AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's soccer team lost a hard fought 2-1 decision to Emmanuel Wednesday evening in a non-conference contest.

The Pacers are now 4-8-1 on the season.

After a scoreless first period, Dave Stone and Andre Simmond quickly fired off a pair of shots, but one was saved while the other was blocked.

Simmond rocketed off three shots over the next 10 minutes of action, but two narrowly missed while another was stopped by the keeper.

After a foul in the box, the Lions converted a penalty kick in the 66^th minute for a 1-0 advantage.

Head coach Ike Ofoje's team continued pushing forward and registered a pair of corner kicks in the 79^th minute. In the 81^st minute, Kento Ito found Aaron Richard for the match-tying goal.

Emmanuel took a 2-1 lead at the 83:07 mark off a long cross. USC Aiken pushed forward, earning a pair of corner kicks in the final six minutes, but neither turned into scoring opportunities for the home squad.

For the match, Leonardo Targia stopped six shots. The Pacers tallied 15 shots compared to 11 by the Lions. USC Aiken had just five shots on frame while Emmanuel tallied eight.  

The Pacers return to action Saturday for Senior Day when they host Clayton State at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.