The 2021 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 27th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Alabama from Thursday, November 18 to Saturday, November 20, 2021. This was the third time the event was held here, the last being in 2018.
Overview This tournament also marked the first, in-person national tournament that NIRSA held since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last national tournament NIRSA held was flag football which had concluded 684 days prior, and the last national soccer championship concluded 727 days prior.
Men's championship In the finals, reigning champions BYU faced 1995 champions Texas in a rematch of the 1997 finals. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group. Despite tying their opener 0–0 to Notre Dame, a 3–0 win over UCF was enough to favorably send BYU to the round of 16 while Texas was able to defeat JMU 4–1 then Syracuse 2–0 to top their group.
In the knockout round, BYU would first defeat Syracuse 5–0 then would beat region III co-champion Cincinnati 3–1 to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Texas would defeat UCF 2–0 then would beat in-state opponent Texas A&M 2–1 to advance to their first semifinal since 2010. In the semifinals, BYU would defeat 2006 champions Michigan 1–0 via a second half penalty kick from Benjamin Fankhauser while Texas would face 2018 finalist and 2015 champion North Carolina. The game would end in a 1–1 draw after regulation and overtime meaning a penalty shootout was required. Texas would win 8–7 after 9-rounds to advance to their first finals since 1995.
In the finals, BYU struck first with a goal from Michael Anderson but Texas tied the game with a goal from Nicholas Aufiero in the first half. In the second half, BYU put the game away with goals from Eli Holmstead and Adam Canfield. This 3–1 victory was BYU's eighth title, their second consecutive title, and their third title in the last four tournaments. This also meant BYU joined UC-Santa Barbara's women's team in having the most titles in a single division (8), which UCSB had sole possession of since 2011. BYU's Nathan Mumford would go on to be named the tournament's MVP.
Women's championship In the finals, 2001 national champions and regional co-champion Penn State faced off against 2016 national runners-up and regional champions North Carolina. Prior to this, in the group stage, Penn State would win their opener 4–1 against Baylor but would fall 1–2 to Colorado State to end 2nd in their group. Meanwhile, North Carolina would defeat UCLA 1–0 and Villanova 7–1 to top their group.
In the knockout round, Penn State would first defeat UC Davis 2–1, scoring with only 8 minutes remaining then would defeat Colorado 2–0 while North Carolina would defeat Texas A&M 2–0 then would beat Wisconsin 2–1. In the semifinals, Penn State would defeat Cal Poly 2–1 in overtime following a 1–1 game in regulation while North Carolina would defeat 8-time champion UC-Santa Barbara 1–0 behind a first half goal.
In the finals, midway through the first half, eventual women's championship MVP Noriana Radwan of Penn State scored the game's lone goal from a 25-yard free kick. This 1–0 victory was Penn State's second national title and was the first time in 20 years that a Region I team claimed the women's championship title; the last being Penn State's first title in 2001.
Men's open In the finals, Boston College face Missouri. The game was scoreless at halftime, but eventual men's open MVP Irobosa Enabulele scored the game's lone goal halfway through the second half to lead Boston College to their first open title.
Women's open In the finals, JMU faced UConn. After trading goals throughout, the game was tied 2–2 at the end of regulation, meaning a 15 minute sudden-victory overtime was to be conducted. JMU landed the knockout blow in this overtime to gain their third open title and sole possession of the team with the most women's open championship titles.
Format
The competition consisted of 96 teams: 48 men's teams and 48 women's teams. Each of these divisions were further divided into two 24-team divisions: the championship and open. The championship division divided teams into eight groups of three while the open division divided teams into six groups of four, both engaging in a round-robin tournament that determined teams able to advance to a knockout stage. Pool play games were two 40-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime and utilized the three points for a win system. In the championship division, the two highest ranked teams from each group advanced to their knockout stage, with the third placed team advancing to a consolation bracket. In the open division, the top team from each group as well as the two best second placed teams advanced to their knockout stage. Tie-breaking criteria for group playThe ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria in order:
Highest number of points Winner of head-to-head competition Greatest goal difference Maximum ± 5 goal difference per match Most goals scored Most shutouts
In a tie breaking scenario involving more than 2 teams, the tiebreaker procedure would begin. If one team is identified as different and both remaining teams are still tied, the tie breaker procedure is restarted.
If a tie still remained after the first 5 criteria, the following was used to break a tie:
NCAA kicks from the mark If there was a three-way tie, a coin-flip would be conducted. The two teams that chose the same outcome would compete in kicks from the mark between each other. The winner would compete with the last remaining team in kicks from the mark If there's a four-way tie, a drawing of lots would be conducted (only could occur in open division) Knockout stage games also consisted of two 40-minute halves. The round of 16 and quarterfinals were separated by a seven-minute halftime while the semifinals and finals had a ten minute halftime. Knockout stage games needed to declare a winner. If a knockout-stage game was tied at the end of regulation, overtime would begin. Overtime consisted of one, 15-minute, golden-goal period. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would determine the winner.
Qualification and selections
Each of the six regions receives three automatic bids for both the men's and women's championship that they award to its members. The final six bids are considered "at-large", and are given out by NIRSA to teams, typically based on the regional tournament results and RPI.
