2012 NIRSA National Soccer Championship

The 2012 'NIRSA national soccer championship' was the 19th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis, Tennessee from Thursday, November 15 to Saturday, November 17, 2012. All four finals required extra time and three required a penalty shootout.

Overview

Men's championship

In the finals, [2011 National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association|NIRSA National Soccer Championship|defending champions], Weber State, would return to face finals debutants Michigan State. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group with Weber State defeating Grand Valley State 1–0 in their opener then Wash U 3–0 while Michigan State would defeat Colorado Mines 3–0 then LSU 4–0.
In the knockout round, both teams would concede their first goal of the tournament in 1–1 draws in the round of 16 and would require extra time with Weber State defeating USC 2–1 with a golden goal and Michigan State needing penalty kicks over Georgia that they won 5–4. Following this, Weber State would beat Texas A&M 2–0 in the quarterfinals while Michigan State would have a rematch with Region III tournament champion, Illinois, who defeated them via penalty kicks in the semifinals of the regional tournament. In this matchup, Michigan State would win via an own goal late in the match to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Weber State would be tied 0–0 after regulation and overtime with regional opponent Cal Poly but would defeat them 4–3 in penalties while Michigan State would beat Wash U 3–0 to advance to their first finals.
In the finals, the game would be deadlocked at 0–0 after regular time and extra time, meaning the game would go into a penalty shootout, the second for both teams this tournament. Michigan State would kick first. Both teams would score their first attempts but in the second and third rounds, Michigan State scored but Weber State's attempts would be saved, leaving Michigan State with a 3–1 advantage. Max Washko of Michigan State would score to open the fourth round, ending the game at 4–1 on PKs and giving Michigan State their first national championship while preventing the Weber State repeat. First penalty kick taker and captain for Michigan State, Matt Kaminski, would be named men's championship MVP.

Women's championship

In the finals, the winner of all 5 previous titles, UC-Santa Barbara, were looking to claim their 6th straight title and 7th overall against finals debutants Michigan State. Prior to this, in the group stage, UC-Santa Barbara would defeat Delaware 2–0 then Virginia Tech 4–0 while Michigan State would defeat 2007 runners-up, San Diego State, 2–0 then would lose to reigning semifinalist and 2010 runners-up, Texas, 1–3 but would still finish second in their group to advance to the knockout round.
In the knockout round, UC-Santa Barbara this would defeat Baylor in the round of 16 and Pitt in the quarterfinals, both by a score of 1–0, while Michigan State would defeat reigning runners-up Cal Poly in the round of 16 then 4-time champion Colorado in the quarterfinals, both by a score of 2–1. In the semifinals, UC-Santa Barbara would face Texas in a rematch of the 2010 national championship game and just like the game in 2010, the game would require a penalty shootout with UC-Santa Barbara once again being victorious with a 4–2 win to advance to their sixth straight national title game, the longest national final appearance streak of all time. Meanwhile, Michigan State would defeat Virginia 4–0 in the semifinals to advance to their first national title game.
In the finals, Samantha Pace of Michigan State would open the scoring with a goal two minutes into the second half, but Nadia Zadeh of UC-Santa Barbara would even the score in the 61st minute. The game would remain tied at the end of regulation, meaning 15 minutes of extra time were to be played. Three minutes prior to the conclusion of extra time, eventual women's championship MVP Maddie Lucci of Michigan State would score the sudden-victory goal, giving Michigan State their first national title and ending UC-Santa Barbara's streak of five straight national titles and 21-straight national championship wins.

Men's open

In the finals, 2008 open champions UC-Berkeley would face 2009 open runners-up San Diego State. After a 1–1 score line after regulation and extra time, the game would go into a penalty shootout. San Diego State would go on to win 4–3 and claim their first open national championship. San Diego State's Berrick Rastok would go on to be named men's open division MVP.

Women's open

In the finals, 2009 open champions JMU would face 2010 open champions Illinois in both of the clubs' second finals appearance. The game would remain scoreless after regulation and extra time, meaning a penalty shootout would be required to name a champion. JMU would win 3–1 and claim their second national title in 4 years. JMU's Saundra Bailey would be named women's open's MVP.

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 play

The 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

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 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 48 remaining teams participated in the open division, chosen on a first-come first-serve basis with a max of 4 teams per region being allowed in initially, with all teams applying after this being placed on the waitlist. Registration was online on September 25, 2012 at 8am PST.

Men's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
II	Auburn	4th	2007
III	Grand Valley State	3rd	1996
IV	Texas A&M	13th	2011
IV	Texas	14th	2011
V	Minnesota	11th	2011
VI	UCLA	4th	2010
VI	Southern Cal	2nd	2008

Source:

Women's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
I	Delaware	10th	2011
II	Virginia	7th	2011
III	Michigan	14th	2011
III	Miami	12th	2004
IV	Texas A&M	13th	2010
VI	San Diego State	10th	2011

Group stage

Men's championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virginia Tech	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Texas	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Minnesota	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Illinois	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Harvard	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Arizona	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Southern Cal	2	0	1	1	4	5	−1	1	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Florida	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2	1	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ohio State	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Texas A&M	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Auburn	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Michigan State	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Colorado Mines	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	1	Advanced to knockout stage
3	LSU	2	0	1	1	1	5	−4	1	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cal Poly	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Georgia	2	1	0	1	2	4	−2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Denver	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	TCU	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Penn State	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	Advanced to knockout stage
3	UCLA	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1	Consolation

Women's championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Kansas	2	1	0	1	2	4	−2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Michigan	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Carolina	2	1	1	0	7	3	+4	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Texas A&M	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Miami	2	0	1	1	2	4	−2	1	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC Santa Barbara	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Delaware	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Virginia Tech	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado State	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Boston College	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	UC Berkeley	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Texas	2	2	0	0	10	2	+7	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Michigan State	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	San Diego State	2	0	0	2	1	9	−7	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cal Poly	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Georgia	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	College of New Jersey	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virginia	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Pittsburgh	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Indiana	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	1	Consolation

Men's open

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	JMU	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Cincinnati	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Colorado “Black”	3	0	1	2	4	6	−2	1	-
4	Baylor	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iowa State	3	3	0	0	8	1	+7	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Arkansas	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4	-
3	Texas “B”	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4	-
4	Arkansas State	3	0	0	3	1	11	−10	0	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Missouri	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Sam Houston State	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	CSU Fullerton	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2	1	-
4	Villanova	3	0	1	2	2	10	−8	1	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC Berkeley	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Miami	3	1	1	1	1	2	−1	4	-
3	Kansas	3	0	2	1	0	1	−1	2	-
4	SUNY Cortland	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	San Diego State	3	2	1	0	8	5	+3	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	NC State	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6	-
3	Pennsylvania	3	1	1	1	5	4	+1	4	-
4	Houston CC	3	0	0	3	4	9	−5	0	-

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Women's open

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Miami	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Oregon	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6	-
3	Villanova	3	1	0	2	2	7	−5	3	-
4	Old Dominion	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	JMU	3	2	1	0	11	1	+7	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Illinois	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Salt Lake CC	3	1	0	2	7	5	+2	3	-
4	UW-Milwaukee	3	0	0	3	2	19	−14	0	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Penn State	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Colorado “Black”	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6	-
3	Texas-San Marcos	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4	-
4	Wash U	3	0	0	3	0	8	−8	0	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arizona	3	2	1	0	7	2	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UConn	3	1	2	0	7	2	+5	5	-
3	Texas “B”	3	1	1	1	9	3	+3	4	-
4	MTSU	3	0	0	3	1	17	−13	0	-

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Source:

Tournament bracket

Women's open

Source: