Wake Forest Athletics
Vidovich Named ACC Coach of the Year; Opara ACC Defensive POY
11/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 11, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Wake Forest led all Atlantic Coast Conference schools with seven players named to the All-ACC team, including Ike Opara, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Jay Vidovich earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career.
Vidovich, now in his 15th year as head coach at Wake Forest, continued to develop the Demon Deacons into one of the premier men's soccer programs in the country. Vidovich guided Wake Forest to a 17-0-1 record and a 7-0-1 ACC record, earning the team's fourth ACC regular season title in the last seventh year. The unbeaten regular season marked the second in Wake Forest history, joining the 2002 team that finished the regular season with a 15-0-4 record.
Opara, a sophomore from Durham, N.C., helped Wake Forest to a conference-high 11 shutouts on the season, including a period early in the season where Wake Forest did not allow a goal for 401:59 consecutive minutes. Opara also contributed on the offensive end, scoring five goals, including two game-winning tallies. Opara is the second Wake Forest player to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year since the award was implemented in 2004, joining former Wake Forest star and current member of the New England Revolution, Michael Parkhurst.
Four other Demon Deacons joined Opara on the All-ACC First Team. Cody Arnoux, Corben Bone, Sam Cronin and Marcus Tracy also earned All-ACC First Team honors. The five first-team honorees marked the most for any one team since 1992, when Virginia placed five players on the first team.
Arnoux, who was also named to the All-ACC First Team in 2007, ranks second in the ACC in points with 32 and is first in goals with 14. After scoring only once in the first eight games of the season, Arnoux has found the back of the net 13 times in the last 10 games, including a league-high eight goals against conference foes.
The 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year, Bone has continued his success in his sophomore season, leading the ACC and the country with 15 assists on the season. The 15 assists is the most ever in a single season at Wake Forest. A midfielder from Dallas, Bone has also added five goals on the season and ranks third on the team with 25 points.
Cronin was named to the All-ACC First Team for the second straight year. A two-year team captain for the Demon Deacons, Cronin has scored seven goals and four assists on the season. Cronin has started every match in his career at Wake Forest and will tie Brian Edwards for the most games played and started at Wake Forest with 93 in Wednesday's ACC Tournament quarterfinal against NC State or Virginia Tech.
After earning All-ACC Second Team accolades in 2007, Tracy was named to the All-ACC First Team for the first time in his career. Tracy ranks in the top five in the ACC in points (T-3rd, 29), goals (T-4th, 11) and assists (T-5th, 7). A forward from Newtown, Conn., Tracy scored at least one goal in the first six goals of the season and scored two gaols in the Deacs' 4-1 win at NC State.
Senior midfielder Michael Lahoud earned the second All-ACC honor of his career, being named to the All-ACC Second Team. Lahoud, who also was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, has played in every game this season, making 17 starts. A key part of the Wake Forest midfield, Lahoud has added three assists on the season and has played 89 games in his career at Wake Forest, which ranks him in a tie for third for most games played at Wake Forest.
Freshman defender Danny Wenzel was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. A native of Federal Way, Wash., Wenzel has played in 15 games this season, including 14 starts. Wenzel has helped Wake Forest to an ACC-best 11 shutouts on the season, including a span of 401:59 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal early in the season. Wenzel has also notched three assists on the season.
Duke's Mike Grella was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while Tony Tchani of Virginia was the ACC Freshman of the Year.
Wake Forest opens play in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. (ET), against either NC State or Virginia. For complete coverage of the ACC Tournament, including free online video of every match of the tournament, visit http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-soccer/08-msoc-championship.html.
2008 ACC All-Conference Men's Soccer Accolades
2008 All-ACC First Team
Cody Arnoux, Wake Forest
Alejandro Bedoya, Boston College
Corben Bone, Wake Forest
Chris Brown, Boston College
Sam Cronin, Wake Forest
Omar Gonzalez, Maryland
Mike Grella, Duke
Jeremy Hall, Maryland
Ike Opara, Wake Forest
Brian Shriver, North Carolina
Marcus Tracy, Wake Forest
2008 All-ACC Second Team
Darrius Barnes, Duke
Joseph Bendik, Clemson
Ronnie Bouemboue, NC State
Michael Callahan, North Carolina
A.J. Delagarza, Maryland
Michael Lahoud, Wake Forest
David Newton, Virginia
Alan Sanchez, NC State
Tony Tchani, Virginia
Rodney Wallace, Maryland
Graham Zusi, Maryland
2008 All-ACC Freshmen Team
Shawn Barry, Virginia
Kyle Bethel, Duke
Francklin Blaise, Clemson
Matt Kassel, Maryland
Zac MacMath, Maryland
Brian Ownby, Virginia
Tony Tchani, Virginia
Casey Townsend, Maryland
Danny Wenzel, Wake Forest
Sheanon Williams, North Carolina
Edvin Worley, Boston College
ACC Offensive Player of the Year
Mike Grella, Duke
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Ike Opara, Wake Forest
ACC Freshman of the Year
Tony Tchani, Virginia
ACC Coach of the Year
Jay Vidovich, Wake Forest
