2011 NIRSA National Soccer Championship


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 National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association|NIRSA National Soccer Championship|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 then intrastate opponents USC 0–0. 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 play
The ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria in order:
  1. Highest number of points
  2. Winner of head-to-head competition
  3. Greatest goal difference
  4. * Maximum ± 5 goal difference per match
  5. Most goals scored
  6. 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:
  1. NCAA kicks from the mark
  2. * 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
  3. * If there's a four-way tie, a drawing of lots would be conducted
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

Source:

Group stage

Men's championship

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1UC-Santa Barbara220041+36Advanced to knockout stage
2Missouri21013303Advanced to knockout stage
3Colorado State200214−30Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Penn State211021+14Advanced to knockout stage
2Texas State210121+13Advanced to knockout stage
3Ohio State201113−21Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Colorado211021+14Advanced to knockout stage
2Cal Poly210142+23Advanced to knockout stage
3Texas201125−31Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Florida210153+23Advanced to knockout stage
2UConn21012203Advanced to knockout stage
3Michigan210124−23Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Arizona211032+14Advanced to knockout stage
2North Carolina20203302Advanced to knockout stage
3Indiana201112−11Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Northwestern211010+14Advanced to knockout stage
2Texas A&M211010+14Advanced to knockout stage
3Georgia200202−20Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Weber State220052+36Advanced to knockout stage
2Minnesota210132+13Advanced to knockout stage
3Delaware200215−40Consolation

Women's championship

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Colorado220030+36Advanced to knockout stage
2Cornell201112−11Advanced to knockout stage
3Virginia201113−21Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Michigan220062+46Advanced to knockout stage
2Texas210176+13Advanced to knockout stage
3Delaware200238−50Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Cal Poly211042+24Advanced to knockout stage
2North Carolina210143+13Advanced to knockout stage
3Ohio State201114−31Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Michigan State220042+26Advanced to knockout stage
2Wash U21013303Advanced to knockout stage
3Arizona200246−20Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Florida220050+56Advanced to knockout stage
2Penn State201113−21Advanced to knockout stage
3SDSU201114−31Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1UCLA2200113+86Advanced to knockout stage
2Virginia Tech210123−13Advanced to knockout stage
3Indiana2002310−70Consolation

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Pittsburgh220042+26Advanced to knockout stage
2Marquette21012203Advanced to knockout stage
3Colorado State200213−20Consolation

Men's open



PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Southern Cal321091+87Advanced to knockout stage
2Northeastern311154+14Advanced to knockout stage
3SUNY Cortland310217−63-
4Kennesaw State310258−33-



PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Colorado “Black”32014406Advanced to knockout stage
2SDSU311143+14Advanced to knockout stage
3UC Santa Cruz311143+14-
4Villanova310213−23-



PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1UC San Diego320143+16Advanced to knockout stage
2Texas “B”312032+15Advanced to knockout stage
3Colorado Mines302123−12-
4UCLA302101−12-



Women's open

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Salt Lake CC321041+37Advanced to knockout stage
2Colorado “Black”321030+37Advanced to knockout stage
3Northeastern310234−13-
4MTSU300305−50-

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1JMU330090+99Advanced to knockout stage
2Oregon320162+46Advanced to knockout stage
3Vanderbilt310214−33-
4SUNY Cortland3003010−100-

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PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1UC-Berkeley3210101+97Advanced to knockout stage
2Missouri321081+77Advanced to knockout stage
3Northern Arizona3102310−73-
4Villanova300309−90-

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