BROOKHAVEN &045; Why break for Christmas when you’re sitting on a 3-0 mark in division?

Because the schedule says so.

Yet the Cathedral Lady Wave sits undefeated in league play heading into the holiday break after rallying late for a score to claim a 3-2 win over Franklin County Monday in Brookhaven. The next game is Jan. 4 at home against Wesson.

Give the Lady Bulldogs credit for answering Cathedral’s 2-0 lead, but the Lady Wave (3-0, 3-4) finished it off in final minutes when Kate Ellard scored on an unassisted shot to take the lead.

&uot;In the last 15 minutes they just got motivated and determined they wanted going to win,&uot; Lady Wave head coach David Gaud said. &uot;They really, really tightened up and got tough. The whole game was pretty tight, and the last 15 minutes they really opened up Franklin County’s defense. We were doing a lot of good passing.&uot;

Ellard scored the Lady Wave’s first goal in the first half on an assist from Brittany Laird, but the Lady Bulldogs accidentally put one into their own net in the 35th minutes for a 2-0 Cathedral lead.

Franklin then answered right before the half to trim the lead to 2-1.

In the second half the Lady Bulldogs got another goal in the first 15 minutes to tie it up.

Each team had three saves in the first half and four in the second. Cathedral keeper Abby Brown accounted for each of the seven saves.

Franklin boys 3, Cathedral 0

All that success in division has quite possibly developed a bull’s eye on the back of Cathedral’s Green Wave.

Franklin County’s Bulldogs came out ready to play and took a 1-0 lead by halftime before blanking the Green Wave (2-1, 3-4) to hand CHS its first division loss.

&uot;It was one of those days we couldn’t kick it in the ocean,&uot; Cathedral head coach Rick Freeman said. &uot;They came to win. I think with us being district champs the last several years they really came with a win in mind, and they got it. They hustled and were aggressive. That’s where we’re lacking &045; in our aggressiveness.&uot;

The Bulldogs got their first goal in the 29th minute of the first half on a goal off a corner kick and followed just before the midway point of the second in the 16th minute thanks to a nice shot from the left side.

In the 35th minute Franklin put its third shot in the net on a breakaway.

Cathedral couldn’t find the net in the second half and out-shot Franklin 13-7. In the first half each team had six shots on goal.

&uot;I can think of four or five good opportunities we should have scored on right in front of the goal,&uot; Freeman said. &uot;We had plenty of opportunities.&uot;