Sept. 2, 2010

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's soccer team will open the 2010 season with a pair of matchups at North Kehoe Field this weekend. The Hoyas will host Northeastern on Friday at 4 p.m., and then welcome No. 24 Michigan State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Georgetown returns eight starters from last year's squad and has 11 seniors on the roster to give Head Coach Brian Wiese his most veteran team since coming to the Hilltop in 2006. The Blue & Gray was selected to finish fourth in the BIG EAST's Blue Division in the league's preseason poll after an overall mark of 9-8-2 last season with a record of 6-5 in conference play. Complementing the large senior class is a core of sophomores and juniors that have seen minutes on the pitch as well as seven freshmen.

The contest against the Northeastern University Huskies will kickoff on Friday at 4 p.m., at North Kehoe Field. Northeastern went to the Colonial Athletic Association's championship game a season ago finishing 2009 with a mark of 10-8-1 overall and 8-2-1 in the CAA. The squad was picked to finish fourth in the CAA this year with two players earning spots on the Preseason All-CAA Team.

The Blue & Gray is 28-21-3 all-time in season openers and 2-1-1 under Wiese. Georgetown has never opened the season at home since Wiese has been at the helm. Friday will mark the first meeting between the Hoyas and Huskies.

For the second year in a row, Georgetown and Maryland will swap opponents on the opening weekend as No. 24 Michigan State heads to North Kehoe Field on Sunday after a showdown with the Terps on Friday night. It also marks the second time GU will host a ranked team on the opening weekend. Last year Georgetown downed No. 19 UCLA, 2-0, in the second game of the weekend.

The Spartans were selected to finish fifth in the Big Ten in the preseason coaches' poll announced last weekend. MSU has earned three-consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and had one player on the 2010 Hermann Trophy Watch List. Michigan State went 1-0-1 in exhibition matches during the preseason.

This will be the first meeting between the two squads. The Hoyas have only played three Big Ten teams in program history and none under Wiese. The Blue & Gray is 0-2-1 against Big Ten squads.

Fans can enjoy soccer throughout the holiday weekend with six games slated to be played at North Kehoe Field. The Georgetown men will host Northeastern and Michigan State, while the women's squad will host a tournament on Saturday and Monday.

Admission for the men's games is $5 for adults and $2 for youth. Georgetown soccer scarves and t-shirts will be available to purchase for fans at the main gate. All GU students will receive schedule t-shirts provided by Eurosport and students that attend both Friday and Sunday will receive a soccer scarf at the Michigan State contest.

On Friday, fans can purchase the two-game ticket package for $8.