Highlighted by eight home matches, including five against BIG EAST Conference opponents, Georgetown University Head Women’s Soccer Coach Dave Nolan announced the team’s 2012 schedule.

Georgetown is coming off a 2011 season that was its most successful regular season in program history, as the Blue & Gray finished with a 15-6-0 overall record.  The 15 wins were the most in a regular season and tied for the most in a season overall with the 2010 squad.   Georgetown finished in second place in the American Division of the BIG EAST Conference, earned a first round bye and advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament for the second time in program history.

"This schedule will be extremely challenging as we once again compete against some of the premier programs in the country,” Nolan said.  “The obvious highlights include conference powers, Notre Dame and UConn as well as a tough weekend out West playing national champions Stanford and Santa Clara University. However we also have tough weekends hosting a pair of Ivies, Columbia and Cornell University and travel to play some of the best in the CAA in JMU and Hofstra.

 Our team will have a new look to it but I fully expect us to maintain the high standards we have set for ourselves."

The Hoyas will open the season with a pair of exhibition matches, at home against Richmond on Thursday, Aug. 9 (5 p.m.), and then at Virginia on Sunday, Aug. 12 (7 p.m.).

 The regular season opens on Friday, Aug. 17, with the Hoyas hosting George Washington at 3 p.m.  The team will play its first road game two days later, traveling to play at Delaware on Sunday, Aug. 19 (1 p.m.). 

The Hoyas play their next six games in a series of three tournaments, starting with the James Madison Tournament in Harrisonburg, Va.  Georgetown plays at James Madison on Friday, Aug. 24 (7:30 p.m.) and then against Hofstra on Sunday, Aug. 26 (1 p.m.).

The team’s home schedule also includes a pair of matches in the D.C. Invitational on Labor Day Weekend, first on Saturday, Sept. 1 against Cornell and then on Monday, Sept. 3 against Columbia.  Both matches begin at 1 p.m. 

Georgetown travels West the following weekend, competing in the Stanford Invitational, beginning with a match on Friday, Sept. 7 against Santa Clara (4 p.m.).  The weekend concludes on Sunday, Sept. 9 with a match against defending national champion Stanford (1:30 p.m.). 

The Blue & Gray begin BIG EAST Conference play on Friday, Sept. 14, hosting Seton Hall at North Kehoe Field, with kickoff slated for 3 p.m.  Other conference home games include matches against UConn on Friday, Sept. 21 (3 p.m.), Providence on Sunday, Sept. 23 (1 p.m.) and Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 12 (3 p.m.).  Senior Day will be held on Sunday, Oct. 14 against DePaul (1 p.m.). 

BIG EAST road matches start with a trip to Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 16 (1 p.m.).  The Hoyas play three-straight road games later in the month, first at Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 30 (1 p.m.), then at Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 5 (7 p.m.) and closing it out at Louisville on Sunday, Oct. 7 (1 p.m.).  Georgetown closes out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 19 at Villanova (3 p.m.).