WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's soccer program released its schedule for 2017 on Thursday. The Hoyas will play a number of challenging non-conference games, and also has an exciting BIG EAST Conference slate.

In 20 total games in 2017, including three exhibitions, the Hoyas will face eight 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifiers and five teams ranked in the final national poll.

The Blue & Gray will play 10 regular season home games including five against conference opponents. GU will host Marquette on Sep. 30 to open the conference home schedule. The squad will also host Butler (Oct. 6), Seton Hall (Oct. 21), Providence (Oct. 25) and Creighton (Nov. 1).

The Hoyas' BIG EAST road schedule opens at Xavier (Sep. 16) with DePaul (Sep. 23), Villanova (Oct. 13) and St. John’s (Oct. 28) following. The contest against Villanova will be played at the Philadelphia Union’s Talen Energy Stadium in a neutral-site battle in Chester, Pa.

Georgetown will open the season with two road exhibition games against Navy on Aug. 12 and VCU on Aug. 15. The Hoyas will return home for their final exhibition game on Aug. 19 as the squad hosts Virginia.

The Blue & Gray will open the regular season on Aug. 25 at American at 5 p.m. GU’s home opener will come on Aug. 28 as the squad takes on Coastal Carolina. This will be followed by a pair of home games over Labor Day Weekend as the Hoyas host Cal Poly on Sep. 1 and UCLA on Sep. 4.

Georgetown will hit the road for a test at UConn on Sep. 9, before opening BIG EAST play at Xavier on Sep. 16.

The final three non-conference games will be interspersed between BIG EAST matchups. The Blue & Gray will host Stony Brook on Sep. 20 and then Duke on Oct. 9. The final non-conference game is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Maryland at 7 p.m.

The BIG EAST Championship will be played at home sites, with the higher seed hosting. The top six teams in the league will qualify for the championship with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye. The first round is scheduled for Nov. 4, while the semifinals will be played on Nov. 8. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 12.