WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University women's soccer team (13-4-3) earned an at-large bid in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and will host the West Virginia Mountaineers in the first round of the tournament. The nationally-ranked No. 18 Hoyas will face the Mountaineers on Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon at Shaw Field.
"After the disappointment of Sunday's game, we are obviously very excited for the opportunity to extend our season," said Head Coach Dave Nolan. "I am very happy that the selection committee recognizes that we take on a tough schedule and are not afraid to measure ourselves against top teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 on a yearly basis."
The Blue & Gray will be making its eighth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its ninth in the last 10 seasons. Georgetown is coming off of a second place-finish in the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 2 seed, falling to top-seeded Xavier 2-0 on Sunday in the title game in Omaha, Nebraska. The Hoyas blanked Providence 2-0 in the semifinals on Thursday before advancing to the championship.
"The team is obviously happy to keep this season going," said Nolan. "Even though we were quietly confident until you hear your name called out, you always have concerns. Now it's onto a great game against our long-time rival West Virginia, who we have great respect for. This is our eighth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, an incredible feat and one that our seniors, in particular, had as a primary goal all year. We go again...... "
Earlier this season, then-No. 15 GU shut out then-No. 23 West Virginia 3-0 at Shaw Field. Graduate student Amanda Carolan, sophomore Jenna Royson and freshman Julia Leas all scored goals in the victory.
Last year, the Hoyas had one of its most successful runs in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the College Cup for the second time in three years. Georgetown earned a No. 1 seed and defeated Central Connecticut State, Washington State, Duke and Baylor before meeting North Carolina, another No. 1 seed, in the semifinals in Cary, North Carolina. GU lost to the Tar Heels in a heartbreaker, falling 1-0 in double overtime.
Thiry-one conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2019 championship, while the remaining 33 teams were selected at-large. The top 16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first or second rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity parameters. The top 16 teams will host and all other sites were selected for the first round to create the least number of flights
First-round games will be played Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at campus sites. Second-round games will be played Friday, Nov. 22, at campus sites and third-round games will be played Sunday, Nov. 24, at the same campus sites. Quarterfinal games will be played Nov. 29 or 30 also on campus sites.
The 40th annual NCAA Women's College Cup will be played Dec. 6 and 8 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California. The first national semifinal will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, and the second semifinal will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. The national championship match will take place at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8.
