AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought 1-0 match to Newberry in the season opener Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 0-1 on the season while the Wolves improve to 1-2.

Pablo Corcuera tallied the first shot of the contest, coming at the 3:28 mark. However, his attempt was blocked. Pedro Marexiano's shot on goal was saved by the Newberry keeper in the 16h minute. Standout Mohamed Abdallah's shot sailed just wide of the post in the 19^th minute of action. 

the Wolves countered with a shot on target in the 22^nd minute but rookie Cason Donahue was up for the challenge, turning the attempt into a save. 

The Pacers continued to push forward, drawing a corner kick at the 28:16 mark and a header by Vittorio Cucciati a few seconds later, but his shot narrowly missed. Corcuera's shot in the 32^nd minute of play was also saved by Lockie Maher, keeping the score at 0-0 heading into the second half of play.

Just over three minutes into the second period, the Wolves struck for what turned out to be the lone goal of the contest. 

Ofoje's group tried to regroup as Abdallah's header missed wide a minute after the score. Jaymee Kambel's shot in the 54^th minute was stopped. At the 61:03 mark, Wynston Johnson's shot looked like it would even the score, but it missed high of the crossbar. 

Despite the home team's attempts to knot the score, Newberry was able to hold off the offensive pressure for the 1-0 final tally. 

For the match, USC Aiken posted 13 shots compared to 10 by the visitors. Ofoje's squad accounted for three shots on frame.

The Pacers tallied four corner kicks in the match. While playing all 90 minutes between the pipes, Donahue registered three saves. 

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host Barton at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.