LAFAYETTE >> Soccer, with the magnifying glass currently on the high school postseason, can be confounding. Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t favor the team dominating play. The trick is to stay composed.

To “dig deep,” Centaurus senior forward Iain Dunham said.

In front of a packed-out student section at Spangenberg Field on Thursday afternoon, many of whom dressed in Halloween costumes, the Class 4A fourth-ranked Warriors overcame an early deficit — and series of clanked posts and crossbars — as they rallied to beat No. 29 Rampart, 4-1, in the opening round of the 4A playoffs.

Mark Suplisson gave the home fans an early scare with his goal just 66 seconds into regulation. But it turned out to be just that — a startle — as Centaurus responded with a dominant performance in advancing to the second round.

“Things started to click,” said Dunham, who, after leaving the game briefly with a rolled ankle in the first half, scored the go-ahead goal in the 52nd minute for his first of two goals. “It felt like we were really working as a team and our chemistry was growing. We just continued to push ourselves and each other to our best.”

Liam Dols got the Warriors even in the 27th, following a run of missed chances. The Warriors finished better after the break, scoring three times in what turned into a rout.

“It was frustrating at the start because we had all these chances and weren’t able to put them away,” senior captain Carter Ochsner said. He sighed, knowing he had a few near-misses of his own. “We all kept each others’ heads up. Liam Dols kept telling me to keep my head up. Iain, too. And at halftime, we’re like, ‘We’re playing well. We just got to go out and finish shots.’”

Dunham recorded his second two-goal game of the season, giving him six goals on the year. His game-winner came from atop the box. “A banger,” as Ochsner described it. His second, in the 66th, was off a brilliant cross from Maycol Martinez.

Dols also scored for the sixth time this season, responding to a zany goal from Suplisson — who, off a throw-in, popped a header chance up and over goalkeeper Nicholas Jones. William Plampin put away his fourth of the year in the 57th.

The Warriors (10-3-3) will host the winner of No. 13 Skyview and No. 20 Coronado in 4A’s second round on Wednesday. They believe this performance — and their response — has them in a good place.

“That first goal, it opened our eyes,” Ochsner said. “You have to take every team seriously … We have to give everything we got from here on out.”