The 2009 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 16th 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 19 to Saturday, November 21, 2009.

Overview

Men's championship In the finals, the 2002 champions Weber State would face finals debutants Florida. Coming into the finals, despite losing their opening match 2–0 to Michigan, Florida would go on to win their next four games by an average of a 3-goal margin and wouldn't concede another goal. Meanwhile, after winning their opening match, Weber State would tie their group stage finale 0–0, win a 2–1 game over Georgia in the round of 16, require PKs over Texas A&M in the quarterfinals, and finally would score a late goal in a 2–1 win against Michigan in the semifinals.

In the finals, the score would remain 0–0 after regulation and extra time, meaning penalty kicks would determine the men's champion for the second time in three years. Weber State would kick first and get their first attempt saved. The next two kicks would be scored but after Florida hit the crossbar the score would be 1–1 after two rounds. The next two rounds would see zero kicks converted with a save, two misses, and a save respectively, meaning the score would remain 1–1 after 4 rounds. Both teams would score in the fifth round which meant an extra round of kicks were to be taken. After Weber State scored, eventual goalkeeper of the tournament, Jan Robbins, would save a third Florida attempt, sealing Weber State's 3–2 win in penalty kicks and secure their second men's championship title. Weber State's Scott Whitesides would be named men's championship MVP.

Women's championship In the finals, a rematch of the 2001 championship game between Penn State and UC-Santa Barbara. Penn State won the 2001 championship 1-0 but UC-Santa Barbara was two-time reigning champions. Coming into the finals, UC-Santa Barbara would have a 4–0 loss in their group stage finale against Colorado but would wouldn't concede a goal in their next three games. Meanwhile, Penn State would only concede one goal in their five games, the only goal coming in the quarterfinals against Arizona.

In the finals, UC-Santa Barbara's Laura Capparilli would open the scoring in the 13th minute and a second goal from UCSB's Tannia Hernandez would be enough to see UC-Santa Barbara win 2–0 and secure their fourth women's championship title and third straight, making them the first women's championship team to win three consecutive titles. This win also saw them join Colorado and Michigan in being the only women's championship teams to have four titles. UC-Santa Barbara's Alyssa Donikia would be named women's championship MVP.

Men's open In the finals, the only two-time men's open division champions, JMU, would face finals debutants San Diego State. Coming into the finals, JMU would require extra time against UConn in the quarterfinals but would win 6–2 in the semifinals over UCLA. Meanwhile, San Diego State would win their quarterfinal match against East Carolina 3–0 then defeat Villanova 2–1 in the semifinals. In the finals, the game would be tied 1–1 after regulation and extra time, which meant penalty kicks would determine the men's open title. JMU would win 6–5 in penalty kicks and secure their third men's open championship. JMU's Brian Murphy would be named men's open MVP.

Women's open In the finals, Oregon would face JMU; the first women's open title for both teams. Coming into the finals, JMU would win their first two group stage games 6–0 and 8–0 respectively, followed by a 2–1 victory in their group stage finale against Boston College. Meanwhile, Oregon would also be undefeated but would tie their group stage finale against Colorado 0–0. Both teams would win their quarterfinal matchup and have a rematch against a group stage opponent in the semifinals. JMU would win their rematch 3–0 over Boston College while Oregon would require penalty kicks against Colorado "Black" after a 1–1 score line after regulation, which they would win 5–3. In the finals, JMU would win 2–0 and secure their first women's open title, meaning both open champions would represent the same school for the first time in tournament history. JMU's Maureen Finn would be named women's open MVP.

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 14, 2009 with a limit of 16 teams per gender division.

