2025 NIRSA National Soccer Championship

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The 2025 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 31st NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at SCHEELS Overland Park Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kansas, from Thursday, November 20, to Saturday, November 22, 2025.

Overview

Men's championship

In the finals, 5-time reigning champs, BYU, would make their 6th straight finals and face finals debutants, UCLA. Prior to this, in the group stage, UCLA would top their group after tying Georgetown 1–1 in the opener then defeating two-time runner-up, Illinois, 3–1 in the group stage finale. Meanwhile, after defeating New Hampshire 2–0 in their opener, BYU would tie reigning quarterfinalist and 2010 champion, Colorado, 1–1 in their second match. This tie would break BYU's 24-game win streak in the national tournament, dating back to the 2021 group stage opener against Notre Dame and notably, with Colorado defeating New Hampshire 3–0 in the group stage finale, BYU would finish second in their group which marked the first time in their 15 appearances where they didn't top the group.
In the knockout round, UCLA would defeat Auburn 3–1 then would require penalties against Wisconsin following a 1–1 draw in regulation but would edge the Badgers 4–1 to advance to their second semifinals in 3 years. Meanwhile, BYU would beat Virginia Tech 1–0 in the round of 16 in a rematch of the 2023 finals and would then beat Arkansas 2–0. In the semifinals, BYU would defeat Boston College 2–1 while UCLA would defeat Colorado 2–0, preventing a group stage rematch for BYU.
In the finals, the game would remained deadlocked until the 62nd minute, where Ethan Christensen of BYU scored on an assist from Aaron Jolley in what would end up being the game winner in a 1–0 victory. BYU's Brayden Gonder would be named the tournament's MVP. This win would be BYU's 6th straight national title, overtaking UC-Santa Barbara's women's team for sole possession of the longest championship streak which was previously 5.

Women's championship

In the finals, 2006 champion San Diego State would face two-time champions, Michigan State. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group with San Diego State tying 2023 semifinalist Vanderbilt 0–0 then defeating 2018 semifinalist Illinois 1–0 in the group stage finale while Michigan State would defeat Grand Canyon 5–0 in the opener then would defeat Auburn 3–1 in the group stage finale.
In the knockout round, San Diego State would defeat Auburn 3–1 then would require penalties against Colorado in the quarterfinals that they'd ultimately win 5–3. Meanwhile, Michigan State would defeat Illinois 3–0 and then would defeat two-time runners-up, Texas, 1–0 to advance to their first semifinals since 2016. In the semifinals, Michigan State would beat region II champions, Tennessee 2–1 while San Diego State would defeat Cornell 2–0.
In the finals, Michigan State and San Diego State would be deadlocked after regulation, meaning overtime would be required for the first time since 2022. Overtime would also be deadlocked, meaning penalties would be required for the first time since 2010. In the shootout, Michigan State would kick first and both goalkeepers would save the opening kick. Following this, both teams would each hit their next 3 kicks, leaving the score tied at 3–3 going into the fifth and final round. Michigan State would hit their and goalkeeper Ally Maloney of Michigan State would save San Diego State's final shot, winning the match for Michigan State 4–3. Ally Maloney would earn MVP honors for her two saves in the shootout accompanied with her 4 shutouts and 2 goals against in 6 games.

Men's open

In the finals, 2012 open champions, San Diego State would face 2017 championship runners-up Cal Poly. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group by winning all 3 games. San Diego State would defeat 2007 open champs Missouri 3–1, LSU 3–1, and Cornell 2–1 while Cal Poly would defeat Cincinnati 3–1, Charleston via forfeit, and Sacred Heart 5–0.
In the knockout round, San Diego State would defeat 2023 open champions Miami 3–2 in the quarterfinals and then would require penalties against 2023 open runners-up Purdue following a 1–1 draw. San Diego State would win 3–2 and advance to their first open final since 2012. Meanwhile, Cal Poly would defeat Quinnipiac 2–0 in the quarterfinals then would defeat 2007 championship division winners UC-Santa Barbara 3–0 in the semifinals. In the finals, Cal Poly would score the match's lone goal and win the game 1–0. This would be Cal Poly's A-team's first open title and Cal Poly's Zachary Preucil would be named the tournament's MVP.

