Aug. 30, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University women's soccer program will compete in the 2007 D.C. Invitational on Friday, August 31 and Sunday, September 2 at Reeves Field on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas will take on two teams, Richmond and Manhattan, which they have never faced in the program's history.

Georgetown and Richmond start the tournament on Friday at noon, followed by American and Manhattan at 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Hoyas meet Manhattan at noon, while American and Richmond will play at 2:30 p.m.

These will be the season-opening games for all four teams.

In last season's D.C. Invitational, junior Stephanie Zare (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and sophomore Norah Swanson (Alamo, Calif./San Ramon Valley) were named to the All-Tournament Team. The Hoyas dropped their first game, 2-0, to George Mason, but rebounded nicely by taking the second game from Duquesne, 2-1, in overtime.

Richmond finished last season with an overall record of 3-13-2, with a 3-6-0 mark in the Atlantic 10 and are led by juniors Ashleigh Blumer and Julia Bizer, along with sophomore Nora Mann. Mann led the team in points and tied for the team-lead in assists last season as a freshman while Blumer and Bizer tied for the team lead in goals. Junior Kate Hudson returns in goal after she started 15 games and compiled a 1.79 goals-against average and a .659 save percentage.

Manhattan had a successful 2006 as they reached double-digits wins by going 12-5-2, with a 4-3-2 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Manhattan returns junior Christine Reina, who finished second on the team in goals with six, along with sophomores Alexandra Konneker, (5 goals, 4 assists) and Courtney McMahon who led the team with 12 assists. In net, the Jaspers return senior Alicia DeFino, who started every game last season and finished with a 0.95 goals-against average and a .815 save percentage.