The 2011 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 18th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at Reach 11 Sports Complex, in Phoenix, Arizona from Thursday, November 17 to Saturday, November 19, 2011.

Overview

Men's championship In the finals, reigning runners-up, Missouri, would face the 2009 champions, Weber State. In the group stage, Missouri would win their opener 2–1 against 2008 runner-up, Colorado State, but would lose their finale 1–2 against 2007 champions, UC-Santa Barbara to finish second in their group. Meanwhile, Weber State would win their opener 3–1 over Delaware then would defeat Minnesota 2–1 to top their group.

In the knockout round, Missouri would be deadlocked 0–0 with 2000 champions, Penn State, in the round of 16 after regulation and extra time meaning they would require penalty kicks, which they won 3–0. They would then defeat 2004 champions Texas A&M 1–0 to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Weber State would defeat UConn 1–0 in the round of 16 then would defeat Cal Poly 3–0 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Missouri would defeat Minnesota 1–0 while Weber State would defeat North Carolina 3–0 to advance to their second finals in three years.

In the finals, the game would remain tied 0–0 at the end of regular time and extra time, meaning a penalty shootout would decide the champion for the second time in three years. Missouri would kick first and the first 2 rounds saw all four kicks being saved while the next 3 rounds saw all six being scored, meaning an extra round of kicks would be needed. In the sixth round of kicks, Missouri would hit the crossbar while Korbin Tafoya of Weber State would score, giving Weber State the title, their second in three years and their third overall. Weber State's Cord Stimpson would be named men's championship MVP.

Women's championship In the finals, regulars UC-Santa Barbara would return to their fifth straight women's championship finals to face finals debutants Cal Poly. Coming into the finals, UC-Santa Barbara won every game except the quarterfinals by at least 2 goals, including a 8–0 victory in the group stage. However, the quarterfinals did require extra time against Pitt, which they won 2–1. Meanwhile, Cal Poly tied their opener to eventual consolation champions Ohio State, but would win their next four games. In the finals, eventual women's championship MVP Laura Caparelli of UC-Santa Barbara would score in the 24th minute. This goal would be enough to separate the teams, leading UC-Santa Barbara to their sixth title and their fifth straight, the longest consecutive title streak across all four divisions. This title also gave them sole possession of the most titles for a single team with six, over taking BYU in the men's championship division.

Men's open In the finals, inaugural champions, Texas "B", would face regional tournament runners-up, UC-San Diego. In the knockout round, Texas "B" would face Colorado "Black", a team that also had a separate team playing in the championship division, in the quarterfinals and would win 3–1 then would beat Northeastern 2–0 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, UC-San Diego would require penalty kicks in both their knockout stage games, first against intra-city rivals San Diego State which they won 2–2 (4–3) then intrastate opponents USC 0–0 (5–4). In the finals, UC-San Diego would dominate winning 5–0 and claiming their first men's open title. UC-San Diego sophomore James Somerville would be named men's open MVP.

Women's open In the finals, two teams would be making their first finals appearance: Missouri and UC-Berkeley. Coming into the finals, Missouri would win both games knockout games 2–0, first against 2009 women's open champions JMU and then against reigning women's open champions Illinois. Meanwhile, UC-Berkeley would require penalty kicks in their quarterfinal matchup against 2009 runners-up Oregon then would beat intrastate rivals USC 3–0. In the finals, Missouri would win 2–0 to claim their first women's open title.

Format The competition consisted of 80 teams: 48 championship division teams and 32 open division teams. Each of these divisions were further divided into two equal sized divisions for men and women. The championship division divided teams into eight groups of three teams each while the open division divided teams into four groups of four teams each, 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. After group stage play, the two highest ranked teams from each group advanced to their respective knockout stage. In the championship division, the third placed team advanced to a consolation bracket while in the open division, the third and fourth placed teams were eliminated. 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, therefore if a game was tied at the end of regulation, one 15-minute, golden-goal overtime period would begin. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would determine the winner.

Qualification and selections Each of the six regions received three automatic bids for both the men's and women's championship that they awarded to its members. The final six bids were considered "at-large", and were given out by NIRSA to teams, typically based on their regional tournament results and RPI.

