WASHINGTON - For the past two days, Georgetown University and Shaw Field have played host to one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world. As a lead up to an International Champions Cup match, the Hoyas hosted Manchester United for a pair of practices and a pre-match press conference.

"One of the unique things of being at a place like Georgetown is having the opportunity to host teams like Manchester United, the Argentine National Team and MLS teams when they come into town to play DC United," said Georgetown Head Men's Soccer Coach Brian Wiese. "It's special for our guys to get up close and personal and watch some of their idols and heroes from five feet away."

Man U will face FC Barcelona in the International Champions Cup at FedEx Field on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. This is preseason for the Premiere League giants who have already gone 4-0 while in the United States. Most recently, it was a 1-1 shootout victory over Real Madrid and a 2-0 win over Manchester City. Man U began the preseason with wins over the LA Galaxy (5-2) and Real Salt Lake (2-1).

Shaw Field has played host to many MLS and international squads including the Argentine National Team in 2015. Located within the District, the campus is a natural partner for visiting teams from all over the world and Georgetown as well as its student-athletes benefit from so many big time players coming into the region.

"Manchester United is the first team I started to follow in the EPL so to not only watch them play on our field but also to speak to some of them and their coaches was quite a surreal experience," said senior forward Leah McCullough (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury). "It was so interesting to see these players who I have looked up to for so long in the training session because I felt like I got to know them beyond their match mentality and see who they were more as people. These past two days were unforgettable."

The soccer student-athletes and coaches were able to volunteer with the team and observe practice as well as meet some of the players following training. Manchester United also held a press conference in Nolan Hall in the Thompson Center as a lead up to Wednesday's match.

The match is the final fixture in the States before Man U returns to Europe for its last two preseason contests.