AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's soccer team registered a 3-2 victory over King Wednesday evening in a non-conference contest.
The Pacers improve to 3-4-1 overall while the Tornado fall to 3-6-1.
Head coach
Ike Ofoje's team got on the board quickly after narrowly missing on several attempts right after the contest started.
Redshirt-senior
Jordan Misiri was the catalyst for the home squad throughout the evening as virtually every offensive play went through him. USC Aiken registered a corner kick at the 6:53 mark and
Neil Hamilton's header was saved. Moments later,
Andre Salviano took another corner kick, but the squad was unable to get a shot off the play.
In the 18
th minute, Misiri beat multiple defenders before his shot trickled just wide of the frame. However, Misiri raced past a defender before flicking it to
David Box down the left side of the pitch. Box crossed it to
Ricardo Pineda for the first goal of the match at the 25:55 mark. Misiri and Box were each credited with an assist on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Misiri chipped a pass to
Daniel Orillac for a 2-0 advantage.
Misiri nearly made it 3-0 at the 28:20 mark, but his shot missed the right side of the frame by inches.
After a foul by the Pacers, King got on the board at the 43:34 mark. The score remained 2-1 at the break.
Just 2:55 into the second period,
Zachernus Simon found
Chukwudi Apugo racing through the box. Simon hit him in stride as Apugo belted the ball past the keeper for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
The Tornado pulled within one in the 58
th minute, but USC Aiken's defense remained strong and kept the visitors at bay the rest of the way.
For the match, Ofoje's team held a 16-10 advantage in shots, including 8-7 in shots on goal. The Pacers had 10 corner kicks compared to three for King. Each team registered five saves.
For the match,
Alejandro Chavarria played the first 45 minutes and stopped three saves.
Kenneth Kalek played the final 45 minutes in goal, picking up the win while registering two saves.
The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Flagler at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
