JACKSONVILLE – A strong second half performance propelled the Jacksonville State soccer team to a 5-0 win over in-state foe Alabama A&M on Thursday night to start the Sean Fraser era and first win for Gamecock athletics as a member of Conference USA.

Sophomore Naroa Domenech had a stellar Jax State debut with a hat trick in the final 45 minutes. She became the 11th Gamecock all-time to record a hat trick and the first since former Gamecock Cynthia Bagozzi collected three goals last season versus Alabama State. Domenech, a transfer from Oklahoma Wesleyan, an NAIA program, drilled her first of three goals over the final 30 minutes with a back of the net shot in the 51st minute. The Eibar, Spain native tallied her second goal 13 minutes later in the 64th minute. Domenech capped off her debut and the scoring for the Gamecocks with the fifth goal of the night with just under 10 minutes left in the contest.

Sophomore Camryn Davis broke the 0-0 deadlock with a goal from atop the box past the Bulldogs' keeper in the 49th minute. Senior Kylie Wells, the Gamecocks' shot leader over the past two seasons, capitalized on a penalty kick. The Littleton, Colorado native added an assist in the season opener. Redshirt freshman Reese Burch aided in Jax State's first goal, while senior Vanessa Mejia dished out an assist in the win.  

"The big thing for us is that we were able to use a lot of players tonight and it was a team win and it took the girls a while to break through and when we did, we grew in confidence," said head coach Sean Fraser. That is a big thing with any team and any sport, you have to build some momentum."

The Gamecocks dominated throughout the match with 26 total shots on the night, while limiting the Bulldogs to four in the contest. Wells paced the Gamecocks' attack with six shots, while Domenech added five shots.

Sophomore Bailey Dean turned in a clean sheet in goal with her second shutout of her career. Dean accumulated four saves in the opener.

Jax State will wrap up the opening weekend of the season on Sunday, hosting another set of Bulldogs with South Carolina State. SCSU dropped its season opener on Thursday with a 12-0 setback at Georgia state in Atlanta. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Admission is free to all Jax State home matches. The match will also be available on ESPN+ and live stats at JaxStateSports.com.

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