BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Less than a week after losing a 2-0 second-half lead and falling in its regular-season finale, 3-2 in overtime to crosstown rival Manchester Memorial, the West boys soccer team reversed the result  at Goffstown’s expense.

Falling into a two-goal deficit early in the second half, the 12-4-0 Blue Knights struck back, scoring twice in the next eight minutes.

The first goal came off an Adan Catovic header; the second West tally was scored when John Lydiard redirected a rebound off his chest and into the back of the net.

Neither team scored again for 42 minutes.

Early in the second overtime, Goffstown  standout Brad Downing was issued a yellow card for holding. Thirty seconds later, Sam Kelley fed a cross to fellow Bedford resident Rodrigo Ojeda, who headed the ball into the back of the net, putting an abrupt end to the lengthy match.

“I’m just proud of the kids that they had the character and determination to come back and win it.

It’s a thrill to be in this game,” said West coach Ben Brewster. “If this slipped away and we didn’t pull this out, we’d be despondent. Now we have a chance to go out there and play another full 80 minutes.”

But West’s season came to an end in that next contest, a 3-1 quarterfinal-round loss in Exeter to the defending state champs on Sunday, Oct. 28. Still, the campaign exceeded Brewster’s expectations.

“We said at the beginning of the season, ‘Let’s just have a winning season and try to get home field in the first round,”’ said the coach. “Then we were tantalized when we almost won the second-round game as well, but we got all we could hope for this season.”