Men's championship +Participating teamsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIPenn State10th2008INavy7th2007IDelaware5th2005IJohns Hopkins2nd2008IINorth Carolina8th2008IIGeorgia5th2007IIVirginia5th2008IIFlorida4th2008IIIIllinois9th2007IIIMichigan8th2007IIIOhio State6th2008IIIMichigan State4th2008IIIUW Milwaukee3rd2008IVTexas A&M10th2008IVMissouri4th2008IVTexas State4th2008VColorado State13th2008VColorado10th2008VMinnesota8th2008VIWeber State9th2007VIUC Santa Barabara7th2008VIUC Berkeley3rd2004VIArizona State2nd2003VICal Poly1stNever Source:

Women's championship +Participating teamsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIPenn State15th2008IDelaware7th2007ICornell4th2008ICollege of New Jersey1stNeverIIVirginia Tech9th2008IIFlorida8th2008IIVirginia4th2006IIIMichigan11th2008IIIOhio State9th2003IIIIllinois8th2007IIIMichigan State7th2008IIIMarquette1stNeverIVTexas A&M11th2007IVTexas10th2007IVTexas State2nd2000IVMissouri1stNeverVColorado15th2008VColorado State13th2008VColorado Mines1stNeverVDenver1stNeverVIUC-Santa Barbara9th2008VIArizona5th2008VIUCLA3rd2007VICal Poly1stNever

Men's open +Participating teamsRegionNumTeamI3UConn, Towson, VillanovaII3Virginia Tech, JMU, East CarolinaIII0 –IV3Texas, Wichita State, KansasV2Colorado, Iowa StateVI5Arizona, UC-Irvine, UCLA, San Diego State, Southern Cal

Women's open +Participating teamsRegionNumTeamI4Villanova, Towson, Boston College, VermontII4MTSU, Vanderbilt, JMU, Miami (FL)III1UW-MilwaukeeIV0 –V4Air Force, Colorado, Iowa State, Colorado StateVI3San Diego State, Oregon, UC-Berkeley

Group stage

Men's championship +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Virginia220061 +56Advanced to knockout stage2Penn State210132 +133Arizona State200206 −60Consolation

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Colorado State220040 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Georgia201112 −113Johns Hopkins201114 −31Consolation

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Weber State211021 +14Advanced to knockout stage2Michigan State202000023Texas State201112 −11Consolation

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Ohio State211021 +14Advanced to knockout stage2North Carolina210122033UC–Berkeley201101 −11Consolation

+Group EPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Michigan211020 +24Advanced to knockout stage2Florida210142 +233Delaware201104 −41Consolation

+Group FPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Missouri220040 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Colorado210123 −133UW – Milwaukee200214 −30Consolation

+Group GPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1UC-Santa Barbara220050 +56Advanced to knockout stage2Texas A&M210122033Navy200216 −50Consolation

+Group HPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Minnesota220030 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Cal Poly210111033Illinois200203 −30Consolation

Women's championship +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Cal Poly220023 −16Advanced to knockout stage2Michigan State210162 +433Florida200214 −30Consolation

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1UCLA220051 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Illinois210142 +233Colorado Mines200228 −60Consolation

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Penn State220030 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Marquette210131 +233Missouri200205 −50Consolation

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Colorado220061 +56Advanced to knockout stage2UC-Santa Barbara210135 −233Delaware200225 −30Consolation

+Group EPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Texas220042 +26Advanced to knockout stage2Virginia Tech201123 −113Cornell201123 −11Consolation

+Group FPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Arizona211030 +34Advanced to knockout stage2Ohio State211020 +243Denver200205 −50Consolation

+Group GPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Virginia220052 +36Advanced to knockout stage2Texas A&M210148 −433The College of New Jersey200243 +10Consolation

+Group HPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Michigan220040 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Texas State210133033Colorado State200215 −40Consolation

Men's open +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Arizona330050 +59Advanced to knockout stage2UConn320144063Virginia Tech310223 −134UC – Irvine300315 −40

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1JMU3300131 +119Advanced to knockout stage2UCLA320132 +163Wichita State310257 −234Iowa State3003213 −100

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1San Diego State321072 +57Advanced to knockout stage2Colorado “Black”320143 +163Texas311144044Towson301217 −61

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Villanova321041 +37Advanced to knockout stage2East Carolina312032 +153USC301245 −114Kansas301236 −31

Women's open +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1San Diego State3300100 +99Advanced to knockout stage2Villanova320183 +463MTSU310235 −234Air Force3003316 −110

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Colorado “Black”3210130 +107Advanced to knockout stage2Oregon321070 +773Towson3102310 −534Vanderbilt3003114 −120