By ALEX SPONSELLER

The third-seeded Cranston West boys soccer team pulled off a big 4-2 comeback win over visiting No. 6 Westerly in the Division II Quarterfinals last week.

The Bulldogs would take a 2-1 lead just before the halftime break to gain an early advantage. The Falcons came roaring back from the start of the second half and scored three unanswered goals to dominate the final 40 minutes and grab the win.

West sophomore Jack Mefford scored his first two career playoffs goals in the win while senior Sam Naiefeh added two goals of his own, including a highlight reel header early in the second half to tie the score.

“I saw the ball coming but the big bright lights were in my face. I was able to put myself in the right place at the right time and head it in,” said Naiefeh. “Throughout the whole season we’ve been fighting 1-0 battles, 2-0 battles, down at halftime. Our coach always tells us to overcome adversity and being here in a big playoff game, we did that tonight.”

Although the Falcons rolled to a 4-0 shutout over Westerly in the regular season, the Bulldogs came out hard and had West on the back foot for much of the first half. The strong initial push caught the Falcons by surprise, according to Mefford, who was thrilled to make an impact as an underclassman.

“The last time we played them we beat them 4-0 so we didn’t expect that from them, they came out hot. It was so much fun. Those were my first two playoff goals, as a sophomore, it was a great moment. It felt so good to score that (second-half) goal and to have the fans cheer me on,” said Mefford.

It was also Naiefeh’s first playoff win as the Falcons have not advanced past the first round since he entered the West program.

“We hadn’t made it past the first round so my senior year we had to switch it around. It’s not over yet, we have two more games and we’re coming,” said Naiefeh.

Next for the Falcons was No. 2 Coventry in the semifinals at Rhode Island College. The Oakers edged West 3-2 in the regular season, but Mefford feels that the Falcons are in good shape to pull off the upset.

“Last time we played them, we lost by only one goal, but we were down a few people and weren’t on a nice field. We just need to come out strong and dominate,” said Mefford.

The Falcons faced Coventry on Tuesday evening, but the results were not available at press time.