WHITEFISH — Whitefish’s boys soccer team passed another test in its quest to repeat as Class A state champions with a 5-0 conference win over Bigfork Thursday at Smith Fields.

Whitefish (6-0 overall, 2-0 Northwestern A) dominated possession, but struggled to solve Bigfork’s organized defense early. The Vikings put at least nine, and sometimes all 10, players behind the ball and effectively clogged Whitefish’s passing lanes in the opening 20 minutes, but the Bulldog midfielders continued to probe and eventually broke through in the 22nd minute.

Once it was on the board, Whitefish opened up Bigfork’s defense and turned the game into a rout in the second half.

“The first 20 minutes I thought we were ultimately in control,” Whitefish coach O’Brien Byrd said.

“We had a ton of possession, but weren’t really creating many chances. Bigfork, because we had all the possession, they packed it back there and made it difficult for us to breakthrough.”

The breakthrough finally came when Tommy Murphy played a long pass into the middle to Curran Edland, who ripped a right-footed strike past Bigfork goalkeeper Dillon Hilling from 30 yards out.

“(Murphy) played a nice ball across the middle and I went for the shot,” Edland said. “I thought it was a little far, but why not?”

Nathan Boone added to Whitefish’s lead seven minutes later with a well-placed shot from the left flank that curled inside the far post.

Whitefish used more of the field in the second half, distributing the ball to the wings and finding more space to operate in the attacking third.

In the first minute of the half, Murphy played a through ball to Sam Donaldson, who was all alone in the middle of the field. After a quick dribble, Donaldson hit a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box, which took a slight deflection off Hilling’s fingertips before flying into the back of the net.

Whitefish added a fourth goal four minutes later when Sean Janni headed in a corner kick.

“We calmed down, definitely,” Edland said. “We started playing to the outside and putting it into the middle on a cross.

“It opened up, we meshed a bit more and then it got fun.”

Bigfork (4-2, 2-1) created its first scoring chance in the 49th minute when Jorge Zavala attempted to volley a cross, but his shot sailed well over the crossbar. Bigfork had another chance in the 64th minute, but Whitefish goalkeeper Thomas Clark reacted quickly to make a save on an attempt from inside the goal box.

Edland scored Whitefish’s fifth goal in the 52nd minute on a free kick from 25 yards out.

Byrd credited Bigfork’s defense for keeping the game close in the first half and said he was happy with how his team answered after the break.

“They really frustrated us, and I really think we didn’t create our better chances until we got into the second half and found that we had to get the ball wide to open up the flanks and penetrate their bunker-style defense,” he said.

Despite suffering its first conference loss, Bigfork coach Keith Koslosky was pleased with how his team handled the defending champs.

“We were able to move the ball and we were able to maintain the pace of the game at times,” he said.

Whitefish hosts Polson Saturday.

Bigfork hosts Columbia Falls Tuesday.

Bigfork    0    0    —    0

Whitefish    2    3    —    5

W — Curran Edland (assist Tommy Murphy), 22:00

W — Nathan Boone, Sean Janni, 29:00

W — Sam Donaldson, Murphy, 41:00

W — Janni, Murphy, 45:00

W — Edland, free kick, 52:00

Shots on goal — Bigfork 2, Whitefish 11. Saves — Bigfork 6 (Dillon Hilling), Whitefish 2 (Thomas Clark). Corner kicks — Bigfork 3, Whitefish 8. Total fouls — Bigfork 4, Whitefish 6. Yellow cards — none. Red cards — none.

Girls

Whitefish 4, Bigfork 0

WHITEFISH — The Whitefish girls overpowered Bigfork’s midfield to earn a conference win.

With captains Megan Danczyk and Caroline Carbo anchoring the midfield, Whitefish (5-1, 2-0) repeatedly won possession in the middle third, preventing Bigfork (0-6, 0-3) from crossing midfield and allowing Whitefish plenty of looks at the Bigfork net.

“We have good first touches and try to look through the wings,” said Danczyk, who credited her familiarity with Carbo and their two-touch passing for Whitefish’s dominance in the midfield.

While Bigfork only crossed into Whitefish territory four times in the first half, Whitefish squandered its time of possession advantage by failing to finish its chances.

Danczyk had the first chance in the 4th minute, but her shot was right at Bigfork goalkeeper Jazzmyn Musser.

Whitefish freshman Anna Peterson had a chance two minutes later after intercepting a goal kick, but her shot was wide of the near post.

Peterson got redemption in the 12th minute when Haley Craven snaked a pass onto Peterson’s foot through three Bigfork defenders, and Peterson slotted a shot into the lower right corner of the net from inside the 18-yard box.

Whitefish had several more chances as the half wore on, but couldn’t finish, and settled for a 1-0 lead at the break.

“We were kind of down (at half time),” Danczyk said. “We weren’t playing our best. Our defense was holding strong, but our through balls weren’t quite on. We knew we had to step it up.”

Less than three minutes into the second half, Peterson gave the Bulldogs a two-goal cushion with another goal from close range. After receiving a pass in the box from Janessa Courtney, Peterson fired a shot inside the far post from just outside the 6-yard box.

Danczyk nearly scored two minutes later when she bombed a shot off the post from 40 yards out.

Undeterred, Danczyk continued to shoot from long range and found the back of the net in the 62nd minute with a strike from the front right corner of the 18-yard box.

“You never make it if you don’t try,” Danczyk said. “I’m always looking for the long shot.”

Whitefish added its fourth goal in the 78th minute when Addie Elm capitalized on a Bigfork turnover inside its own goal box.

“The conference games are always tough,” Whitefish coach Wendy Farrens said.

“Everyone puts their best foot forward. We were able to win in the midfield, so it worked out well for us.”

Whitefish will look to stay unbeaten in the conference when it hosts Polson Saturday.

Bigfork is off until Tuesday when it hosts Columbia Falls.

Bigfork    0    0    —    0

Whitefish    1    3    —    4

W — Anna Peterson (assist Haley Craven), 12:00

W — Peterson, Janessa Courtney, 42:00

W — Megan Danczyk, Ceara Lawshe, 62:00

W — Addie Elm, Danczyk, 78:00

Shots — Bigfork 4, Whitefish 43. Saves — Bigfork 11 (Jazzmyn Musser), Whitefish 2 (Piper Greenwood). Corner kicks — Bigfork 1, Whitefish 12. Total fouls — Bigfork 2, Whitefish 4. Cards — none.