Girls soccer rolls past Stevensville

Lest anyone forgot exactly how good

this Lady Bulldog soccer team might be this year, Friday’s blowout

of Stevensville was a good reminder.

Whitefish scored early and often

against the outmatched Yellowjackets en route to a 12-3

nonconference victory at Smith Fields.

“It was fun to get out there and get

the first game,” Whitefish coach Wendy Farrens said. “We were able

to play everybody a lot and try some different things.

“We started out strong and had good

rhythm from the get go. You don’t always see that in the first game

of the season.”

Led by four goals and two assists from

Megan Danczyk, the Lady Dogs dominated from start to finish.

Samantha Dittman started the scoring at

the 6:30 mark when she blasted a shot from 25 yards out to the left

side of the net.

Danczyk tacked on another one minute

later when she outhustled a defender on a through pass and put in a

shot from the top of the penalty box.

Danczyk then assisted Madison Grady at

the eight-minute mark on a cross from deep inside the box.

Three goals in three minutes and the

Lady Dogs were on cruise control.

Dittman then placed in a nice pass to

Danczyk who put a rocket into the net from the top of the penalty

box.

Anna Carpenter scored on a Natalie

Gayner assist, Danczyk scored twice on passes from Michaela

Millette and Dittman closed out the half by curling in a beautiful

shot that hit off the right post and into the back of the net.

Kayla Simmes, Mackenzie Thomas, and

Gayner each scored in the second half.

If there’s any room for concern in a

nine-point win, Whitefish could look to the three goals they gave

up to Stevi in the second half. Farrens chalked up the goals to

girls playing out of their typical positions and said it’s a good

learning experience.

“It’s good to see areas where we need

to improve,” she said.

Whitefish travels to Billings Central

this Friday for a rematch of last year’s Class A state title game.

Central knocked off Hamilton 8-1 and Corvallis 4-1 last week to

extend their winning streak to 46 matches.

“All the girls are excited for

Billings,” Farrens said. “They’ve been thinking about this game

since their last game of the season last year.”

Farrnes said she hasn’t watched the

tape from last seasons title game and doesn’t plan to either.

“It’s a new team and a new year,” she

said. “Billings is a tough opponent and we’ll do the best we can.

We do have a lot of returning starters who do have a sour taste and

little extra motivation. As a coach, I’m just excited we get to

play a tough opponent and get better.”