Vidovich says Deacons are finding a new identity

By: John Dell | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: April 04, 2009

Jay Vidovich, the men's soccer coach at Wake Forest, has one immediate goal for spring practice.

"We are trying to find our identity," he said.

The Deacons lost six starters who formed the core of a program that made three straight trips to the NCAA College Cup and won the national championship in 2007.

"You look at the eight guys that we lost, and six of them are in the pros," Vidovich said, referring to a group that includes Marcus Tracy, Sam Cronin, Mike Lahoud and Evan Brown.

But the Deacons still have plenty of talent, starting with leading scorer Cody Arnoux (42 points last season). Corben Bone and Zach Schilawski also will be back, and Austin de Luz should be at full strength after sitting out spring drills to recover from a lingering knee injury.

The Deacons led the nation in scoring last season with a school-record 81 goals and still have plenty of firepower.

"You look at the frontline with Cody, Corben and Zach, and throw in Austin when he's healthy, and that's a pretty special group," Vidovich said.

Schilawski scored twice last week in a 2-0 win over Denver. The Deacons played another spring match last night, losing to Akron at Spry Stadium, and will close the spring season April 17 when they play Maryland at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Ike Opara, expected to anchor the defense in the fall, is sitting out most of spring practice after surgery for a sports hernia, but goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald (15 goals, 13 shutouts) has turned into more of a vocal leader, Vidovich said.

"And we've got two unheralded guys in Justin Lichtfuss and Nick Courtney who have really stepped up their games," Viodvich said, "so that's been a big positive."

Lichtfuss filled in late last season while Opara sat with a groin injury, and the Deacons didn't miss a beat. This spring Lichtfuss has played in the middle and on the flank on defense.

Wake Forest finished 21-2-1 last season after losing 1-0 to North Carolina in the College Cup semifinals, but Vidovich said he doesn't sense any lingering ill effects from that loss.

"I think maybe for the older guys who have been to three College Cups in a row there's a fear of not getting back again," Vidovich said. "But there's no real sense of extra motivation because they have always been motivated."

In addition to the players who exhausted their eligibility, the Deacons also lost assistant coaches Carson Porter and Jon Lowery. Porter, the top assistant for five seasons, left for a job with the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh. Lowery, the Deacons' goalie coach for two seasons, left to become the head coach of Division III Hamline in St. Paul, Minn.

"For sure there's been some transition," said Vidovich, who hired Adegboyega "Bo" Oshoniyi to replace Lowery and promoted Ryan Martin from volunteer to full-time assistant.

Vidovich said he also has seen tremendous improvement from younger players such as Luke Norman and Danny Wenzel during spring practices and games. Wenzel started most of last season on defense, and Norman showed flashes of outstanding play up front.

The Deacons also have two freshmen who enrolled in January, goalie Michael Lisch and Ben Newnam, going through spring practice. Newnam starred at East Forsyth.

"You look at Ben, and just a couple of months before he was playing for East Forsyth, and then he suits up to play against the New England Revolution in our first spring game," Vidovich said. The Deacons lost to the Revolution 2-1 in March in Greensboro.

Overall, Vidovich said he's pleased with the work his team has done this spring.

"I think spring is the perfect time to just gain your identity and to see what we have," he said. "We've had players who have been along for the ride, but now they have to be the ride."

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or jdell@wsjournal.com.