NATCHEZ — Losing by just one is frustrating for any team, but there was added frustration for the Natchez High varsity boy’s soccer team against Cathedral Thursday night.

That’s because Natchez’s Clarence Hayes accidentally scored Cathedral’s only goal when he was trying to make a defensive play in the second half.

“Things like that happen, they did what they could do, and sometimes you can’t help that,” said Natchez head coach Brad Brister.

“It just happens. You’re trying to get the ball out, and it gets deflected. That’s just soccer. He was just trying to make a play.”

Cathedral head coach Rick Simons said sometimes you need those kinds of breaks in a close game.

“You definitely need some lucky chances or a lucky break once in a while, but I would have liked to score a legitimate goal,” Simons said. “I’m sure these kids would have enjoyed it a lot more too.”

Despite the narrow loss, Brister said he was pleased overall with how his team played against the Green Wave.

“I thought we played really well the majority of the game,” he said. “The last 15 to 20 minutes we kind of reverted back to our old ways and broke down, but I thought they played really good, and they kept a good team to 1-0.”

Simons said the Bulldogs’ defensive strategy kept the Green Wave’s scoring opportunities in check.

“It’s hard to beat a team when they play 11-man defense,” Simons said. “I was hoping our goalie could have gotten some more work — I think he had touched the ball a total of four times in the game, and that was his first game playing.

“We have a big game (tonight at Franklin County), so I was trying to get him some work, but it didn’t work out for us that way. We came away with a lucky goal, and the ball just fell right for us that time.”

Meanwhile, Bulldog keeper Toddrick Mason saw a lot of action, and made several big stops on a couple of breakaways by Cathedral.

“He did a really good job,” Brister said. “He made a lot of saves. He came out when he needed to come out, he jumped up, and just played solid and did a lot of good work.”

In his first year on the job, Brister said XXX.

“A lot of my guys have never really played before, and I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I’ve tried to come here as a coach and help them with everything they do,” Brister said.

“That’s not just in soccer, but outside of soccer. For guys that have never played before, they’ve come together really quickly in just half a season. They’ve done what they’re supposed to do.”

Cathedral Girls 19,

Natchez High 0

Taylor White and Maddie Kirkwood both had a hat trick as the Lady Green Wave won in a blowout.

Cathedral girls head coach David Gaudé said he understands the struggles with a new coach stepping in.

“I think they’re working out a few things, and they also had a lot of turnover with girls graduating,” Gaudé said.

“We played everyone tonight. I won’t say everyone saw significant playing time, but they saw playing time.”