Just when it seemed fitting to scratch West Rowan from the list of boys soccer playoff contenders, the Falcons went out and notched their most invigorating win of the season Monday night.

“This puts us right back in it,” second-year coach Rob Sweet said after West stopped visiting Northwest Cabarrus, 2-1, for its third straight South Piedmont Conference victory. “It was definitely a needed win against a good team.”

It came against a team that demoralized the Falcons (7-6, 6-4 SPC) in an 8-1 blowout loss five weeks ago. “That was pitiful,” recalled midfielder Austin Ribelin. “We played with no desire, no heart.”

West cured its Tin Man syndrome by combining a sound defensive game plan with near-flawless execution. “We knew what was coming,” said sweeper Allyn Steele. “Last time they used set plays and scored three times in the first 10 minutes. They put us away quick. We weren’t going to let that happen again.”

Instead, the Falcons received a razor-sharp first half from keeper Chase Overcash — a jayvee graduate who was called to active duty when starter Greg Lowe broke his leg last month.

“Chase saved our butts,” Sweet said after the junior recorded 10 saves. “It’s not an easy position to fill, but he’s done a great job. He’s come up with some big saves, even in games we’ve lost.”

West stayed out of harm’s way for most of the first half and successfully defended designated inbounder Gary Stevenson’s on-goal throw-ins more than once. The Falcons took a 1-0 lead with less than a minute on the clock when sophomore Brian Armada stole the ball from a Northwest defender, gained a step and drove a hard grounder past sprawling keeper Dustin Keough.

“That was a defensive breakdown,” losing coach Kevin Blackburn said after the Trojans (8-6, 7-3 SPC) suffered their third loss in four matches. “We looked very lackadaisical today. I don’t know if it’s because there was no school and they’ve been sitting around all day, but this just wasn’t Northwest soccer.”

It was no Columbus daze when Northwest tied the score seven minutes into the second half. The play began when the Falcons’ Andrew Belk was called for tackling Eric Turnblom in the penalty area. Teammate Matt Volkmar converted the ensuing PK for his second goal of the year.

The turn of events left West at a familiar crossroad. “There’s always that question of how would we respond,” said Steele. “It became a matter of how bad did we want this.”

The answer came with 16 minutes remaining when Northwest’s Matt Crutchfield was whistled for a hand ball in the box. Ribelin stepped the penalty stripe and calmly blasted a shot into the lower left corner.

“They didn’t think it was a hand ball,” Ribelin said. “But you know how it is. They always want their call.”

In the closing moments Overcash added two more clutch saves — first a slap-away on an elevated corner kick and finally a sliding stop with less than a minute to go.

“We were motivated to shut them down,” said Steele. “In the end it was pure drive just to get to the ball and not let them have anything.”

When the clock expired, West players and well-wishers turned the green grass into a field of screams.

“This was a must,” said halfback Greg Overcash. “We had to have it. We did exactly what we needed to do — jump out fast, get them arguing with each other and finally prove that we can beat a high-caliber team.”