Reporters Notebook: Boys Soccer Keeps Championship Hopes Alive

A look at some of the latest news and notes from the Needham Rockets.

It’s been an exciting past couple of days in the town of Needham, as their hometown Rockets varsity soccer teams have experienced a great deal of success in the MIAA Division I South tournaments. Here’s a recap of the past few games, and updates on both teams, as well as some more exciting sports news pertaining to Needham High School.     Boys Soccer Advances to MIAA Division I South Semi-Finals The boys varsity soccer team kicked off their quest for a fourth state championship on Monday evening, Nov. 7 at Memorial Field with an impressive victory against King Phillip, which was followed up by a dramatic come-from-behind win against Silver Lake in overtime on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Both opposing coaches, King Phillip’s Kip Lewis and Silver …

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Girls Soccer Beats Hingham, Advances in Tournament

The Rockets scored on four-of-five penalty shots to upset Hingham, 3-2 (4-3).

One year after their most excruciating playoff losses in school history, the No. 20 Needham High School girls varsity soccer team proved that despite their youth and postseason inexperience, they too are a team to be reckoned with, as the Rockets escaped Saturday’s MIAA Division I South preliminary match with a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 4 Hingham High School in penalty kicks. “When we went down one goal, they never said, ‘quit,’ they never got flustered, they stayed the course, scored two nice set piece goals, and this is why you play the game,” Needham head coach Carl Tarabelli said. “All in all, they matured a lot, they never lost their composure, and that’s what led us into this point here. [Needham’s a] great team, and played with…

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MIAA Soccer Brackets Unveiled

The high school soccer playoffs kick off Saturday, as the Needham girls soccer team travels to Hingham, while the boys will enjoy an extra day of rest.

On Thursday, Nov. 3, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Association announced the pairings for the upcoming high school state soccer tournament, which is set to kick off this weekend. Both Needham High School squads will be competing in this year’s tournaments. Here’s a look at both teams' schedules:   Boys Soccer The Rockets drew the No. 4 seed in the Division I South bracket and will enjoy a bye this weekend. They will return to the pitch on Monday, Nov. 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Field, and will host the winner of King Phillip High School vs. Quincy High School. With a win against their first-round opponent, Needham would then host the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Girls Soccer Carl Tarabelli’s squad drew the No. 20 seed in the …

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Reporter's Notebook: Volleyball Looks to the Future, Soccer Prepares for the Playoffs, Football Preview

Here's some of the latest Needham Rocket news compiled by correspondent Matt Noonan.

Before the Needham High School girls varsity volleyball season began, head coach Peter Arsenault entered the year with a plan—improve, work hard and get better. The Rockets definitely enhanced their play from last season, as they doubled their win total and challenged a majority of their Bay State Conference foes with numerous rallies in various sets, which didn’t always translate into wins. While the season has officially ended, the squad and their head coach seem quite hopeful that their success from this season will carry over to next year, and possibly result in a MIAA Tournament berth, too. “Next year is very hopeful. We have high expectations, ” Arsenault said. “Our main goal is to get [a .500 winning percentage] and make the …

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Reporter's Notebook: Football, Soccer Facing Final Match-ups

Needham Rockets news, notes and games to watch for the coming weekend and week ahead.

Tuesday evening was definitely filled with joy and excitement, as the Needham High School girls varsity soccer team snapped their two-game losing streak against the Braintree Wamps and clinched a spot in the upcoming MIAA tournament. “They wanted to qualify, and they did what they needed to do. They had that good five minutes and finished their chances and that’s it,” said Braintree head coach Matthew Freeman, when asked to describe his thoughts on Needham’s overall play. For the girls soccer team, this certainly is a sigh of relief, especially for head coach Carl Tarabelli, who has mentioned numerous times this season that he’s coaching a young squad. However, last week’s matches against Norwood and Weymouth were valuable lessons, which …

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Girls Soccer Clinches MIAA Tourney Spot

Dunn, Waldstein net goals in the Rockets' ninth win against the Wamps, 2-0.

After a challenging week, which saw the Needham High School girls varsity soccer team lose back-to-back games against Norwood and Weymouth, the Rockets rebounded on Tuesday evening against Braintree with a 2-0 victory, clinching a spot in the upcoming MIAA tournament. “If we couldn’t get a point off of Braintree, we didn’t deserve to be in the tournament. This team deserves to be in the tournament,” Needham head coach Carl Tarabelli said after his team’s win.      Needham threatened early on numerous offensive possessions in the Braintree zone but couldn’t muster a goal until later in the opening half, as junior midfielder Sammy Dunn beat Wamps senior goaltender Jessie Hasson to give the Rockets their first and only lead of the match. …

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Rockets QB Out of Commission

Needham Rockets news, notes and games to watch.

It’s been an interesting past couple of days for the Needham High School Rockets varsity football team, who lost senior captain and quarterback Drew Burnett to an ankle injury, which he sustained last weekend against Milton. “He wanted to stay in, I wanted him to stay in, so it was my decision and it apparently was a bad decision [because] he got hurt,” head coach Dave Duffy said. “I feel bad for him, and his high school career’s over, but his college career will still go on. After he recovers [from his injury], he’s going to be perfectly fine." Burnett, who wasn’t at the team’s practice on Wednesday, left an enormous void for Duffy, who will likely be forced to use three backup quarterbacks, (senior Dan Pierce, junior Matt McGloin and …

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Photo Gallery: Girls Soccer Overpowers Milton, 6-0

The Rockets picked up two critical points against the Wildcats on Wednesday and now are three points away from a MIAA Tournament berth.

The Needham High School varsity girls soccer team earned an important victory on Wednesday, Oct. 12, as the Rockets steamrolled past the Milton Wildcats, 6-0, and picked up two critical points in the Bay State Conference standings. “It [was] a critical game for us,” Needham head coach Carl Tarabelli said. “Our goal this year with a young team is to make the tournament. [Milton] is having a tough year, and two of their best players are injured—they haven’t even been on the field—so we knew they would be a little bit down. This is a game for us that was really important because we’re so young that we've got to get experience and we've got to get players that don’t see a lot of minutes from our bench [onto the field]. Our goal every game is …

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