WASHINGTON – The top-seeded Georgetown women's soccer team (16-0-3, 8-0-1 BIG EAST) will take on the second-seeded Butler Bulldogs on Sunday in the BIG EAST Championship for the second year in a row. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Shaw Field and will be broadcast live on FS1 with Bernie Guenther and Monika Moore calling the play-by-play and Marisa Pilla on the sideline. Live stats will also be available at www.GUHoyas.com. The Hoyas are currently ranked No. 4 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches' poll.
 
The Blue & Gray defeated fourth-seeded Xavier 3-1 on Thursday afternoon at Shaw Field in the BIG EAST Semifinal to advance to the championship. Junior Carson Nizialek (Chantilly, Va. / Freedom) scored on a penalty kick with less than three minutes left in the first half to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the duo of seniors Caitlin Farrell (Wallingford, Conn. / Choate Rosemary Hall) and Amanda Carolan (Bayville, N.J. / Central Regional) scored back-to-back goals in less than a minute, giving GU a 3-0 advantage. The Musketeers scored its lone goal in the 83rd minute. The Hoya defense held Xavier to just four shots throughout the 90 minutes of play, all occurring in the second half.
 
Last weekend, the Hoyas clinched 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 senior Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day / UCLA) was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year in a row. Head coach Dave Nolan and his coaching staff were named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Junior Paula Germino-Watnick (Chevy Chase, Md. / Bethesda-Chevy Chase) joined Farrell, Nally and Schechtman on the All-BIG EAST First Team and graduate student Kyra Carusa (San Diego, Calif. / Del Norte / Stanford) and sophomore Grace Nguyen (Lilburn, Ga. / Parkview) were named to the second team.
 
Farrell leads the unbeaten Hoyas with 35 points from 16 goals and three assists. She has recorded at least one point in 12 of the last 13 games. Carusa is second on the team in points with 21 off of seven goals and seven assists. Schechtman has allowed just five goals in 17 games and has recorded 12 shutouts this season. The senior registers a .280 GAA and a .929 save percentage and has managed 65 saves.
 
Georgetown sits atop the rankings in the BIG EAST in multiple categories, including shots (318), points (117), goals (41), goals per game (2.16), assists (35), assists per game (1.84), goals allowed (7), GAA (.350), shutouts (12) and corners (139). Farrell leads in shots (85), shots per game (4.47), points (35), points per game (1.84), goals (16), goals per game (.84) and game-winning goals (7). Carusa is tied for first in the league in assists (7) and assists per game (.37). Additionally, Schechtman ranks first in the BIG EAST in GAA (.280), save percentage (.929) and shutouts (12).
 
The Bulldogs are coming off of a 3-2 victory over sixth-seeded Providence on a rainy Thursday evening in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler held off a second half comeback from the Friars and used two goals from Halle Stelbasky, and one from Annika Schmidt, to push past Providence. The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead heading into the second half until the Friars answered with a goal. Stelbasky scored her second goal of the game in the 80th minute before Providence scored a late goal to finish the match 3-2.
 
Anja Savich was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year last weekend and leads the team with 17 points off of seven goals and three assists. Stelbasky joins her with 17 points as well, made of eight goals and an assist. Hannah Luedtke and Leonie Doege split their time in the goal for the Bulldogs. Luedtke has started all 19 games this season with a .530 GAA, 18 saves and a .783 save percentage. Doege has taken over goal in the second half of all 19 games, registering a 1.47 GAA, 23 saves and a .622 save percentage.
 
Thursday's game will be the seventh meeting between the two schools and the second this year. The Hoyas lead the all-time series 4-1-1. The most recent game occurred on Oct. 21 this year at Shaw Field when the Blue & Gray shut out the Bulldogs 2-0 to clinch the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship. Additionally, Georgetown defeated Butler last year in the 2017 BIG EAST Championship game 3-0 at Shaw Field.