It was a season to remember for the USC Aiken men's soccer team. The 2014 season is one that will be discussed for years to come and will be pointed to as the year that everything changed under the direction of head coach Ike Ofoje and for his program.

The Pacers concluded the 2014 season with a 14-6-1 record. It not only marked the most wins in the program's history, but 2014 was the first time in school history that the squad reached the NCAA Tournament.

After opening the season with a neutral-site loss, USC Aiken got things going despite having an extremely young squad. The team reeled off back-to-back wins and went unbeaten in six straight contests.

The Pacers earned their first victory of the year with a shutout of King in another neutral-site match that took place in Morrow, Ga. During the win, Jordan Misiri and Nathan Shanko each earned goals, with Misiri notching the match-winner. The scores were just a preview of things to come for Ofoje's team.

In a tough road match on Sept. 10, the Pacers upended Lenoir-Rhyne by a 2-1 count. Shanko scored the game-winning goal off a pass from Dean Smith in the 80th minute of work.

Despite the momentum the team had, having to play in a rain-soaked match against Mount Olive on Sept. 13 proved difficult. In swirling winds and driving rain, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw. Due to lightning, the squads agreed not to play overtime.

With the weather still bad on Monday, Sept. 15, USC Aiken found a way to push through and record a 3-1 home win over Queens. Trailing 1-0 just 5:35 into the match, Noel Mais rattled off a pair of goals and Misiri notched his third goal of the season with an insurance goal late in the contest.

The victory kept the momentum going as the Pacers went on the road and earned a hard-fought 3-2 win at Pfeiffer before shutting out Belmont Abbey. Against the Falcons, Andre Simmond showcased his skills of finding open teammates as he totaled a pair of assists with rookie Brett Smith notching the game-winners. Rodrigo Goncalves and Simmond netted scores in the road win against the Crusaders on Sept. 19. The win set up a match against what turned out to be the league's top two programs.

USC Aiken was primed for the match at Young Harris as the squads battled to a 3-2 contest in Aiken in 2013, but YHC managed to register a 5-0 victory.

Ofoje's team, however, did not get down on itself. The squad found a way to play together and win its next five matches.

Against Lander on Oct. 1, USC Aiken upended the Bearcats for the first time in eight seasons thanks in part to Misiri and Mais. Ryan Dwyer tied the match at 2-2 and Mais took a pass from Gabriel Locher for the game-winner in the 67th minute. The outstanding defense of the Pacers did not allow Lander to get the equalizer in the 3-2 win.

USC Aiken hit the road for a pair of tough matches at Georgia Southwestern and at Flagler. After dispatching Georgia Southwestern 2-0, the Pacers had to put together a pair of second-half goals for the win against the Saints. Mais tied the match at the 52:27 mark and Sandre Duncan netted his first score, which was the game-winner, at the 53:59 mark.

Ofoje's team stepped out of conference and downed a physical Coker squad 3-2 before returning to league play. Against Montevallo, the Pacers scored early and often in the 3-0 win. Mais took a pass from Jan Wester for the game-winner just 22 seconds into action. Wester netted the team's second goal off a pass from Simmond at the 5:02 mark and Simmond completed the scoring in the 36th minute.

After an overtime loss to Francis Marion, USC Aiken closed out the regular season by winning two of its final three matches. The Pacers earned a road win at Clayton State and defeated UNC Pembroke 1-0.

Ofoje's team lost its regular-season finale at North Georgia and the team had to square off against the Braves in the first round of the PBC Tournament. As the No. 2 seed, the Pacers hosted UNC Pembroke and overcame an early deficit for a 2-1 win. Simmond notched both goals for the Pacers – and both came in the first half.

USC Aiken scored first against the Patriots in the league semifinals, but the designated visitors tied the match at 1-1. After a solid halftime discussion by Ofoje, Wester scored the game-winning goal in the 57th minute. Five minutes later, Simmond connected with Misiri for an insurance goal that sent the Pacers to the PBC Championship match for the second time in three seasons.

Ofoje's team pushed top-seeded Young Harris to overtime before falling. However, USC Aiken was one of just two teams that pushed the team to overtime.

The solid body of work allowed the Pacers to earn an NCAA Tournament berth as the squad headed to Young Harris for the first round. USC Aiken squared off against Pfeiffer but was unable to come out on top.

Due to their accomplishments, the Pacers garnered a wealth of accolades. Misiri was named PBC Freshman of the Year while Ofoje picked up Coach of the Year honors. Duncan, Mais and Misiri were named to first-team PBC while Simmond and Joshua Poissant garnered second-team honors.

During the regular season, Poissant was named PBC Goalkeeper of the Week while Shanko and Mais were tabbed PBC Players of the Week. Duncan earned PBC Defensive Player of the Week as well.  

From tough seasons to playing in two PBC Championship matches and one NCAA Tournament match, the graduating seniors were definitely a huge part of building the program. With an abundance of talent returning and a solid influx of student-athletes, Ofoje will have his team looking for its second straight NCAA Tournament berth.