2018 NIRSA National Soccer Championship

The 2018 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 25th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at Foley Tourism Complex, in Foley, Alabama from Thursday, November 29 to Saturday, December 1, 2018.
Weather cancelled the initial tournament prematurely, however a continuation was held for three of the four divisions, with the only division to not have a continuation, the men's open division, naming both finalists as champions.

Overview

Prior to the cancellation

Both reigning champions in the men's and women's championship divisions were eliminated before the semifinals. In the men's championship division, the winningest team, BYU, would see their earliest ever exit from the tournament with an 2–1 loss in the quarterfinals to Florida while in the women's championship division, the reigning back-to-back champion, UC-Santa Barbara, were eliminated in the round of 16 by the 2015 national champions Michigan State following penalties. The women's championship division was also left with only one team that had previously claimed a title: Ohio State who won in 2014.

Continuation

Inclement weather cancelled all games Saturday after the 10:00am games, meaning the semi-final matches in the championship divisions and the finals of the open divisions were unable to be played. Attempting to avoid a repeat of the 2013 tournament where no champions were crowned, a unique continuation was put into place for each division based on the remaining teams.

Men's championship

The 4 remaining men's teams were North Carolina, Florida, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State. A continuation was held January 26, 2019 at the UNC-Charlotte Rec Fields in Charlotte, NC. Games consisted of 45 minute halves with a 10-minute halftime.
The first semifinal saw North Carolina face Region II tournament champion Virginia Tech in a rematch from the aforementioned 2018 Region II tournament's group stage that ended in a 1–1 draw. The only goals of the game were 2 North Carolina goals scored in the first half, seeing North Carolina in the finals for the second time in 4 years. The second semifinal saw Ohio State face Florida. A first half goal from eventual MVP Tyler Garrison of Florida was the only goal of the game and saw Florida advancing to the finals to face regional opponent North Carolina. Due to the unique circumstances of the tournament, the men's division decided to have a third place match, which had never occurred in the previous 24 iterations of the tournament in any division. Ohio State would beat Virginia Tech 3–1 to claim 3rd place.
After 90 minutes, the final between 2015 national champion North Carolina and regional foe Florida was tied 0–0, meaning a 15-minute sudden-goal overtime was to be conducted. Eventual MVP Tyler Garrison of Florida scored a free-kick in this overtime period to give Florida their first national title. This was Region II's third national title in four years despite not winning any of the previous 21 iterations.

Women's championship

The 4 remaining teams were UC-Davis, Illinois, Clemson, and Ohio State. The continuation was held February 23 & 24, 2019 at the Natchez Trace Turf Field at Vanderbilt University's Rec Fields in Nashville, TN. Initially, the tournament was supposed to be outside and end all in one day, but was again postponed due to rain. The semifinals were rescheduled to 8:30pm and 10:30pm indoors on Vanderbilt's Student Rec Center turf field with the finals being at 7:30am CST the following day, February 24, on the grass that they initially planned on using for all the games. Games were 40 minutes with a 10-minute halftime.
The first semifinal saw Ohio State face Clemson. Ohio State scored first in the 20th minute, a lead they held until the 51st minute when Clemson tied the game at 1–1. Ohio State countered with 3 goals in 7 minutes, beginning only 2 minutes after Clemson scored, and they would go on to win 4–1. The second semifinal saw UC-Davis face Illinois. UC-Davis scored 19 minutes into the game and held that lead until the final 6 minutes of regulation when Illinois tied the game at 1–1. The game would remain tied at the end of regulation and go to a 15-minute sudden-victory overtime. UC-Davis' Cayla Stillman scored to send UC-Davis to their first national championship finals. The game ended at 12:46am with the finals being at 7:30am.
The final between Ohio State and UC-Davis was scoreless at halftime, but 2 second half goals led to a 2–0 Ohio State victory, making them the only national champion to not win their first title this season.

Men's open

The 2 remaining teams prior to the cancellation were 2003 championship "finalists" Utah Valley State and UCLA. Prior to this, Utah Valley State would win their opener 2–0 over 2007 open runners-up Kansas but would drop their second to Minnesota 3–0. Facing potential elimination, Utah Valley State did all they could defeating High Point 14–3 but would still finish second in their group. Utah Valley State would tie with Cornell for the final wildcard spot on the points and goal difference tiebreaker, both with 6 and +4 respectively, but the 14 goals in the final were enough to claim the wildcard bid on the goals for tiebreaker. Meanwhile, UCLA would win all three group games, first 5–0 against Carnegie Mellon, then 4–0 over Xavier, and finally 2–0 over Iowa State.
In the knockout round, Utah Valley State would defeat Miami 4–0 in the quarterfinals then three time open champions JMU 2–1 in the semifinals while UCLA would defeat UConn 2–0 in the quarterfinals and Minnesota 1–0 in the semifinals, meaning they still were yet to concede after 5 games. However, the rain cancelled the tournament before the championship could be played, and even though the teams are in the same region, the 675 mile distance between universities was too much and they were unable to get a continuation scheduled and elected to share the title as joint champions making this only the second time joint champions were declared and the first time since 2004 with the four co-champions in the women's championship division. Notably, Utah Valley State's Chris Reyes would be named tournament MVP.