The 32 remaining teams participated in the open division, chosen on a first-come first-serve basis online on September 28, 2011

Men's championship +Participating teamsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIPenn State11th2009INavy9th2010IDelaware7th2010IUConn1stNeverIINorth Carolina10th2010IIFlorida6th2010IIGeorgia6th2009IIIMichigan10th2010IIIOhio State7th2009IIIIndiana6th2008IIIMichigan State5th2009IIINorthwestern2nd2010IVTexas13th2010IVTexas A&M12th2010IVMissouri6th2010IVTexas State5th2009VColorado State15th2010VColorado12th2010VMinnesota10th2010VIWeber State11th2010VIArizona10th2010VIUC Santa Barabara8th2009VIUC Berkeley4th2009VICal Poly3rd2010 Source:

Women's championship +Participating teamsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIPenn State17th2010IDelaware9th2010ICornell6th2010IPitt2nd2010IIVirginia Tech11th2010IIFlorida10th2010IINorth Carolina8th2010IIVirginia6th2010IIIMichigan13th2010IIIOhio State11th2010IIIMichigan State8th2009IIIIndiana3rd2004IIIMarquette3rd2010IVTexas12th2010IVTCU1stNeverIVWash U1stNeverVColorado17th2010VColorado State15th2010VColorado Mines2nd2009VIUC-Santa Barbara11th2010VISan Diego State9th2008VIArizona7th2010VIUCLA5th2010VICal Poly2nd2009

Men's open +Participating teamsRegionNumTeamI4Penn, SUNY Cortland, Northeastern, VillanovaII1Kennesaw StateIII0 –IV1Texas "B"V2Colorado "Black", Colorado MinesVI8Cal Poly "B", UC-Irvine, Northern Arizona, Southern Cal (USC), San Diego State, UC-Santa Cruz, UCLA, UC San Diego

Women's open +Participating teamsRegionNumTeam(s)I3Northeastern, SUNY Cortland, VillanovaII4Kennesaw State, MTSU, JMU, VanderbilitIII1IllinoisIV1MissouriV1Colorado "Black"VI6Southern Cal (USC), Arizona State, Salt Lake CC, Oregon, UC-Berkeley, Northern Arizona

Group stage

Men's championship +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Michigan State211031 +24Advanced to knockout stage2UC-Berkeley211031 +243Navy200226 −40Consolation

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1UC-Santa Barbara220041 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Missouri210133033Colorado State200214 −30Consolation

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Penn State211021 +14Advanced to knockout stage2Texas State210121 +133Ohio State201113 −21Consolation

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Colorado211021 +14Advanced to knockout stage2Cal Poly210142 +233Texas201125 −31Consolation

+Group EPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Florida210153 +23Advanced to knockout stage2UConn210122033Michigan210124 −23Consolation

+Group FPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Arizona211032 +14Advanced to knockout stage2North Carolina202033023Indiana201112 −11Consolation

+Group GPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Northwestern211010 +14Advanced to knockout stage2Texas A&M211010 +143Georgia200202 −20Consolation

+Group HPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Weber State220052 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Minnesota210132 +133Delaware200215 −40Consolation

Women's championship +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1UC-Santa Barbara2200100 +106Advanced to knockout stage2TCU201102 −213Colorado Mines201108 −81Consolation

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Colorado220030 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Cornell201112 −113Virginia201113 −21Consolation

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Michigan220062 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Texas210176 +133Delaware200238 −50Consolation

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Cal Poly211042 +24Advanced to knockout stage2North Carolina210143 +133Ohio State201114 −31Consolation

+Group EPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Michigan State220042 +26Advanced to knockout stage2Wash U210133033Arizona200246 −20Consolation

+Group FPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Florida220050 +56Advanced to knockout stage2Penn State201113 −213SDSU201114 −31Consolation

+Group GPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1UCLA2200113 +86Advanced to knockout stage2Virginia Tech210123 −133Indiana2002310 −70Consolation

+Group HPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Pittsburgh220042 +26Advanced to knockout stage2Marquette210122033Colorado State200213 −20Consolation

Men's open +Group A Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification1Penn321083+57 Advanced to knockout stage2Cal Poly “B”312053+253UC Irvine302179−224Northern Arizona301238−51

+Group B Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification1Southern Cal321091+87 Advanced to knockout stage2Northeastern311154+143SUNY Cortland310217−634Kennesaw State310258−33

+Group C Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification1Colorado “Black”32014406 Advanced to knockout stage2SDSU311143+143UC Santa Cruz311143+144Villanova310213−23

+Group D Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification1UC San Diego320143+16 Advanced to knockout stage2Texas “B”312032+153Colorado Mines302123−124UCLA302101−12

Women's open +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Illinois321063 +37Advanced to knockout stage2Southern Cal (USC)320195 +463Arizona State311154 +144Kennesaw State3003210 −80

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Salt Lake CC321041 +37Advanced to knockout stage2Colorado “Black”321030 +373Northeastern310234 −134MTSU300305 −50

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1JMU330090 +99Advanced to knockout stage2Oregon320162 +463Vanderbilt310214 −334SUNY Cortland3003010 −100