive crowd, a Virginia Tech researcher says the phenomenon is much more complex.

"I think people appreciate that being at home can offer many advantages but might not be aware of the multitude of reasons why," said Ivan Hernandez, assistant professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Virginia Tech, who has done research related to sports analysis and methodology. ...