The 48 remaining teams participating in the open division were selected via a lottery draw that aired on YouTube on October 1, 2021 at 8am PST. Any team with membership in a NIRSA-affiliated league or with a minimum of four games played prior to the tournament were able to enter their name into the lottery. If a selected team qualified for the championship division, an alternate would take their spot. 43 men's teams and 47 women's were selected.
Men's championship +Automatic bidRegionMethodTeamAppearanceLast BidITournamentCo-championUConn5th2017ITournamentCo-championTufts4th2019IHighest RPI ofremaining teamsSyracuse1stNeverIITournamentChampionNorth Carolina16th2019IIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsAppalachian State1stNeverII2nd highest RPI ofremaining teamsUCF4th2016IIITournamentCo-championPurdue8th2005IIITournamentCo-championCincinnati7th2018IIIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsWisconsin6th2019IVBid-game 1ChampionTexas20th2019IVBid-game 2ChampionTexas A&M20th2019IVRedemption gamebid winnerTexas Tech10th2019VPool AWinnerMinnesota16th2019VPool AWinnerColorado19th2019V3rd PlaceQualifier WinnerDenver2nd2012VINorth TournamentChampionBYU11th2019VISouth TournamentChampionUC-Davis3rd2018VISouth TournamentRunners-upUC-Santa Barbara12th2019 +At-large bidsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIIJMU3rd1997IIIMichigan17th2019IIINotre Dame1stNeverVColorado State22nd2019VICal Poly11th2019VIOregon7th2018 Source:
Women's Championship +Automatic bidsRegionMethodTeamAppearanceLast BidITournamentCo-championPenn State23rd2017ITournamentCo-championVillanova1stNeverIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsBoston College5th2019IITournamentChampionNorth Carolina17th2019IIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsGeorgia Tech1stNeverII2nd highest RPI ofremaining teamsFlorida16th2017IIITournamentChampionWisconsin5th2019IIIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsOhio State20th2019III2nd highest RPI ofremaining teamsIllinois15th2019IVBid-game 1ChampionKansas10th2019IVBid-game 2ChampionArkansas1stNeverIVRedemption gamebid winnerTexas A&M20th2018VPool AWinnerColorado26th2019VPool AWinnerColorado State24th2019V3rd PlaceQualifier WinnerMinnesota2nd2019VINorth TournamentChampionWashington1stNeverVISouth TournamentChampionUC-Santa Barbara20th2019VISouth TournamentRunners-upCal Poly9th2019 +At-large bidsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIHarvard1stNeverIIVirginia11th2018IIIPurdue9th2010IVBaylor10th2013VIUC-Davis5th2018VIUCLA8th2019 Source:
Men's lottery selection Full men's lottery selectionsRegionTeamSelection TypeBid resultITowsonAutomaticIHarvardAutomaticNot acceptedIBoston CollegeAutomaticIPenn StateAutomaticIPennWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIWest VirginiaWaitlistIThe College of New JerseyWaitlistIIVirginiaAutomaticIIVCUAutomaticNot acceptedIIFlorida StateAutomaticIIGeorgia SouthernAutomaticNot acceptedIIWingateAutomaticIIHigh PointWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIISouth CarolinaWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIISouth AlabamaWaitlistNot acceptedIIVirginia TechWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIJMUWaitlistIITampaWaitlistIIIMichigan StateAutomaticIIIBradleyAutomaticNot acceptedIIIKent StateAutomaticNot acceptedIIIIllinoisAutomaticIIIHillsdaleAutomaticNot acceptedIIIWestern MichiganWaitlistNot acceptedIIIButlerWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIIMiami (OH)WaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIIPurdueWaitlistIIIWisconsin-PlattevilleWaitlistIIIGrand ValleyWaitlistIIIXavierWaitlistIVLSUAutomaticIVSt. Edward'sAutomaticNot acceptedIVMissouriAutomaticIVArkansasAutomaticNot acceptedIVTexas TechWaitlistIVBaylorWaitlistNot acceptedIVTexasWaitlistVNorthern IowaAutomaticNot acceptedVMinnesotaAutomaticVColorado CollegeAutomaticVIOregonAutomaticNot acceptedVISan Diego StateAutomaticVIUCLAAutomatic +Participating men's lottery teamsRegionTeamSelection TypeBid resultITowsonAutomaticIBoston CollegeAutomaticIPenn StateAutomaticIPennWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIUConn "White"Regional TournamentCo-championIIVirginiaAutomaticIIFlorida StateAutomaticIIWingateAutomaticIIHigh PointWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIISouth CarolinaWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIVirginia TechWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIIMichigan StateAutomaticIIIIllinoisAutomaticIIIButlerWaitlistAccepted from waitlistIIIMiami (OH)WaitlistAccepted from waitlistIVLSUAutomaticIVMissouriAutomaticIVKansasInviteVMinnesota "B"AutomaticVColorado CollegeAutomaticVISan Diego StateAutomaticVIUCLAAutomaticVIUtah ValleyInvite Source:
Women's lottery selection