Girls Get Split Results Against Walpole
October 15, 2026
• Field hockey is now 3-8-1, while girls volleyball is 9-3.
Needham field hockey’s offensive woes continued against Walpole on Wednesday, Oct. 14, as the Porkers defeated the Rockets 1-0. The following day, girls volleyball swept Walpole (25-15, 25-19, 25-6) to improve to 9-3.
Despite the loss in field hockey, Needham’s defense played exceptionally well, holding Walpole to just the one goal, their second lowest score this season. But, since their thrilling come-from-behind win over Braintree on Sept. 30, the Rockets have not scored a goal in the following four games.
On a Porker corner in the first quarter, Needham goalie Jackie Lancaster made an incredible play, coming out of net to stop a shot from Ella Dacey. The Rockets were able to move the ball down the field in front of the Walpole net before Addie Miles made a defensive stop. The Porkers dominated possession, but a few more saves from Lancaster and solid defense from Lindsey Goldfine kept the game tied at zero heading into the second quarter.
Defense continued to be the story in the second, as the Rockets held Walpole scoreless in the first half for the second time this season.
Walpole turned up the pressure in the third, getting plenty of corner opportunities. Still, the Needham defense held until the final seconds of the quarter. On an untimed corner, the Porkers broke through with a goal from Audrey Farrell. Lancaster made an initial save, but Farrell buried the rebound to put Walpole up 1-0.
That score would hold in the fourth quarter and become final, with neither team finding the back of the net. Lancaster had an impressive afternoon in net for the Rockets despite the loss.
The Rockets will travel to Milton on Monday, Oct. 19, with four of their next five games on the road. Their final home game of the regular season will be against Framingham (3-9), on Monday, Oct. 26. The Needham Channel will be there to record a broadcast that will air the following day.
There wasn’t much of a battle in the A-Gym on Oct. 15, as the sixth-ranked Rockets swept a winless Walpole volleyball team.
The Timberwolves took a brief lead in the first set, 6-4, but Needham scored the next five points to go up 9-6. From there, it was all Rockets, as they won the set 25-15. Gabriella Kuper had a team-high six kills for Needham in the first set.
In the second set, the Rockets took a 4-1 lead. This time, Walpole would go on a 5-1 run to take a one-point lead. Tied at 18, Needham went on a 3-0 run, which prompted a Timberwolves timeout. Walpole only managed to score one point out of the timeout, as the Rockets took the set 25-19 and a 2-0 match lead.
Needham dominated the third set, winning it 25-6, as Walpole continued to make mistakes defensively.
Kuper led the Rockets with 10 kills, while Sloane Seidman and Arianna Tu added four kills each. Tu also recorded a team-high six aces, followed by Claire Shields, who had four straight in the third set.
The Rockets are back in action on Friday, Oct. 16 at Newton South for their annual Dig Pink game, which benefits the Side-Out foundation for breast cancer awareness. Five of their final six regular season games are on the road.
