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Schilawski is making a name for himself on the Wake Forest soccer team THE ZACK ATTACK
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Published: October 7, 2009
Zack Schilawski wore the black Wake Forest construction hat with pride earlier this week while walking to practice at Spry Stadium.
Schilawski, a senior forward on the soccer team, was awarded the hat for the week for his hard work. It's a tradition that Coach Jay Vidovich has had for awhile, and the players have embraced it.
"The Hard Hat Award we give to players who make the team the best that week on and off the field," Vidovich said. "And Zack's got his signature on there a few times, but that's just the way he plays -- he's always working hard."
It's hard to believe that Schilawski has been under the radar in his time at Wake Forest, but that's starting to change. He has scored 31 career goals, good enough for sixth in school history with plenty of more games to play.
Last week in a 5-1 win over Virginia Tech Schilawski had his first career hat trick and added an assist.
"I probably wouldn't want to admit that," Schilawski said about being under the radar. "Having said that, I've been around some unbelievable players. You can be a good player around here and not even be the best on the field with guys like Marcus Tracy and Cody Arnoux (who are now in playing pro soccer)."
One of Schilawski's best traits, according to Vidovich, is his selflessness. This is the first season he's starting for the Deacons, where in his first three seasons he mostly came off the bench.
But when he did come off the bench he was productive (11 goals last season).
It was in the 2007 College Cup in Cary that Schilawski had his finest hour. He assisted on Tracy's winning goal in the semifinals against Virginia Tech, and then scored the winner in the championship game against Ohio State.
What made it so satisfying for Schilawski was that it came in his hometown of Cary. This year's College Cup is in Cary again, and getting there again is what Schilawski and the Deacons are shooting for.
"Maybe when my career is over I'll think back more about that sophomore season, but when you are still kind of in the moment and playing you don't think about it too much," Schilawski said.
After last night's game with UNC Greensboro the Deacons will face a big test on Friday at Spry Stadium against North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat the Deacons in last year's College Cup semifinals 1-0 in Dallas.
The Deacons lost plenty of talent from last year's team, but with a solid core of scorers in Schilawski, along with playmakers Austin da Luz and Corben Bone, they are still one of the best teams in the country.
Schilawski gives credit to da Luz and Bone for giving him plenty of chances to score.
"I'm at my best when I'm just connecting with those guys up front," Schilawski said.
Vidovich said that Schilawski, who has a 3.6 grade-point average in biology and will graduate in December, has shown maturity throughout his career.
"His intangibles are making us so much better, not just his goals," Vidovich said.
The Deacons lost twice (to Virginia and UNC Charlotte) in the five games they played without defender Ike Opara, who was with the under-20 national team. Opara should play against North Carolina, but Schilawski said that the young team learned a lot with Opara out.
"We've found some depth that maybe we didn't know we had," Schilawski said. "I think it's going to just make us better."
jdell@wsjournal.com.
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