JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State will begin its run to a Conference USA soccer championship on Wednesday in the opening round of the 2024 CUSA Soccer Championships in Miami, Fla. on the FIU campus.

The Gamecocks, the No. 6 seed in the field, will take on No. 3 seed New Mexico State at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

WE'RE IN!
Jax State advanced to the postseason after the final results of the Conference USA regular season after scoreboard watching last Friday night. After Jax State won a critical home finale against Kennesaw State on October 26, coupled with a 2-2 draw with the Panthers of FIU on Halloween in South Florida to inch closer to securing the spot, a win by Sam Houston over Western Kentucky and a win by Liberty against KSU, kept the Gamecocks in the six-team field.

JAX STATE IN THE POSTSEASON
Jax State is making its first appearance in the CUSA postseason event and in a conference tournament setting for the 10th time in the program's history. The Gamecocks advanced to six Ohio Valley Conference tournaments, including a run to the OVC Championship match in 2015. Jax State made four tournament appearances in the ASUN with its last trip to the postseason in the 2021 edition of the ASUN Soccer Championship field.

SERIES VS. NM STATE
Jax State and New Mexico State will be meeting for the fourth time and the third outing as conference mates. The Gamecocks will be looking to avenge a 4-0 loss in October at NM State. The Aggies and Gamecocks met in back-to-back seasons during the 2010 and 2011 campaigns. Jax State visited the Land of Enchantment in 2010 and NM State traveled to Jacksonville in 2011. NM State has won all three previous meetings with Jax State. The Aggies made a return trip last season as members of CUSA and claimed a 2-0 win at the Jax State Soccer Complex.

LAST TIME OUT
The Gamecocks put themselves in position to make the 2024 Conference USA Soccer Championship field with a 2-2 draw with FIU in a Halloween regular season finale. Just like its match last Saturday at home against KSU, Jax State started fast with the first goal of the contest coming two minutes deep into the contest. Junior Nancy Almanza put the Gamecocks on the board with her eight goal od the season after an assist from junior Nanaka Inaba after  free kick opportunity.

Jax State was without the services of junior goalkeeper Poppy Bastock in the match and turned to veteran Bailey Dean in the pivotal CUSA match. Dean was tested throughout the night with FIU posted 20 total shots and six on goal chance. Dean, playing in her home state of Florida fended off nine first half shots and 11 in the final 45 minutes.

FIU rallied in the second half with a goal in the 54th minute and took a lead in the 69th minute. The Panthers' lead was short-lived as Inaba equalized in the 70th minute with her third goal of the season. Her assist on Jax State's opening goal was her fourth of the season.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Jax State ranks among the top clubs in Conference USA statistical charts in goals, assists and total points. Entering the postseason, the Gamecocks lead the league with 41 goals, 43 assists and 124 total points. Those numbers also rank among the national leaders in NCAA Division I Soccer. Jax State's scoring offense ranks 16th in the nation with a 2.29 scoring average the regular season. The Gamecocks rank in the top-25 in points (19th), goals (21st) and assists (15th).

Individually, a pair of Gamecocks rank in the top-10 of CUSA in total goals with junior Naroa Domenech and junior Nancy Almanza. Domenech's eight goals is listed fourth in the league, while Almanza's seven goals is seventh-best in CUSA. Domenech is the conference leader ins assists and is ranked 20th in NCAA Division I Women's Soccer in total assists. Junior goalkeeper Poppy Bastock ranks third among CUSA goalkeepers in shutouts with five on the season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The winner of the Jax State-NM State match will advance to the semifinals on Friday against No. 2 seed Liberty at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT.