Three men do not make a team. A band of brothers do and that is exactly what the Rebels displayed last Thursday against a superior Needham team. With the Rebels down three key players, seniors Aj Chauvin, Bobby Ivatts, and Maurice Young, the team found the strength to compete with one of the best teams in the state. But when they got to Natick, the team found themselves in a rut again, being dominated in possession and in total scoring opportunities.
Needham who is ranked 6th in the state by ESPNBoston, came into the game knowing the Rebels were shorthanded. But they didn’t know that the team’s compete level was extremely high knowing it would be the one and only time they could play Needham all year.
The Rebels started out with a senior line-up, hoping to spark some energy into the team. The game started out slow with Needham getting majority of the chances that were saved by senior keeper Pete Hoegler. “He was the star of the game, he did his job and then some” said senior Wesley Doolan. By the time it got to half, the morale was up because the Rebels knew that all they had to do was compete for another 40 minutes and they could win.
The second half was all Needham. The Rockets tried desperately to score but with no avail, Hoelger kept the ball out of the net to help lead the team to a big tie. “It helps our morale, it helps our team think they can compete with anyone” said assistant coach Steve Lipsett.
All this emotion and toughness gained from the big tie, did carry over, but in a bad way. When the Rebels went to play Natick, the team seemed to play on there heels and just defend for their live, just like in Needham. Natick came with a flurry of shots but just could not seem to find the back of the net till in the tenth minute, a cross was served into the box and after a brief scrum, the ball found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The band of brothers could have hung their heads and given up knowing they are not the most offensively gifted team, but a minute later junior P.J. Fuller hit a volley from outside the box to tie the game. The game would only go down hill as Natick would score on a questionable penalty kick where both players slid for the ball inside the box. Defensively the Rebels have many gifted players starting from their goalie, Pete Hoegler. But offensively, the key players missing leaves them looking for answers on how to put the ball in the back of the net.
Boys Soccer has their next game on September 19th, at Wellesley and should receive a big attendance due to last year’s games being so competitive.
