WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Wake Forest senior forward Zack Schilawski netted his first career hat trick and also added an assist to lead the third-ranked Demon Deacons to a 5-1 win at Virginia Tech on Friday night at Thompson Field.

"It was a good rebound win for us tonight," said head coach Jay Vidovich. "We’re trying to instill certain habits and characteristics into our team that has brought success and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. We were very tight in the first half defensively. Our movement and attack were much better. We got a goal early in the game and we followed up with another one. We also drew blood quickly in the second half. I’m happy that the guys battled and stayed strong."

With the win, Wake Forest improves to 6-2-1 on the season and 2-1-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Virginia Tech is now 3-4-2 and 2-1-0 in league play.

After only scoring one goal in the first eight games of the season, Schilawski broke out in a big way with a career-high three goals and seven points. The hat trick marked the 24th time that a Demon Deacon player had scored at least three goals in a game, with the last time coming on October 4, 2008, when Cody Arnoux scored three goals, also against Virginia Tech. With his performance tonight, Schilawski now has four goals on the season and two assists.

"I got a couple of bounces to go my way tonight," Schilawski said. "I was hoping to do better in the first eight games of the year. I think the coaches, the players around me and myself have done a good job of staying positive. The coaches have been encouraging me and telling me that I was close. I think I just needed one game to get after it and break through. It feels good."

With the three goals, Schilawski now has 30 goals in his collegiate career, tying him with Marcus Tracy (2005-08) for sixth most in school history. Schilawski also has 75 points in his career, which places him in seventh place in school history.

Senior midfielder Austin da Luz also made history, breaking the Wake Forest career assists record with the 30th helper of his career on Kyle Adams’s goal in the first half. Da Luz now has a team-high six assists on the season.

Andy Lubahn and Adams also netted goals in the Wake Forest victory. Lubahn’s goal was the third of the season, while Adams scored for the first time in his collegiate career. Sam Redmond and Corben Bone also made the score sheet, recording assists in the game.

The assist for Bone was the 28th assist of his career, putting him in third in school history, two behind da Luz.

Akira Fitzgerald and Michael Lisch split time in goal for Wake Forest. Fitzgerald played the opening 45 minutes, making one save. Lisch made his collegiate debut in the game, playing the entire second half, allowing one goal and making two saves.

The Demon Deacons struck first with a goal in the sixth minute. Redmond stole the ball in the Virginia Tech final third and made a pass to Schilawski at the right side of the 18-yard box. Schilawski made the extra pass to Lubahn in the center of the field and he finished from 18 yards out in the center of the field to make the score 1-0.

Wake Forest made the score 2-0 with a goal in the 12th minute. Austin da Luz’s corner kick found Adams inside the six-yard box. Adams headed the ball into the left side of the net for Wake’s second goal of the game.

Virginia Tech had its first chance of the game in the 17th minute. A Hokie player played a cross from the right side of the field that eluded Fitzgerald and forced him to come off his line. James Gilson was able to get a shot off but his attempt was saved and the Deacs were able to clear the ball away without any further shot attempts by the Hokies.

The Demon Deacons had another quality chance in the 25th minute. Lubahn played a pass to Schilawski on the right side of the six-yard box, but Schilawski’s attempt went just wide of the left post.

Wake Forest had one final first half chance in the 41st minute. Anthony Arena attempted a free kick from 32 yards out that got past the Hokie wall, but took one hop and went right to Brendan Dunn for the save.

The Demon Deacons started the second half just like the first, getting an early goal. Bone played a beautiful cross from the left side of the field that found Schilawski inside the six-yard box. Schilawski headed it in from three yards out to make the score 3-0.

Wake Forest found its fourth goal of the game in the 59th minute. Schilawski crossed the ball from the left side of the 18, looking for Randolph inside the six-yard box. Randolph was unable to get a foot on it, but the ball still snuck inside the right post for Schilawski’s second goal of the game and his third of the season.

Virginia Tech dented the scoreboard with a goal in the 63rd minute. Clarke Bentley attempted a shot at a tough angle from 18 yards out on the right side of the field. Bentley’s shot went into the left side netting to make the score 4-1.

Schilawski completed the hat trick with a penalty kick goal in the 70th minute. Lubahn was fouled at the top of the 18-yard box and Schilawski converted the penalty kick to make the score 5-1 in favor of the Deacs.

Dunn played the first 62 minutes of the game in goal for Virginia Tech, giving up four goals and making two saves. Stefan Caulfield played the final 28 minutes and allowed one goal.

Wake Forest returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to UNC Greensboro. Kick off is set for 7 p.m.