Women's open

The 2 remaining teams were 2006 champions San Diego State and finals debutants, University of Southern California. In the group stage, San Diego State would win all three games 2–0, first against Georgia Tech, then against Maryland, and finally against Colorado School of the Mines. Meanwhile, USC would first defeat Kennesaw State 7–0, then would defeat Colorado Springs 3–0, but a 1–1 draw against Boston College would see them finish second in their group but would be enough to claim a wildcard spot.
In the knockout round, San Diego State would defeat Boston College 2–1 in the quarterfinals then JMU 2–0 in the semifinals while USC would defeat Oregon 2–1 then would defeat intra-city rivals UCLA 2–0 prior to the rain cancellation.
Fortunately, only 120 miles separated these schools, making the continuation fairly convenient. The continuation was held February 23, 2019 at UC-Irvine's Rec Fields in Irvine, CA. In the finals, San Diego State scored the first 3 goals, including one from eventual MVP Ellen Smolarski, in a 3–1 victory over USC for their first open national title.

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 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 on October 5, 2018, at 9am 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. 62 men's teams and 67 women's were selected.

Men's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
II	Virginia	10th	2017
III	Cincinnati	6th	2016
III	Illinois	15th	2017
III	Ohio State	13th	2017
VI	BYU	9th	2017
VI	Arizona	12th	2012
VI	San Jose State	1st	Never
VI	UC Davis	2nd	2013

Source:

Women's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
I	College of New Jersey	4th	2012
I	Northeastern	2nd	2017
II	NC State	2nd	2014
III	Michigan State	14th	2016
III	Ohio State	18th	2017
IV	Texas A&M	19th	2017
VI	UC-Berkeley	4th	2012
VI	UC-Davis	4th	2017

Source:

Men's lottery

Region	Team	Selection Type	Bid result
I	UConn	Automatic
I	Cornell	Automatic
I	Carnegie Mellon	Automatic
I	Villanova	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
II	Georgia College	Automatic
II	Miami	Automatic
II	High Point	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
II	JMU	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
III	Illinois	Automatic
III	Butler	Automatic
III	Xavier	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
IV	LSU	Automatic
IV	Kansas	Automatic
IV	Missouri	Automatic
IV	Houston CC	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
V	Northern Iowa	Automatic
V	Colorado College	Automatic
V	Iowa State	Automatic
V	Minnesota State-Mankato	Automatic
V	Minnesota	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
VI	Cal State-Fullerton	Automatic
VI	San Diego State	Automatic
VI	Utah Valley	Automatic
VI	UCLA	Automatic

Women's lottery

Region	Team	Selection Type	Bid result
I	Boston College	Automatic
I	Penn State	Automatic
I	Towson	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
I	Vermont	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
I	Maryland	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
II	Virginia Tech	Automatic
II	JMU	Automatic
II	Georgia Tech	Automatic
II	Kennesaw State	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
III	Iowa	Automatic
III	Cincinnati	Automatic
III	Grand Valley	Automatic
III	Purdue	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
IV	Missouri	Automatic
IV	Texas Tech	Automatic
IV	Missouri State	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
V	Colorado Mines	Automatic
V	Colorado Springs	Automatic
V	Denver	Automatic
V	Minnesota	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
VI	San Diego State	Automatic
VI	Oregon	Automatic
VI	UCLA	Automatic
VI	USC	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist

Source:

Group stage

Men's championship

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Michigan	2	2	0	0	8	3	+5	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Fordham	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Arizona	2	0	0	2	3	9	−6	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	BYU	2	2	0	0	7	2	+5	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Virginia	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Pittsburgh	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC Davis	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Michigan State	2	1	0	1	4	1	+3	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas–Rio Grande Valley	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Consolation

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Wisconsin	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Cal Poly	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas Tech	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0	Consolation

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

Women's championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Illinois	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Fordham	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	1	Advanced to knockout stage
3	NC State	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	1	Consolation

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Texas	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Michigan State	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	The College of New Jersey	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC-Berkeley	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	North Carolina	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	WashU	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	0	Consolation

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

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC-Davis	2	2	0	0	8	1	+6'	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Wisconsin	2	1	0	1	5	3	+2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Iowa State	2	0	0	2	1	10	−8'	0	Consolation

Notes:

Men's open

Notes:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Illinois "Blue"	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Cornell	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	6	-
3	Northern Iowa	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	3	-
4	Houston CC	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	-

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	San Diego State	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Villanova	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3	-
3	Georgia College	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3	-
4	LSU	3	1	0	2	1	4	−3	3	-

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Minnesota	3	3	0	0	14	2	+9'	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Utah Valley	3	2	0	1	16	6	+4'	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Kansas	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3	-
4	High Point	3	0	0	3	4	25	−12'	0	-

Notes:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	JMU	3	3	0	0	16	0	+12'	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UConn	3	2	0	1	14	2	+8'	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Butler	3	1	0	2	3	13	−8'	3	-
4	Colorado College	3	0	0	3	1	19	−12	0	-

Notes:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UCLA	3	3	0	0	11	0	+11	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Iowa State	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	-
3	Xavier	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3	-
4	Carnegie Mellon	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0	-

Women's open

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UCLA	3	3	0	0	9	3	+6	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Penn State	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	-
3	Minnesota	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1	-
4	Purdue	3	0	1	2	0	5	−5	1	-

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cincinnati	3	3	0	0	12	1	+10'	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Virginia Tech	3	2	0	1	8	2	+6	6	-
3	Towson	3	1	0	2	2	8	−6	3	-
4	Texas Tech	3	0	0	3	1	12	−10'	0	-

Notes:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Grand Valley	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	JMU	3	2	0	1	11	1	+9'	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Missouri	3	1	0	2	3	9	−5'	3	-
4	Denver	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0	-

Notes:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	San Diego State	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Georgia Tech	3	2	0	1	3	3	0	6	-
3	Colorado Mines	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1	-
4	Maryland	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1	-

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Boston College	3	2	1	0	10	1	+9	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Southern California	3	2	1	0	11	1	+8'	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Colorado Springs	3	0	1	2	0	8	−8	1	-
4	Kennesaw State	3	0	1	2	0	11	−9'	1	-

Notes: