McIntyre, Rockets ready for liftoff
Violence mars Thanksgiving Day classic
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By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern
The Needham-Wellesley football rivalry is notorious for being the oldest in the country, and a much-anticipated tradition for both communities. However, the 132nd game ended with both teams throwing fists rather than throwing passes in a massive, bench-clearing brawl. As a result, the referees called the game...
Pregame bonfire fires up Rockets
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Maybe the pregame bonfire Needham High School held to motivate their athletes had the Rockets a little too fired up before they played Wellesley for the Gorman Cup, leading to the heated exchanges that resulted in the game being called early.
While the game didn’t go the way...
Violence mars Thanksgiving Day classic
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By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern
The Needham-Wellesley football rivalry is notorious for being the oldest in the country, and a much-anticipated tradition for both communities. However, the 132nd game ended with both teams throwing fists rather than throwing passes in a massive, bench-clearing brawl. As a result, the referees called the game...
Rockets run stopped in state final
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
After capturing the South title the previous weekend with a 5-2 victory against Brockton, the Needham High School varsity boys soccer team took out North champ Lincoln-Sudbury, 2-1, in overtime of the state semifinals in thrilling fashion to earn a trip to Worcester for Saturday’s state final contest...
Needham soccer wins Division I South
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Expectations are always high for the Needham High boys varsity soccer team. Entering the fall, there were significant question marks surrounding Jimmy Odierna’s club, especially considering the departure of a large 2019 senior class that made up the majority of the Rockets starting lineup last season.
Despite...
Girls volleyball takes first-ever state title
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By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern
On their road to the state championship this season, the Needham girls volleyball team has amassed quite a following. Throngs of those followers packed into the busy Worcester State University gymnasium last Saturday night expecting a great game. They were not disappointed, as the girls clinched their...
Ledbury lifts Rockets over Raiders
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Whenever Needham and Wellesley have met on the soccer pitch in the playoffs in recent years, there have been two major common denominators: the weather has been terrible, and the game has been an instant classic. Both of these trends continued on Thursday evening as the No. 12...
Rocket field hockey starts playoffs strongly
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By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern
A massive crowd gathered on the sidelines at DeFazio Field last Saturday for the Needham girls’ first field hockey playoff game of the season. The 8th-seeded Rockets took on the 9th-seeded Canton Bulldogs, and managed to take the win by a close score of 1-0. Needham...
Late field goal lifts Rockets over Rebels
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Needham High football team hosted rival Walpole on Friday night with both teams needing a big-time win. The Rockets, who entered at 1-5 (1-3), needed a victory just to have a chance of getting into playoffs. Walpole, meanwhile, looked to secure their fourth win of the season...
Rockets nearly stun Wildcats in thriller
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports
Starting the season 1-4 and losing stud slot back Odahri Hibberts to injury was not what Needham High football had envisioned when entering the 2019 season. Despite facing significant adversity, Needham showed a lot of grit and heart on Friday night when the Rockets hosted unbeaten Milton.
After falling behind,...
Needham’s lights-out shooting dooms Walpole
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Monday night, The Needham Rockets girls soccer team moved to 6-2-2, downing the Walpole Rebels, 4-1.
The first half was tight until - depending on which team you were rooting for - either a terrible foul by Walpole’s Shannon English or a terrible call by the referees. Two...
Strong second half lifts Rockets over Rebels
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Herget Division rivals Needham and Walpole met on the pitch at Bird Middle School on Monday afternoon for the second and final time this season. The Rockets (7-2-1, 6-1-1) came to Walpole looking to complete the season sweep of the Rebels (2-6-1, 2-4-0) after earning a 3-0 win...
Team effort from Needham smothers Wamps
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Friday night, the winless Needham Rockets football team travelled to Braintree, scored fourteen points in the first quarter and shut down the Wamps’ offense to hold on for a 14-6 win. The victory was the first for the Rockets and moved them to 1-4 on the year.
On...
Rocket volleyball blasts off in Natick
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By Maddie Gerber
Hometown Weekly Intern
The Needham girls varsity volleyball team continues to assert its dominance over the Herget Division, adding another win against Natick to its already impressive undefeated record of 8-0 and officially securing a spot in the post-season. Although the Rockets had already played the Redhawks in their...
Needham downs Wellesley on new field
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
On Thursday afternoon, just before the rain came, the Needham Rockets field hockey team shut out Wellesley, 3-0. The victory moved the Rockets, who were playing on their new turf field, to 6-1-1. The Raiders, meanwhile, dropped to 5-4.
Needham’s Grace Kelley lifted the ball past the goalie ten...
Lady-Rockets draw with Wildcats
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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two of the Bay State Conference’s elite met on the pitch at Cricket Field on Thursday afternoon as the Needham High School girls varsity soccer team hosted Weymouth. Two of the favorites to win the Herget Division, the Rockets (4-0-1) and Wildcats (4-1-2) did not disappoint on...
Needham demolishes Weymouth on the road
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
After her team moved to 4-1 with a 5-0 victory over Weymouth at Weymouth’s Legion Field, Needham field hockey coach Stephanie Magni described the game by noting: “This was a good game for us. We had a rough first half because we had very little to warm up...
Needham handles young Walpole team
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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
At the end of the day, the Needham girls’ volleyball team was simply too good for a young Walpole squad that’s still learning and experimenting. While Walpole put up a good fight, the Rebels would ultimately lose, three sets to none, against the rockets.
In the first set,...
Kelley lifts Rockets over Ahola, Raiders
