January 16, 2008

OWU Alumnus Wins National Championship

Jay Vidovich ’82

Trailing, 1-0, to Ohio State at halftime of the national championship game, Wake Forest did not allow a shot during the second half and rallied for 2 goals to take the win.

“It was a special experience. I have an immense amount of pride in what the guys accomplished,” Vidovich says.

The national championship was the final step in building what has become an NCAA power under Vidovich. The Demon Deacons won ACC regular-season titles in 2002 and 2004 and reached the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA tournament in 2002, 2004, and 2005. In 2006, Wake Forest took the next step into the quarterfinals and advanced to the College Cup, the Division I semifinals, for the first time before falling on penalty kicks to the eventual national champion.

“I think what made it really special was it was in an area where a lot of our fans could be (the championship game was held about 100 miles from the Wake Forest campus), and to pack the house and have it be black and gold was fantastic. It was an unbelievable sense of accomplishment to have alumni back and community there.

“The front row behind our bench was about 15 guys who came back from the pros to watch the game. There were a lot of former players—maybe 60 or 70—in the celebration in the locker room. To have them come back and be part of the trophy presentation was a fantastic thing. I don’t think any of our guys touched the trophy because the alumni were all dancing around it—them and Ryan Martin (Ohio Wesleyan ’05, now a volunteer assistant coach at Wake Forest.)

Vidovich’s Ohio Wesleyan roots, which extend back to his time as a player from 1979-82 and as an assistant coach from 1984-85, also contributed to the experience.

“Another thing that made it special was that about seven of the guys who played with me at Ohio Wesleyan talked to me or e-mailed me that weekend. I’ve heard from former teammates, guys I coached there, lacrosse guys from when I was the TKE housefather, even townspeople whose kids I coached when I was there. To think that my soccer family extends back to my OWU days is just a great feeling.”

– Mark Beckenbach