WASHINGTON – The No. 5/5 Georgetown University men's soccer team will open up the 2026 season on Thursday as the squad hosts the No. RV/25 North Carolina Tar Heels in a nonconference matchup at Shaw Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Georgetown alums Dan Helfrich and Tom Greaser calling the action in their 22nd season in the booth.
 
Follow the Action

• Fans can tune in online on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.
• Tickets can be purchased in advance at GUHoyas.com/tickets.

About the Hoyas

• Georgetown went 14-4-4 in 2025 with a mark of 6-0-2 in BIG EAST Conference play which was good enough to win the BIG EAST Championship as well as the tournament title. The Hoyas boasted four All-East Region and six All-BIG EAST selections, including one major award winner.
• The Blue & Gray advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals a season ago after earning a top-seven seed in the tournament. They finished the year ranked No. 11 in the nation.
• Two Hoyas were selected in the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft presented by adidas. Mitchell Baker was the 10th overall pick of the draft and was selected by the Colorado Rapids. Additionally, classmate Aidan Godinho was the 46th overall pick by CF Montréal going 16th in the second round.
• Georgetown was picked first in the BIG EAST Conference East Division Preseason Coaches Poll as the Hoyas were awarded 66 points and 11 first place votes.
• Three players earned preseason honors as junior Mitchell Baker was named the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while classmate Tate Lampman earned BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.  Both were selected to the preseason All-BIG EAST squad along with senior Matthew Van Horn.
• The Hoyas are currently ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 5 in the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Poll.
• Baker (First Team) and Lampman (Third Team) were both named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI Team earlier this week.
• Seniors Matthew Helfrich and Oliver Stafford, as well as Lampman, were selected by their coaches and teammates to lead the 2026 squad.
• Adrian Molina-Diaz joined the staff as an assistant coach this season. Molina-Diaz came to the Hilltop from Oregon State University where he was an assistant coach for two seasons. In his time, the squad advanced to two NCAA Tournaments and he coached three All-American honorees and 13 All-West Coast Conference selections including two WCC Offensive Players of the Year. The Alicante, Spain, native earned his undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Miguel Hernández University in Spain in 2021. He completed a master's degree in business and data analytics from Oregon State in 2023 and played for the Beavers.
• This season, Georgetown will face 10 teams that appeared in the 2025 NCAA Championship including six that finished the season ranked among the top 25.

About the Tar Heels

• North Carolina was 9-5-6 and 2-2-4 in league play a season ago. The team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina's transfer class of Nick Lockermann, Nico Loebus, Joschi Schelb and Ryan Zellefrow was ranked No. 2 by TopDrawerSoccer, while its incoming freshman class was ranked 14th.
• UNC is currently ranked No. 25 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll and receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll
• Head Coach Carlos Somoano is in his 16th season at the helm of Carolina soccer (25th overall). He holds a career record of 185-68-55.

Series Info

• Georgetown is 0-1-1 all-time against the Tar Heels, but this is the first meeting on the Hilltop.
• The last meeting was a 0-0 double overtime draw in Chapel Hill in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The squads tied, but GU failed to advance on penalty kicks, 5-4.
• The first contest was a 5-1 Hoya loss on the road during the 1953 campaign.