By Sheldon Shealer, editor

The pairings are set, and the most important early season girls soccer tournament favors a McDonogh (Md.) appearance in the final.

McDonogh, the host school, has the easiest road to the final of the McDonogh Invitational, but by no means will it be a walk-over.

The two-day event featuring eight teams, five in the preseason ESPN RISE FAB 50 rankings, will take place Sept. 5-6 at McDonogh School outside of Baltimore.

All eight teams play Friday at 5 p.m. McDonogh faces Episcopal (Pa.), Paul VI (Va.) takes on Sacred heart (Ky.), Bishop O'Connell (Va.) plays Pennington (N.J.) and St. John's (D.C.) matches up with defending 3A state champ Urbana (Md.).

The McDonogh-Episcopal and Paul VI-Sacred Heart winners sqaure off in one morning semifinal while the other features the O'Connell-Pennington and St. John's-Urbana winners. The championship match is set for 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

O'Connell, Pennington and St. John's all are in the FAB 50 Top 25 - and only one of those teams can reach the final, given the pairings.

ESPN RISE will be at the McDonogh Invitational providing daily coverage.

ESPN RISE Girls Soccer Preseason FAB 50