NEWBERRY – The Newberry Wolves men's soccer team start the season off with a 2-0 victory over USC Aiken Thursday night at Pacer Pit.

The game started off on the slow side for both sides. It was not until around the 9-minute mark when the Wolves had the first shot attempt that went wide, then 30 seconds later the Pacers had a shot that went wide of the goal. The back and forth pace continued for the next ten minutes, when sophomore Ibrahim Nadir had a shot on goal that was saved. 

USC Aiken would take control of the ball and go on the attack halfway through the first half. Within one minute, the Pacers had three corner kick, which did not stop Newberry from foiling each attempt and gaining momentum. The Wolves used that momentum to go on the attack, as junior Tre Bonaparte would bring the ball up the middle, make a move around the defender and score the first goal of the game at the 27th minute. The rest of the first half consisted of both teams taking turns going up and down the field.

Newberry came out of the gates strong in the second half, keeping control of the ball for majority of the time in the first 10 minutes and getting two shots off, including one that hit off the crossbar. After an offense series by the Pacers, the Wolves would come down the field and score a goal off a header from sophomore Troy Paul in the 64th minute. The Charlotte, N.C. native received the pass from 20 yards out from Bonaparte and head it to the right side of the net.   

The pace of the game started to slow down again, as Newberry was trending toward winding the clock down as much as possible. That did not stop USC Aiken from one final push in the last few minutes of the match. The defense finished strong countering the attack to gain control and ran the clock out. 

The Wolves will look ahead to Saturday as they travel to Belmont, N.C. to take on Belmont Abbey at 4:00 p.m.