By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Needham High School boys and girls cross country teams both earned a second-place finish at the CM Invitational on Saturday at Franklin Park in Dorchester. The second-place finish by the girls, who were led by senior Nell Haney, qualified Needham for states.
Haney finished the 3.1-mile course with a...
Read more
Rocket volleyball headed back to tournament
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It was quite the week for the Needham High School varsity volleyball team. The Rockets (9-4) earned three shutout victories over Newton South, Weymouth, and Braintree to qualify themselves for the state tournament before traveling down I-95 and placing second in the Rhode Island Invitational over the weekend against some...
Read more
Junior Rockets tussle with Rebels
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
Needham hosted Walpole for week six and it unfortunately didn’t go the Rockets’ way. All four competitive divisions fell to the Rebels. For week seven, Needham will travel to Wellesley for a full line of matchups with its longtime rival.
A Squad – Walpole 13, Needham 12– A squad (1-4) lost a tight game...
Findley-Walters lifts Rockets past Mustangs
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Needham High School girls varsity soccer team earned a convincing 8-0 win at Norwood on Thursday afternoon thanks to a dominant performance on offense, highlighted by a two-goal, two-assist performance by junior striker Sophie Finley-Walters.
It only took six minutes for Needham to get on the board on...
Junior Rockets battle Mustangs
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
Needham Junior Football traveled to Norwood on Sunday for a full lineup of games. In the competitive divisions, Needham came without a win despite some hard-fought games in sweltering heat.
A Squad – Norwood 28, Needham 14 – The eighth grade Junior Rockets (0-3) had a rematch of last year’s Bay State playoff game,...
Rockets down Wildcats, improve to 3-1
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Speaking at media day back in August, Needham head coach David Duffy stated that his team would be running a lot of new schemes and plays this season that emphasized the speed the Rockets possess. Four games into the season, it’s safe to say that the Rockets have...
Hibberts, Rockets win second straight
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Coming off a 6-0 victory over Walpole last Friday night in the rain, the Needham Rockets (2-1) hosted Bay State Conference rival Newton North on Saturday afternoon looking to making it two wins in a row. Thanks to some explosive plays on offense in the second half by...
Junior Rockets battle Flyers
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
Needham Junior Football had its first set of home games of the 2017 season on Saturday as Framingham came to town. In the competitive divisions, NJF went 2-2 with the fifth and seventh grade squads picking up victories. For week four, NJF heads to Norwood.
B Squad – Needham 23, Framingham 20 – The...
Andre lifts Rockets to wet win
6327 –
6321 –
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Friday night’s Bay State Conference contest between the Needham Rockets (1-1) and Walpole Rebels (0-2) was truly a battle of wills. With both sides entering at 0-1 on the young season, the Rebels and Rockets were eying their first win of the year, but also a key win...
Read more
Junior Rockets do battle in week two
Needham traveled to Newton for week two this past weekend and went 2-1 in the competitive brackets, with C and D squad each picking up key victories.
B Squad – Newton 40, Needham 12 – B squad (1-1) fell to a very strong and physical Newton team on Saturday. Owen Scholz and Josh Melia played some...
Read more
Needham Junior Football kicks off 2017
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
Needham kicked off its 2017 youth football season with a full lineup of games in Weymouth. Torrential rains made for some tough conditions, but the Needham gridiron squads stood strong. Needham went 1-3 in the competitive divisions and travels to Newton next week.
A Squad – Weymouth 19, Needham 8 – The eighth grade...
Barnett, Smith, lady-Rockets gear up
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
With the summer coming to a close, soccer hotbeds such as Needham and Dover-Sherborn are readying for the upcoming season. It goes without saying that keeping your skills sharp and staying conditioned are extremely important aspects in soccer, and both the Needham and DS girls have certainly done...
Home knocks: Rockets ready for liftoff
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Coming off a 6-5 campaign that saw a 25-6 playoff defeat to Catholic Memorial and a 34-14 loss on Thanksgiving to arch rival Wellesley, the Needham High School varsity football team is hoping for a bounce back season in 2017, and with changes made to the scheme and...
Needham Gold team takes title
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
The Needham Gold 8-year-old summer team won the Friendship Summer League’s Bay State National Division title on Aug. 6 with a 21-4 win over Canton at Booth Field in Foxboro.
The Needham Gold team went undefeated during the regular season (8-0), and along with the Needham White 8-year-old team (4-4) won the Friendship...
Shaughnessy, Shaker dominate Shot For Life
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
August normally is not the time of year for local basketball stars to be making headlines.
But don’t tell that to rising senior at Needham High School, Thomas Shaughnessy, who recently committed to play basketball at Brown, as well as Needham High class of 2017 graduate and point...
Locals excel in Youth Classic Track Meet
NHS baller Shaughnessy headed to Brown
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
On July 31, Needham High basketball star Thomas Shaughnessy announced on Twitter that he has committed to play basketball at Brown University at the conclusion of his upcoming senior season.
As many in Needham remember, Shaughnessy helped pioneer the Rockets to a Division I South Sectional crown...
MacAfee following in father’s footsteps, and then some
[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Only the elite of the elite are able to attend the United State Military Academy in West Point, New York. The class schedule and grueling amounts of training that the cadets go through on a typical day at West Point is hard enough on its own.
Add in...
Needham United wins 2017 MTOC title
The Needham United girls travel sixth grade soccer team won the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions on Sunday, June 25. The Needham girls qualified for MTOC by placing first in the Boston-Area Youth Soccer League for the spring and then advanced to the weekend state tournament by beating Framingham in a one game playoff by a...
Read more