WASHINGTON – The top four seeds of the 2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket have all advanced to the College Cup, including the unbeaten Georgetown women's soccer squad. The Hoyas will face the University of North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday evening in Cary, North Carolina. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park. The winner of Friday's semifinal match will advance to the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. to face the winner between Stanford and Florida State.

Live stats for Friday's game will be available at GUHoyas.com and the game will be televised live on ESPNU with Jenn Riehn doing the play-by-play and Julie Foudy handling the color commentary.

The Hoyas earned their ticket to the College Cup for the second time in three years, and second time overall. Georgetown blanked Baylor on Saturday 3-0 in the quarterfinals at Shaw Field. The Blue & Gray jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the eighth minute with a goal from sophomore Kelly Ann Livingstone (Glen Ridge, N.J. / Glen Ridge) and then scored two more goals in the second half from graduate student Kyra Carusa (San Diego, Calif. / Del Norte / Stanford) and junior Paula Germino-Watnick (Chevy Chase, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase). Carusa led the team against the Bears with four points from a goal and a pair of helpers.

This is the seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Hoyas and their eighth appearance in the last nine years, all coming under Head Coach Dave Nolan. With Saturday's win against Baylor, Georgetown set the new program record for wins in a season with 21.

Seniors Caitlin Farrell (Wallingford, Conn. / Choate Rosemary Hall) and Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day / UCLA) are two of 15 female finalists for the top award in college soccer, the MAC Hermann Trophy. This is the first time at Georgetown that two women's players were selected as semifinalists in the same year.

The Blue & Gray defeated Central Connecticut in the first round 3-1 and then shut out Washington State 1-0 in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16. In the third round, the Hoyas downed Duke 4-1 before meeting Baylor in the Elite 8. Georgetown has held all four of its NCAA Tournament opponents to no more than six shots per contest.

Georgetown finished the BIG EAST conference 8-0-1 and clinched its third-consecutive BIG EAST Championship title as well as the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship title for the second year in a row. The Hoyas became the first team in the league to three-peat since Notre Dame (1995-2001) and claimed the conference's automatic berth into the tournament. The Blue & Gray claimed four of the major BIG EAST awards and six players made the All-BIG EAST Team. Farrell was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, junior Meaghan Nally (Herndon, Va. / South Lakes) was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and Schectman was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year in a row. Nolan and his coaching staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Germino-Watnick joined Farrell, Nally and Schechtman on the All-BIG EAST First Team and Carusa and junior Grace Nguyen (Lilburn, Ga. / Parkview) were named to the second team.
 
Farrell is one of three Hoyas who have started all 24 games this season. She leads the squad with 39 points from 18 goals and three assists and is tied for first with the most goals in program history at Georgetown. The senior forward sits second in the NCAA with eight game-winning goals, third in total goals and fourth in total points. Carusa has also started all 24 games this season and comes in second on the team with 32 points made up of 10 goals and 12 helpers. She sits eighth in the nation in total assists. Schechtman has allowed just seven goals in 22 games in the net. The senior registers a .308 GAA, 77 saves and a .917 save percentage and sits second in the nation in GAA and save percentage. She leads the country in shutouts this season.

The Tar Heels are making their 28th College Cup appearance on Friday and is the only school in the country that has played in all 37 NCAA Tournaments. UNC holds a 20-3-2 overall record and finished as the runner-up in the 2018 ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels shut out Howard 4-0 in the NCAA Tournament first round, downed Kansas 4-1 in the second round, blanked Virginia Tech in the NCAA third round 3-0 and defeated UCLA on penalty kicks 4-2 in the quarterfinals after the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie after 110 minutes of regulation time and overtime.

Brianna Pinto and Julia Ashley lead the Tar Heels with 20 points apiece. Pinto has recorded six goals and eight helpers while Ashley has tallied five goals and 10 assists. Alessia Russo has 16 points on the season from six goals and four assists and was named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist on Tuesday, joining Farrell and Schechtman on the list of 15 women. Samantha Leshnak has allowed seven goals in 25 games, registering a .400 GAA, 34 saves and a .829 save percentage.

This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Tickets for Friday's game are available on WeAreGeorgetown.com/collegecup.