Needham Soccer Dominates First Round Playoff Matchups

• It is the seventh year in a row that both teams have advanced past the first round of the tournament. 

Needham boys and girls soccer continued their winning ways on a chilly November night at Memorial Field. The girls kicked off the playoff doubleheader on Thursday, Nov. 6, with a 4-0 win over No. 33 Andover, followed by a come from behind 2-1 win from the boys team over No. 29 Bishop Feehan.

In the girls’ game, Sydney Kalaw got things started less than four minutes in with a long shot that found the top left corner to put Needham up 1-0. She added another goal about 13 minutes later to double the Rockets lead. Needham went into halftime up 3-0 after Cate Goodband scored on a through pass from Michelle Faynstein.

The Rockets controlled play the rest of the way, netting another goal in the second half, courtesy of Izzy Marino. Marino leads the team in goals with 15 on the season, while Kalaw’s total is up to eight. The boys game was a different story. Needham went down 1-0 after a goal from Braiden Johnson less than five minutes into the first half. But, with 14 minutes left in the half, the Rockets responded with a goal from Max Shoemaker to tie the game at one. They opened the second half with a goal from Avery Brodsky, who buried a rebound off an initial shot from Nils Svensson to give them a 2-1 lead. Goalkeeper Eli Dain made a great save with just over three minutes to play to keep the Rockets up one and preserve the win.

The Rockets will host another double header for the round of 16 on Monday, Nov. 10, with the girls taking on No. 17 Newton South at 4 p.m. and the boys facing No. 13 Concord Carlisle at 6 p.m. The girls defeated Newton South 2-0 early in October, while the boys face a rematch with the team that beat them 2-0 in the 2023 state championship. The Needham Channel will be there to record broadcasts of both games that will air the following day.

Mike Levin has the highlights from these games in the Rockets Roundup below: