Rockets Review: Girls Volleyball Wins First Round

[UPDATED Monday, 3:08 p.m. with new soccer times]

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics

On Saturday, Nov. 3, the Needham High School girls volleyball team—competing in the State Tournament for the first time in more than five years—defeated host Boston Latin in a first-round Central/East DI Tournament match. With the win, the ninth-seeded Rockets will now travel to No. 1 seed Newton North on Monday, Nov. 5 for a 4 p.m. quarterfinal match-up.

Boys and Girls Soccer
Hosting a DI South Tournament double-header on Sunday, Nov. 4 at Memorial Field, the higher seeded Needham girls and boys soccer teams did not disappoint the large crowds in attendance.  

Starting off the day, the No. 2 girls welcomed in Plymouth South and quickly dispatched the visitors with a 5-0 win. Next up, the No. 1 boys hosted Brockton, and while the game was much closer—1-1 at the half—the Rockets used two goals in the second half to earn the tough 3-1 win.

The teams will now host a DI South quarterfinals double-header on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at Memorial Field. The girls will play No. 10 North Attleborough at 5 p.m., while the boys will play No. 9 Marshfield at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the double-header cost $7 general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. Children ages 6 and under get in free.

Cross Country and Swimming 
Also in postseason action this weekend will be the girls and boys cross country teams and the girls swimming and diving team.  

In the EMASS (DII) Cross Country Divisionals on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Wrentham Developmental Complex, the girls will race first at 12:55 p.m., while the boys will run at 2:15 p.m. Also on Saturday, girls swimming and diving will compete in the South Sectionals at MIT starting at 4:15 p.m.

Field Hockey 
On Thursday, the Needham field hockey team traveled to Reading High School for a preliminary round DI North tournament game. At the completion of regulation time, neither team was able to get on the board, and the teams took a 0-0 tie into overtime. After 10 minutes of 7 vs. 7 play, Reading was able to find the back of the goal for the game winner.  

The Needham girls played their hearts out and left everything on the field. Although they were not able to come away with the victory, they walked away with their heads high and should make some noise in the Bay State Conference next fall.

Football 
After defeating Framingham 36-19 on Friday, Nov. 2 to move to 6-3 on the season, the Needham football team will compete in their final regular season game before the Thanksgiving Day game on Friday, Nov. 9 at Newton North High School. Newton North will be bringing in lights for the 6 p.m. contest for their only night game of the season.

Check http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/athletics for Rocket Athletic news, updates, forms, links and complete team schedules.

Rockets Review is a weekly update distributed by email by Needham High School Director of Athletics Micah Hauben and published with permission on Needham Patch. Additional athletics information can be found on the NHS Athletic Department Web site.