Needham, Natick battle to draw
Father, daughter mix it up
It’s not often that you have the chance to see an athlete compete for their parents on a team at the high school level.
Now, playing against a parent? That’s almost unheard of, but it happened, and now it looks like one Needham star might have earned some bragging rights at home, at least for a few days.
In a contest between two of the top girls soccer teams in the Bay State Conference, senior goalkeeper Cora Wainwright was outstanding Wednesday, racking up 15 saves to fuel the Needham Rockets during a 1-1 draw against rival Natick, and her father, David.
“This is her year,” Rockets coach Carl Tarabelli said. “She’s been on varsity, last year in a backup role. She’s had some experience. She’s a senior, and she’s taking full advantage of it. The fact she gets to play against her dad, these are the things I want her to remember.”
For the entirety of the first half, Natick (2-0-1) controlled the tempo, firing one shot after the next at the Needham net. The Redhawks had multiple breakaway chances, but couldn’t put one past Wainwright, as she recorded nine saves over the first two quarters of play.
Needham (1-1-1), on the other hand, didn’t have a true chance on goal until the final minutes of action. However, the Rockets took advantage of their opportunity when it presented itself.
In the 65th minute, sophomore Caroline Hood took off toward the Natick net on a breakaway, but was tripped up at the last possible second in the Redhawks’ box, resulting in a penalty kick.
On the ensuing shot, junior Madeline Ledbury sniped the net with ease, as Needham seized a 1-0 advantage, stunning Natick fans in attendance.
“I’ve taken many PK’s,” Ledbury said. “So I know how to read goalies, and I looked to the right, then shot bottom left … I knew we needed it to gain some momentum to hopefully win the game.”
However, the lead was short-lived. The Redhawks immediately started a rush in the opposite direction following the Needham goal. After some miscommunication defensively from the Rockets, Natick senior captain Holly Browning gained control of the ball, then buried a shot to even things at 1-all in the 67th minute.
“The ball was coming to me from the corner,” Browning said. “I was thinking about taking it, one-time. I had a little bit of a half second to take it past the defender and place it right, instead of taking a chance at hitting it (out of the air). I just placed it right where I wanted it.”
Over the course of the day, Natick out-shot Needham 22-6, but whenever it seemed like the Redhawks had an easy tally coming, Cora countered with a highlight denial. And almost every time Natick had the senior beat, the crossbar came into play, or the shot would skip wide.
“I really just paid attention to what my goalie coach told me during practice,” Wainwright said. “My dad said they’d be shooting high a lot, so I literally used that to my advantage, and I just made sure my position was OK, talked to my defense a lot. Generally just relied on my instinct and my training.”
When the final whistle sounded, David was somewhat confused as to how to react. His daughter had just completed one of the best games of her soccer career, except it was for the opponent.
As the crowds cleared, the tandem then made their way back to their car together, talking soccer as they usually do. The two won’t have too much time to think about Wednesday’s events, however. Needham will travel to Natick for another match Friday, which also happens to be the Redhawks’ Senior Night.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime (situation),” David said. “This is the first time I’ve ever had to experience something like this. It was unique, it was surreal, and I’m still going to process it.”
He then chuckled.
“I know dinner tonight is going to be a challenge,” he joked.