Wake Forest forward Zack Schilawski has appeared in every one of the Demon Deacons’ 46 games during his two seasons in Winston-Salem, but he’s only started 12 of them.

While it took some time to adjust to coming off the bench, Schilawski has thrived as a reserve.

He entered his sophomore season as the top returning scorer from 2006, and he picked up right where he left off. He has scored seven goals and registered three assists this fall for Wake.

“I’ve grown into the role a little bit and have been fairly effective,” said Schilawski, a 2006 Cary High graduate. “Now, I just wait for my time. And when I get in there, I just make sure that I make a difference. You don’t just put a sub in to put a sub in. I don’t want coach to be like, ‘This guy’s getting tired. Let’s put him in. Let’s put Zack in so he can make a difference.’ That’s how I think about it.”

If there was a time Schilawski wanted to make a difference, last week’s ACC tournament was it.

The Demon Deacons came to Cary as the No. 1 team in the country and made it to the final after wins over Clemson and North Carolina at SAS Soccer Park.

But Wake came up short in the championship game for the second year in a row, this time a 2-1 loser to Boston College.

However, the Demon Deacons did the same thing last year — losing 1-0 to Duke in the final — and responded by making it to the NCAA College Cup.

“It was unbelievable,” Schilawski said of last year’s run to the national semifinals. “I went to Wake Forest because I thought they were the team that could get there. I wanted to play at the best level. And to get it so early, it was like, ‘Man, three years left. I hope to get back again.’”

If Wake can return to the College Cup for a second straight year, Schilawski will have the opportunity to play in his hometown again, this time on college soccer’s ultimate stage. The College Cup will be held at SAS Soccer Park Dec. 14-16.

“I think it’s extra special to come back here,” Schilawski said. “You grow up here [and] you always want to play at SAS. This is a great facility, and to play on a stage like this, it’s awesome. … We’re hoping to come back in December, for sure.”

Schilawski was a major contributor to the Demon Deacons’ postseason run last year.

He scored two goals in Wake’s tournament-opening 5-1 win over Hofstra, then provided the game-winner against Towson, which allowed the Deacons to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

But his good fortune ran out against UC-Santa Barbara in the College Cup semifinals.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie in regulation, prompting penalty kicks. Down 4-3 and needing to convert his PK to force another round, Schilawski’s kick from the spot sailed over the crossbar, allowing the Gauchos to advance to the national championship game.

Despite that disappointment, the Deacons have enjoyed unparalleled success during the last two seasons. Their College Cup appearance last year was the first in the team’s history, which dates to 1980. They’ve won 35 games (and counting), the best two-year total in school history.

Schilawski, who was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American in 2005 at Cary High, as well as all-state during his final three years as an Imp, could have pouted about his playing time with WFU or his role with the team, despite its success.

But he has not, and it’s hard to argue with the results.

Of Schilawski’s 13 collegiate goals scored, six have been game-winners. Of the 10 games in which he’s scored, the Demon Deacons are 9-1-0.

While he has excelled as a substitute, Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich said it’s not something Schilawski has welcomed.

“In a positive way, Zack hasn’t embraced the role,” Vidovich said. “He has no plans of coming off the bench, and every day in practice, he plays that way. He expects to be a starter, and he has started for us. What it is, is he thrives at coming in at different times of the game and he sees the tempo of the game and he comes in and he’s very, very motivated.

“He shows the team and the coaching staff that he is a starter. And he is, in reality. So I don’t think he’s embraced it as he embraces the team. He understands he’s going to get his opportunities and he does very good with it.”

In Wake’s regular-season finale against Virginia, Schilawski checked into the contest in the 25th minute, with the Deacs leading 1-0.

Ten minutes later, Michael Lahoud played a ball to Schilawski in the box, and he ripped a shot from nine yards out at the near post. It proved to be the winning goal in Wake’s 3-1 win — the fourth time this season a Schilawski strike has been the difference.

“A big thing we talk about in practice is it’s not the first one that’s going to win us the game, it’s the second one,” Schilawski said. “If we get a goal early, I feel like it’s my job to put the dagger in; come in and get the second one and put the game away.”

Regardless of when he enters the game or how long he sticks around, Schilawski speaks not like a starter or reserve. Rather he talks like what he’s proved to be, a goal scorer and a difference maker.