Trevor Gleason was forced to watch from the sideline as his team struggled to smooth its rocky start to the soccer season.

Gleason sustained a concussion in Xaverian’s second game of the season, a 2-1 loss to Franklin, and the Hawks stumbled to a 2-4 start in his absence.

The sophomore forward returned Monday in a rematch with the Panthers (5-5-2) and he scored the winning goal on a shot to the bottom left corner just five minutes into the second half for a 1-0 Xaverian victory at Westwood.

“He’s a very dangerous player,’’ said Gary Bowers, who’s been the Hawks coach for 16 years. “He’s a hard worker, very talented. We look to feature and target him, and we try to work our offense to end up at his foot.’’

Xaverian (6-6) has forged quite a turnaround in recent weeks, clawing back to .500 with three straight victories after falling to Brockton, 2-0, Oct. 3. That loss to the Boxers was the Hawks’ fifth in its previous six contests.

But as the New England air crisped, so too, did Xaverian’s play.

The turning point arrived in the throes of that 1-5 slide. After losing, 3-1, at home against St. John’s of Shrewsbury Sept. 30, the coaches met to discuss a way forward.

“Earlier in the season we were a more rattly team,’’ Bowers said. “Our problem was that we weren’t maintaining possession and securing the ball.’’

So the next day at practice, Bowers instituted a new rule: No player was allowed to take more than two touches on the ball. Collect the pass, find the open man, move to an open spot.

Today, the team calls it “El Dia de Dos Toques,’’ Spanish for “The Day of Two Touches.’’

“We actually had a long debate after practice,’’ Bowers said, laughing, “about how to conjugate that.’’

Xaverian is gelling at the right time, and it is showing on the scoreboard. The Hawks toppled Malden Catholic, 5-2, last Wednesday with a three-goal, one-assist effort from junior midfielder and captain Dante Mancini.

Gleason, who has eight goals in his past six games and 11 on the season, gladly assumed the scoring mantle on Saturday against BC High, netting both Xaverian goals in a 2-0 win.

The good vibes continued Monday.

Despite facing a strong headwind in the first half, the Hawks kept a clean sheet thanks in large part to the rugged play of junior center back Noah Bell.

At the break, Bowers expressed his confidence that, with the wind at the team’s back, Xaverian could generate some opportunities.

“I told the team, ‘OK we’ve done the job on defense, now let’s quickly establish position in second half.’ ’’

The Hawks did just that when, five minutes later, Mancini intercepted the ball in the center of the field by snapping his upper body in midair and zipping a one-timed header through two Franklin defenders to a streaking Gleason.

Alone with the keeper, the sophomore took three touches on the ball and beamed it to the left corner of the goal.

“He may be one of the most poised finishers I’ve ever coached, even as a sophomore,’’ Bowers said. “He has a great sense of the goalkeeper, reading his position and holding him until the last second.’’

Although the match had no implications on each team’s conference standings, Bowers expressed his respect for the history between the programs.

“Franklin, they’re a nonleague opponent who we’ve played for 25 years or more,’’ he said. “It’s never a huge margin, it’s always games like this. They’re always a great team to measure yourself against.’’

“He may be one of the most poised finishers I’ve ever coached, even as a sophomore,’’ Bowers said. “He has a great sense of the goalkeeper, reading his position and holding him until the last second.’’

Arlington 4, Stoneham 0 — Francesco Valagussa scored three goals for the Spy Ponders.