The Cranston West boys soccer team picked up four points last week in its first two league contests as it earned a 3-1 win over Burrillville then fought Narragansett to a 0-0 draw.

Senior Sam Naiefeh has been stellar on the offensive end for the Falcons to this point, leading the team with five goals overall which accounts for half of the club’s production. Naiefeh scored two goals in the win over Burrillville while Dylan Stewart added another. Cole Harris recorded an assist in the win.

“Sam is the best No. 9 in the state of the Rhode island. He is a forceful striker and he is everything you’d want from a striker. He can shoot, he can pass, he can dribble, he does it all. He’s a key piece to our program and he’s the kind of kid that you’d want everyday. He’s a leader to the young guys and he’s a guy that you can’t replace,” said West coach Yair Correa.

West battled the Mariners to a 0-0 decision and was led by keeper MJ Guglietti, who made a pair of saves to wrap up the shutout win.

The Falcons return this fall after reaching the playoffs in 2022. With nearly 50 players in the overall program, Correa has been pleased with the competitive practices and has plenty of depth across the board.

Nine goalies tried out for the keeper position, so Correa and his staff have been rotating MJ Guglietti, AJ Clark and Anthony DeLuca, and will continue to assess the goalies that are on the junior varsity program.

“It’s a good problem to have. The goal keeper position is extremely important especially at West where they do everything. In sports, a guy can go down in a split second so it’s a good problem to have,” said Correa.

Considering the team’s depth and experience, which also includes standouts like Chris Melise, Jonathan Frias and Peter Vachon, the Falcons are eyeing a playoff return and a chance at winning the state title in November after falling short to East Greenwich last season.

“With our numbers, it has made a great competitive nature. We’re taking this season day by day, but we figure the more detail we get into each game the better off we’ll be. Of course we would love to win it all, but right now we’re trying to think, “What can we do differently?” said Correa. “The bar is as high as ever, the seniors are hungry, they think about East Greenwich a lot. It’s something that we’re thinking of each and every day.”