Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich is leaving the program to take over the same role with Portland Timbers 2 in USL Pro, the program announced on Thursday.

"Thank you to Wake Forest," Vidovich said in a statement. "It's been an honor to have been the architect and leader of the Wake Forest men's soccer program for the past 20-plus years. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to grow the program and I'm proud to see where it's gone."

Vidovich has been the head coach of the Wake Forest men's soccer program for 21 seasons, and been at the program for 29 years in total. He was named NSCAA National Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons in 2007 and 2008, and compiled a 272-121-50 overall record in 21 years in Winston-Salem. He earned five ACC Coach of the Year Awards (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009), while also logging a 76-52-22 conference record.

He's led the squad to a national championship in 2007 and ushured on a handful of players to Major League Soccer or other professional leagues (including Jalen Robinson, Collin Martin, Ike Opara, Chris Duvall and Michael Parkhurst). The Demon Deacons have qualified for 13 out of the last 14 NCAA tournaments including the 2014 edition, where they lost in the first round on penalty kicks against UMBC.

Current standouts on the Wake Forest roster include Michael Gamble, Ian Harkes and Jacori Hayes.

Timbers 2 is the reserve franchise of the Portland MLS squad coached by former Akron head coach Caleb Porter. The team, which will compete in USL Pro in 2015, was launched in mid-October.

“After having the opportunity to work with Jay for the national team program and coaching against him for many years in college, I can say without hesitation we have found the ideal fit to serve as our head coach of T2,” Porter said in a release. “For the past two decades Jay has been able to win games while doing it in a way that is conducive for the development of his players for the professional level. This type of pedigree as a head coach and his overall vision of the game will allow Jay to lead T2 seamlessly while working cooperatively with the first team to benefit the club as a whole."

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