WASHINGTON – The No. 1-seeded Georgetown University women's soccer team (17-0-3) will host the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (16-1-2) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Shaw Field. Live stats and video will be available at www.GUHoyas.com.

The Hoyas, ranked second in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, will be making their seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the eighth in the last nine years, all coming under Head Coach Dave Nolan. Georgetown has an RPI of 4 in the most recent report and earned one of four of the top seeds in the tournament. Stanford, who is ranked No. 1 in the country, Florida State and North Carolina round out the other top-seeded teams in the bracket of 64 teams.

On Sunday, the Blue & Gray clinched its third-consecutive BIG EAST Championship title, finishing the season 8-0-1 in the league. The Blue & Gray shut out Butler 1-0 to claim the victory. Senior Caitlin Farrell (Wallingford, Conn. / Choate Rosemary Hall) scored the game-winning goal in the first three minutes of play. Georgetown became the first team in the league to three-peat since Notre Dame (1995-2001) and claimed the conference's automatic berth.

Last season, the Hoyas tied with Wake Forest 0-0 in double overtime in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, but then failed to advance in penalty kicks 2-1 to end the season. The then-No. 15 ranked Blue & Gray finished the season with a 14-3-3 overall record and won the BIG EAST Regular Season and Championship titles. The tournament win was the program's first back-to-back tournament championship and the first time that the Hoyas won the regular season and the tournament in the same season, becoming just the fourth team in the league to do so. Additionally, senior Arielle Schechtman (Del Mar, Calif. / La Jolla Country Day / UCLA) set the school record with the most shutouts (17) in a single season.

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 Schechtman was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for the second year in a row. 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 is one of three Hoyas who has started all 20 games this season. She leads the squad with 37 points from 17 goals and three assists. She has recorded at least one point in 13 of the last 14 games. Carusa has also started all 20 games this season and comes in second on the team with 22 points made up of seven goals and eight assists. Schechtman has allowed just five goals in 18 games at net and has recorded 13 clean sheets. The senior registers a .270 GAA, 67 saves and a .931 save percentage.
 
The Blue & Gray ranks second in the country in GAA (.336) and save percentage (.916) and sits fourth in shutout percentage (.650). Farrell is second in the NCAA in game-winning goals (8), fourth in total goals (17), sixth in goals per game (.85), SOG per game (2.65) and total points (37) and is seventh in points per game (1.85). Additionally, Schechtman leads the country in GAA (.267), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (13).

Central Connecticut won the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship last weekend, defeating Saint Francis University 2-1 to solidify an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Blue Devils earned the victory with less than two minutes left to play. CCSU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 16-1-2 overall record, going a perfect 8-0 against NEC opponents during the regular season. The Blue Devils are currently on a 10-game winning streak. Their lone loss came from a 3-2 decision against UConn in the second game of the season. This will be CCSU's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance.

Senior goalkeeper Ashley Cavanaugh has started all 19 games in goal for CCSU, allowing 10 goals against her and has recorded 11 shutouts, ranking her fourth in the country. She registers a .520 GAA, .877 save percentage and 71 saves. The senior duo of Danielle Pearse and Charlotte Maurer lead the Blue Devils on the offensive end. Pearse has recorded 23 points from 10 goals and three assists while Maurer has 21 points off of eight goals and five assists.

Saturday's game will be the first meeting between the Hoyas and the Blue Devils. The winner of the Georgetown-Central Connecticut match will advance to the second round, playing the winner of a match between Washington State and Montana.

Tickets to the First Round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament being played at Shaw Field on Saturday, November 10 are now available. Visit WeAreGeorgetown.com/tickets to purchase.