Rockets Review: Needham Soccer Record Falls

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics

During a week that saw the sixth-ranked Needham High School boys soccer team go 3-0 (to move to 6-1-2 on season), beating Newton North 4-2, Walpole 4-0 and Xaverian 4-0, the more significant milestone was the 32-year-old record that fell on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

Senior Captain Mac Steeves, needing 2 points in the game against Newton North to equal the all-time school scoring mark, doubled that up by tallying 1 goal and 3 assists. With the 4 points, Steeves moved his career totals up to 50 goals and 30 assists, with the 80 total points eclipsing the 78 points head coach Don Brock's son Robert racked up from 1978-80.  

For more information about the accomplishment, check out the Boston Globe's coverage of the game.

Cross Country

Another record fell on Thursday, Sept. 27 at the Rockets cross country meet at Cutler Park against Brookline. Although the Brookline boys are one of the stronger teams around, and Needham was not able to eclipse them on the team score side, junior Adrian Amaya ran a tremendous race and set the Cutler Park course record, finishing first overall in the race.  

For complete details about Adrian's accomplishment plus more info about the team win for Needham on the girls' side, check the NHS cross country and track blog at www.needhamrunning.blogspot.com.

Girls Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball and Field Hockey

While the girls soccer team remained unbeaten on the season by earning two 1-1 ties, girls swimming lost their first meet of the year to Bay State Conference Carey Division rival Framingham on Friday night, Sept. 28 at Babson, 95-91.

Girls volleyball and field hockey split their games on the week, with volleyball beating Braintree and losing to Newton North, and field hockey beating Newton North 1-0 in a thriller, losing to state power Walpole and then coming back the next day on a cold and rainy Friday to tie Natick 0-0.

Football

On Friday, Sept. 28, the 12th-ranked NHS football team traveled to a rainy Weymouth to take on the 14th-ranked Wildcats in a Bay State Conference Carey clash. In an epic offensive battle, Needham's Mike Elcock scored on a 50+ yard pass from QB Ryan Charter with just over 2 minutes left to build a 27-26 lead, only to see Weymouth come right back down the field to score with 23 seconds left to earn the 32-27 win in heartbreaking fashion for the Rockets.  

The Boston Globe, recognizing the type of game that took place, posted the game story and video highlights as the lead story online on Sunday.

Check out this video recap of the game from The Needham Channel.

The boys will host Brookline on Friday, Oct. 5 on Memorial Field at 6 p.m. with the third installment of 5th Quarter to take place after the game in the NHS A Gym.

Check http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/athletics for full 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.