Top-ranked and speedy Akron spoiled the home opener for Wake Forest on Sunday night at Spry Stadium.
The Zips, who lost in the NCAA championship game last season to Virginia, beat the Deacons 2-0 in front of the largest regular-season crowd in school history with just over 4,500.
Akron, which was top ranked by the National Soccer Coaches Association's preseason poll, took it right at the third-ranked Deacons (0-1-1) and never backed off.
"We just saw what real life is about at the top," said Coach Jay Vidovich of the Deacons.
Vidovich hesitated to answer what he learned about his young team, which opened the season on Friday night in Greensboro with a 2-2 tie to Seton Hall.
"Certain individuals are going to have to step up and collectively we are going to have to step up," Vidovich said. "And I think there was a moment in the second half there where we lost a little belief, but they bounced back a little and grew from that."
Losing belief isn't something that Vidovich had to worry about in the previous four seasons when the Deacons won a national title (in 2007) and reached the last four College Cups.
The Zips scored a goal in each half starting with Darren Mattocks jumping to the inside on defender Anthony Arena and pushing a short shot past goalie Akira Fitzgerald in the 15th minute. Darlington Nagbe set the goal up by slipping the ball just past two defenders.
The 1-0 lead held until the Zips, who improved to 2-0 after also beating North Carolina on Friday 3-0, scored again in the 53rd minute. This time it was the Nagbe, who took a crossing pass from Kofi Sarkodie and beat Fitzgerald to the right from about 20 yards out.
Nagbe, a speedy junior, gave the Deacons fits all night and helped the Zips control the game. The Deacons managed just four shots on goal, and had just three corner kicks.
"It was a great test and Akron is a tremendous team," Vidovich said. "That's the best team we've seen and they play soccer. It was a great test for us and it brings to life what we have been talking to the guys because many of our guys haven't experienced that and now they have."
After the Zips got the 2-0 lead both teams got rough and several yellow cards were issued. For the game there were a total of eight yellow cards with each team drawing four apiece.
Midfielder Sam Redmond of the Deacons, who is a junior and one of the veterans, says that they learned a lot.
"I think everybody works hard in practice but this one hurts, especially in front of those people at home," Redmond said about the fourth-largest crowd in school history that includes NCAA Tournament games. "There's no substitute for how that felt. It's a learning experience and it's good.
"Even as a junior I'm not used to losing at home."
The Deacons will open ACC play on Friday night at Spry Stadium against Clemson.
"I hope there's a learning process because if there's not it's going to be a long season," Vidovich said. "Everything is correctable and I think we will get better."
For those who have been used to the organization and attack mentality the Deacons have had in recent seasons, it's going to take some time. Three freshmen were in the starting lineup and two more saw significant playing time off the bench.
"We're a young team but we've set some goals but I think what we learned is we can't give up soft goals so early and we were escaping in the preseason and in the first game," Redmond said. "That set us up for the whole game and Akron showed that you can't allow a first and a second goal because you aren't going to come back every time."
Forward Andy Lubahn was hounded all night and never did get a shot on goal and in the midfield the Deacons failed several times to get the ball to the inside.
"We're just trying to get everybody on the same page and we tried to set a press a little bit and our counter attacks were breaking down with simple errors," Redmond said. "We have to correct those mistakes."
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