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Same Goal: Deacs, a little less experienced, still have talent
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Published: September 1, 2009
The names have changed, but the style of the Wake Forest men's soccer team should remain the same.
Coach Jay Vidovich has built a powerhouse program, and although he lost eight starters from last season, he expects his team to be near the top of the ACC again. The Deacons will open their season at 7 p.m. today, playing William & Mary at Spry Stadium.
The Deacons play an exciting brand of attacking offense and smart defense, a formula that has produced three straight College Cup appearances, one national championship and a record of 61-7-7 for this season's six seniors. The Deacons were 22-2-1 and won the ACC regular-season title in 2008.
"We have a way of playing that brings us attacking players and great recruits," Vidovich said. "They all believe in our style, so I think you'll continue to see that, but this team wants to win still, and we'll play together and battle for each other. We'll be as good as our abilities will allow us, and we'll get better as the year goes on."
Vidovich lost eight players to the pros after last season and lost another starter, sophomore Danny Wenzel, for this season because of a knee injury. He also lost six of his top nine scorers from a team that led the nation with a school-record 81 goals.
Still, the Deacons return some proven players. Seniors Austin da Luz and Zack Schilawski and junior Corben Bone will anchor the offense, and senior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald (13 shutouts) and junior Ike Opara will lead the defense. Seniors Justin Lichtfuss and Nick Courtney and sophomore Kyle Adams will get their chance to play more on the back line.
One challenge Vidovich will face is covering the absence of Opara, who will miss at least six games playing in FIFA's U-20 World Cup.
The Deacons were picked fourth in the ACC coaches preseason poll.
"We don't really read too much into those preseason rankings," said da Luz, a creative scorer who has battled injuries the last two seasons. "I think that the fact that we are fifth in one preseason poll (nationally) and fourth in the ACC shows the strength of our conference.
"You are going to see different faces, but the identity that Coach Jay has created here hasn't changed. Success is a huge part of that identity, and as players we don't want to change that." In years past, Schilawski said, upperclassmen such as Marcus Tracy and Sam Cronin and before them Pat Phelan and Julian Valentin were the team's leaders.
He said that he and da Luz have tried to assume those roles.
"We still are going to play Wake Forest soccer and work hard and defend hard and play and move the ball," Schilawski said. "I think leadership is the biggest key for us. We have to kind of close the gap between the older guys and the young guys to be more collective."
Among the freshmen Vidovich will rely on are Andy Lubahn, Anthony Arena and Ben Newnam. Newnam graduated early from East Forsyth, enrolled at Wake Forest for the spring semester and went through spring practice. Lubahn, a midfielder, had a chance to sign with a pro team overseas but chose college.
"Andy had an opportunity to continue with this program in Belgium as a pro," Vidovich said. "But what's great about him is he's got that pro mentality where he comes to training every day, he gets after it, but he's also learning how to play."
Vidovich admits that it will take time for the Deacons to hit their stride. They will again play a very tough schedule, starting with tonight's opening game.
"The biggest key for us," da Luz said, "is staying positive throughout the year and building momentum going into the (NCAA) tournament. There's going to be some growing pains for sure with our new faces.
"It's something we just have to accept, and we have to learn from our mistakes."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 jdell@wsjournal.com.
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