The Wolves opened their season at home on Thursday, losing 3-1 to the USC Aiken Pacers in a hard-fought contest.
 
The match opened with a tense first half with Newberry attacking frequently, tallying eight shots. The Pacers generated four corner kicks early in the contest but were unable to turn any of these opportunities into shots as the Wolves' defense held strong. The tide soon turned as Newberry sent forth three shots on goal in two minutes, with TJ Paul winning a one-on-one and sending the ball into the far corner in the 34^th minute.
 
This advantage did not last long however, as USC Aiken aggressively brought the ball downfield after kickoff and Mohamed Abdallah fired a shot into the lower left corner just 19 seconds later, equalizing the score. This scoring flurry soon abated as both defenses settled in for the remainder of the half, with neither side generating any shots on target.
 
With the score tied up at halftime, the second half looked to be an intense affair, and the Pacers came out of the break strong. In the 49^th minute, Yannis Wome sent the ball in the box to Jaymee Kambel, who fired a shot past diving keeper Pablo Cubas to give USC Aiken the advantage. Kambel found the net again just two minutes later, stealing the ball from the Newberry defense and creating his own shot to bring the score to 3-1.
 
The Wolves played aggressively for the remainder of the game, firing seven shots and forcing two corner kicks. But they were only able to send one of those shots on goal, which USC Aiken keeper Joey Valenti blocked, one of his five saves on the night. The match escalated in physicality as the clock wound down, with the officials issuing two cautions to the Pacers. At the end of the night, Newberry controlled the ball more and outpaced their opponents 15-6 in shots but were unable to capitalize enough to equalize, whereas USC Aiken were able to punish the Wolves for their mistakes.
 
Newberry continues their season on Saturday, September 4 at the University of Mount Olive, followed by a match at Lander University on September 8.