CARY, N.C. – The top-seeded Georgetown women's soccer team ended its season on Friday evening in the College Cup Semifinals to fellow top-seeded University of North Carolina 1-0 in double overtime. The Hoyas finished their season with an overall record of 21-1-3, while the Tar Heels advance to the championship game on Sunday with a 21-3-2 record.
 
This was the Blue & Gray's second appearance in the College Cup in three years. Georgetown fell to eventual champions USC 1-0 in 2016 in the semifinals.
 
"I couldn't be any prouder of these kids," said Head Coach Dave Nolan. "I thought they put in a great effort tonight. Carolina asked a lot of us out there. We had to deal with a lot of adversity when Arielle went down, but we knew what we needed to do and Lauren stepped up and made a great save in the penalty kick and handled the game the rest of the way like a veteran. Huge credit to our kids for a great year and for leaving everything on the field the way champions should."
 
The Hoya defense proved to be unfazed by a full stadium, as their pressure on the Tar Heels was stronger than ever in the first half. UNC took five corners in the first, and Georgetown cleared the box after every set piece, not allowing the Tar Heels to capitalize on any opportunities. Senior goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day / UCLA) made crucial efforts on multiple occasions in the net, including a save with two minutes in the half to keep it scoreless for both teams.
 
Sophomore Grace Nguyen (Lilburn, Ga. / Parkview) tallied three shots in the first half, including GU's closest chance to take the lead in the 24th minute from the top of the box as her shot sailed over the net.
 
The rhythm remained the same in the second half as both teams looked to take the lead. The Tar Heels possessed control on the offensive side, but the Hoya defense continued to step up on the back end to prevent any scoring. In the 55th minute, junior defender Meaghan Nally (Herndon, Va. / South Lakes) hustled to deny a Tar Heel shot from getting past Schechtman.
 
With less than 10 minutes in regulation, Schechtman suffered an injury while making a save. Junior Lauren Gallagher (Pearl River, N.Y. / Pearl River) replaced Schechtman in the net and was faced with a UNC penalty kick almost immediately after entering the game. However, Gallagher managed to deflect the Tar Heel's penalty kick out of the box to maintain a 0-0 score.
 
Farrell attempted to score a late goal in the 87th minute, but her shot went wide, forcing both teams into a scoreless overtime.
 
While North Carolina's offense took control in the first 10 minute of overtime, the Blue & Gray continued to do an outstanding job on the defensive end. The Tar Heels took a free kick in the 103rd minute, but GU blocked the shot before it could reach Gallagher. With almost a minute left, UNC almost scored the golden goal but just missed the net, forcing the teams into the another 10 minutes of play.
 
In the 112th minute, a shot by UNC was deflected off of Gallagher and the Tar Heels fired another shot, but Nally stepped in to replace Gallagher and tallied a team save. The Tar Heels scored the golden goal in the 108th minute at the top of the box to advance to the final round of the College Cup.
 
The Tar Heels outshot the Hoyas 20-9 and had a 15-6 advantage on corner kicks. Schechtman and Gallagher had a combined total of seven saves while UNC tallied one.
 
"I give credit to Carolina," said Nolan. "They found a way to win the game. They showed a bit of poise in the right moment. I felt we had enough chances that maybe we could have gotten something, but to be fair to them, they had some chances too. It's always hard when the game finishes so close to the end."
 
Georgetown finished the 2018 campaign as the most successful team in program history. The Hoyas three-peated the BIG EAST Championship and won back-to-back BIG EAST Regular Season titles. The team set the program record for most wins (21).