NATCHEZ &8212; Eric Hollowell scored both Cathedral goals to help the Green Wave to a 2-0 district win over Loyd Star Friday night.

After a scoreless first half, Hollowell scored two goals in a span of just over three minutes to give the Green Wave (3-1-1, 2-0 district) the win.

&8220;It took us pressing more,&8221; Hollowell said. &8220;We kept the defense spread out and kept the field spread.&8221;

Cathedral coach Rick Freeman said the difference was better execution by the offense.

&8220;I think we got the ball outside more in the second half, where in the first half we were trying to force things right down the field,&8221; Freeman said. &8220;We used the field a little better in the second half.&8221;

The first half featured plenty of back-and-forth action, with the Green Wave having one golden scoring opportunity: a Hollowell header that hit the crossbar in the 25th minute.

The Green Wave then took control of the second half, keeping the ball on their side of the field for the vast majority of the half, and Hollowell finally got Cathedral on the board with a nice kick off a deflection off the goalie in the 50th minute.

Three minutes later, John O&8217;Beirne found Hollowell in the box, and Hollowell turned around quickly and fired the second and final goal of the game.

&8220;This was definitely one we needed to win,&8221; Freeman said. &8220;You can&8217;t get behind in this district. Loyd Star has always given us fits, so this was a big one.&8221;

&8220;We came out expecting to win district this year, so we needed to win this district game,&8221; said Hollowell. &8220;This is our last year as seniors so we wanted to bring the title back.&8221;

Cathedral girls 4, Loyd Star 0

NATCHEZ &8212; Led by Megan Whittington, Kalin Kirkwood and Maddie Kirkwood, the Cathedral Lady Green Wave picked up their first win of the season with a 4-0 win over the Loyd Star Lady Hornets Friday night in a Division 7-1A/2A/3A game.

We had a good game. We looked very smooth, Lady Green Wave head coach David Gaud/ said. We still had some trouble in the midfield. We did well passing the ball in the front.Tess Fairbanks got things rolling for Cathedral (1-4, 1-1) by scoring a goal in the first two minutes of the game with a nice crossing pass from Whittington.

Whittington then scored a goal herself at the 28th minute of the first half with an assist from Maddie Kirkwood on a crossing pass to give the Lady Green Wave a 2-0 halftime lead.

There were five shots on goal for Cathedral and just three for Loyd Star in the first half, Gaud/ noted. There were nine shots on goal for Cathedral to just three for them in the second half.

The Lady Green Wave continued to be the aggressors in the second half. Kristina Brumfield&8217;s corner kick was headed in by Kalin Kirkwood for a 3-0 Cathedral lead at the 23rd minute of the half.

Maddie Kirkwood scored at the 30th minute with an assist from older sister Kalin Kirkwood on a crossing pass for the final goal of the game.

McComb boys 2, Natchez High 1

MCCOMB &8212; What was a well-played game during regulation finished with a, as Bulldogs head coach Dennis Hogue put it, &8220;flukish&8221; goal as the Tigers scored 45 seconds into extra time to win the game.

McComb took a 1-0 lead at the 16th minute of the first half before Ross Smith of Natchez High (1-1) tied the game at the 23rd minute of that half.

But what happened late in the game was not indicative of how well the two teams played.

&8220;Reginald Thomas was injured on a collision and play was stopped,&8221; Hogue said. &8220;He went back in the game 30 seconds later. At the end of the game, we were giving handshakes. This game should&8217;ve gone to PKs (penalty kicks).&8221;

Hogue noted that if had not been for the play of the goalies for both teams, the score would have been much higher.

&8220;Ross had six shots on goal. Their keeper was pretty darn good.&8221;

McComb girls 3, Natchez High 0

MCCOMB &8212; No. 24 for the Lady Tigers (no name given) scored all three of their goals, two of them on breakaways, as they shut out the Lady Bulldogs (1-1).

Patrick Jones