Sports > November 8, 2007

By Connor Swarbrick | Staff writer

After suffering its first defeat of the season to Boston College Oct. 27, the Deacons’ rebounded this week with two victories against in-state rivals. The Deacons’ first challenge was UNC-Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels came into the match with a record of 6-5-5 looking to spoil Senior Night for the Deacons.

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Sophomore Zach Schilawski dribbles the ball in the Nov. 3 game against UNC. (Andrew Imboden/Old Gold & Black)

Junior Lyle Adams, however, gave the Deacons an early lead. He netted his third goal of the season off of a free kick from senior Pat Phelan. The goal, which was the first shot of the contest, came with five minutes into the contest.

Charging toward the goal from 35 yards out, junior midfielder Sam Cronin fired a ball past UNC goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty to score a second goal for Wake Forest. Sophomore Austin da Luz set up Cronin and was credited with his ninth assist on the season. The goal, which came after a number of opportunities for the Deacons, proved to be the final in contest.

Playing in only his third game of the season, the Tar Heel goalie was fired on four times. The Deacons outshot the Tar Heels 9-2 on the evening.

The 2-0 victory improved the Deacons to 13-1-2 overall and gave them a secure hold on the No. 2 spot in the ACC trailing only Boston College.

The second matchup of the week for the Deacons was Nov. 6 when they hosted Davidson. Entering the game with a record of 4-12-1 the Wildcats looked to slow down the No. 1 Demon Deacons. The Wildcats nearly went up 1-0 when a header from Robby Hoak ricocheted off the post early in the first half. However, the game remained scoreless for 40 minutes until sophomore Zack Schilawski drilled a quick touch pass from junior Marcus Tracy right in front of the Davidson goalie.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game right off, head coach Jay Vidovich said.

“Davidson wanted to get a result so they made it very difficult to play. We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be but I think that first goal was special.”

Schilawski began a flurry of Deacon goals in the second half with his second goal of the game and his sixth of the season when he netted a da Luz free kick. Freshman Jeff Leach got his first goal of the season just minutes later also off a da Luz pass.

In the 62nd and 63rd minutes sophomore Cody Arnoux had his 11th and 12th goals of the season to make the score 5-0. For his first goal Arnoux tapped the ball behind the Wildcat goalie, then reconnected to bury it in the back of the net. While the crowd was still celebrating the goal, he fired a ball from 30 yards out that eluded the Davidson goalie waiting at the top of the penalty box.

The four goals in the second half came in only eight minutes of play.

The Wildcats lone goal came in the 76th minute when Robert O’Donnell shot from eight yards out and found the right pocket of net behind sophomore goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald.

The Demon Deacons will return to Spry Stadium for the regular season finale Nov. 9. The Deacons will host Virginia at 8 p.m. on national television. The No. 21 Cavaliers currently have a record of 10-5-2 and pose a difficult challenge for the Deacons before they enter postseason play.

“We are very excited about getting into the ACC tournament and NCAA play,” Vidovich said. “The guys have been working hard for this opportunity and I feel pretty good about it. There are 15 guys that are ready to go after it.”