NATCHEZ &045; They weren’t blue suede &045; in fact they were as white as freshly fallen snow &045; but no Wesson defender was stepping on Nick Anderson’s new cleats.

Anderson bobbed and weaved his way around Cobra midfielders and fullbacks throughout, and was the recipient of some nifty assists on his way to his second hat trick of the year in a 6-1 Green Wave (2-1-1) victory.

&uot;I’m doing a lot better than I expected this year,&uot; said Anderson, who has seven goals on the year but still is miffed he did not convert that breakaway in a 3-0 loss at St. Aloysius Tuesday. &uot;The whole team is really clicking. Coach Rick (Freeman) has been working on ball control with and making us use space like we never have before.&uot;

Toward the end it appeared as though Anderson was going to be shut out from his third goal of the night, as his shot on goal in the 37th minute headed wide right of the net.

However, seconds later Blase Gaude scooped up a loose ball, dribbled up the visitor’s side and lofted the ball into the box.

The Wesson keeper, too preoccupied with the streaking Anderson, lost sight of the ball and that allowed Anderson to head it in for a 5-1 Cathedral advantage.

&uot;Blase has the best left (foot) on the team and he’s been passing great this season,&uot; Anderson said. &uot;He lobbed in there and I was in position to make the play.&uot;

Gaude’s line was not too shabby either, as he accounted for the game’s alpha and omega goals, the last of which came inside the last minute on a penalty kick that brushed the keeper’s left glove and spun end-over-end across the goal line.

In the 11th minute of the first half, Anderson chipped the ball into the air, allowing Palmer Rinehart to settle under it.

Rinehart split two defenders, played coy in order for the keeper to come out and kicked it into the dead center of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Freeman sat starters Rinehart and John Paul Kenda, both prolific scorers last season, as a way to see what all he had in the cupboard.

&uot;I’ve got a lot of talent on this team, and I was just seeing exactly what all I had,&uot; Freeman said. &uot;I was impressed with what I saw.&uot;

The Cobras answered immediately after Rinehart’s score, as Brad Brister drove up the left side, centered into the box to Corey Gemelli, who headed it past Green Wave keeper Thomas Ater.

Despite a 3-1 cushion, the last goal (Anderson’s first) came with more than 17 minutes in the first, Freeman saw plenty to improving on with his halftime speech.

&uot;I felt like we lost a little bit of steam toward the end of the first half,&uot; the first-year coach said. &uot;We weren’t playing a control game and I talked to them about that at the half. They came out and did a lot better.&uot;

Although it took a while for Cathedral to score in the second half. Wyler Murray, who accounted for two assists Friday, unfurled a throw-in from just past midfield ahead to Anderson, who had gotten behind the fullback.

Anderson settled it, dribbled across the box and used his left foot to shake the back of the nylon for a 4-1 cushion inside the 14th minute of the second half.

&uot;We wanted to bounce back after a tough loss to St. Al with them being our rival,&uot; Anderson said. &uot;It was a good time to get a game like this. This is probably the best Wesson team we’ve faced, but we came to play tonight.&uot;

Wesson girls 3, Cathedral 1

The Lady Wave lit the lamp for the first time in three games this season and played more aggressively than in any of their other two defeats.

Kate Ellard, who had several shots on goal Friday, tied the game 1-all in the 22nd minute of the first half when she dribbled past a defender into the box and fired it past the keeper.

&uot;That was Kate’s first goal, and she was real excited about it,&uot; Lady Wave head coach Christine Krupa said. &uot;I’m beside myself. I’m very happy with the way we played. I think we dominated but unfortunately came out on the wrong end.&uot;

The second half was scoreless until Amber Brown, who garnered a hat trick in accounting for all the Lady Cobra goals, blew past Cathedral defenders and fired smoke past Lady Wave keeper Jamie Greer in the 23rd minute for a 2-1 lead.

Brown added the final goal, as the ball squibbed under Greer’s hands on a centering pass from Wesson’s Trystan Eschete and Brown was there to knock it home.

&uot;I think our morale went down after (Wesson) got that second goal on us,&uot; Krupa said. &uot;And it was the reverse for them. They got pumped up.&uot;