Women's open

In the finals, three-time open champions, reigning championship runner-up and 2023 championship winner, UCLA, would face 1996 championship runner-up, Purdue. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group by winning all three group stage matches. UCLA would defeat Ohio 5–0, UCF 3–1, and Arkansas 5–0 while Purdue would defeat 2018 open division runners-up, USC, 4–0, Iowa State 5–0, and Springfield 2–0.
In the knockout round, UCLA would defeat 1996 championship winners, Miami 2–0 in the quarterfinals then would require penalties against 2018 championship runners-up, UC Davis following a 1–1 draw. UCLA would win the shootout 3–2 to advance to the open finals. Meanwhile, Purdue would require penalties against Michigan State "B" in the quarterfinals following a deadlocked regulation and would win the shootout 5–4 to advance to the semifinals where they defeated reigning open champion, Colorado "B", 2–0 to make their first open finals. In the finals, UCLA would defeat Purdue 2–0 to claim their 4th open division title. This gives them sole possession of having the title of most open titles won. UCLA's May Lu would be named the tournament's MVP.

Format

The competition consisted of 96 teams partitioned into 48 men's teams and 48 women's teams. Each of these partitions were further divided into two 24-team divisions, an invite-only championship division and an open division. These divisions were finally be divided into groups, eight groups of three teams each in championship divisions and six groups of four teams each in the open divisions. All four divisions engaged in a round-robin tournament where they played each team in their group and utilized the three points for a win system to determine teams able to advance to the single elimination, knockout stage. In the championship division, the two highest ranked teams from each group advanced to their knockout stage, with the third placed team advancing to the 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. The primary criteria for determining the best team will be points followed by the following:

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

Pool play games were two 40-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime. 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 need to declare a winner. If a knockout-stage game was tied at the end of regulation, kicks from the mark would determine the winner for every game except the finals. The finals required overtime which consisted of two, 10-minute periods played in their entirety. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would again determine the winner.

Seeding

In the championship division, teams advancing to the knockout round were placed on opposite ends of the bracket as the other team in their group. The first round matches were against 1st placed teams vs 2nd placed teams with pairings being pools A vs D, pools H vs E, pools G vs F, and pools B vs C. Following this round, the winner of the A vs D match would face the winner of the H vs E match while the winner of the G vs F match would face the winner of the B vs C match. In the consolation bracket, the first round pairings were pools A vs E, pools F vs B, pools C vs G, and pools H vs D with the winner of the A vs E match facing the winner of the F vs B match and the winner of the C vs G match facing the winner of the H vs D match.
In the open division, the bracket was numbered top to bottom from 1–8. First, the highest ranked wildcard team was placed in position 4 with the other wildcard team being placed in position 8. Then, the pool winner from the group with the wildcard team in position 4 was placed in position 5 and the pool winner from the group with the wildcard team in position 8 was placed in position 1. Finally, using the tiebreaking procedures, the highest ranked remaining group winning team was placed in position 3, the second highest was placed in position 7, the third highest placed in position 2, and the final being placed in position 6.

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 the regional tournament results and RPI.
The 48 remaining teams participated in the open division and were selected via a lottery draw that will air on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 12pm EST. Any team with membership in a NIRSA-affiliated league or with a minimum of four games played prior to the tournament was able to enter their name into the lottery. If a selected team qualified for the championship division, an alternate took their spot.

Men's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
I	Delaware	16th	2024
I	Rutgers	4th	2024
II	UCF	6th	2024
II	Virginia	11th	2018
IV	Texas A&M	23rd	2024
VI	BYU	15th	2024

Source:

Women's championship

Region	Team	Appearance	Last Bid
I	Maryland	4th	2003
II	North Carolina	20th	2024
II	Vanderbilt	3rd	2023
III	Wisconsin	7th	2022
III	Ohio State	23rd	2023
IV	Texas State	4th	2010

Men's lottery selection

Region	Team	Selection Type	Bid result
I	Cornell	Automatic
I	Sacred Heart	Automatic
I	Quinnipiac	Automatic
I	Brown	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
II	Elon	Automatic
II	Charleston	Automatic
II	Western Kentucky	Automatic
II	Tampa	Automatic
III	Miami	Automatic
III	Cincinnati	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
III	Purdue	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
III	Hillsdale College	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
IV	Texas A&M	Automatic
IV	Sam Houston State	Automatic
IV	LSU	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
IV	Abilene Christian	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
V	Minnesota	Automatic
V	Kansas	Automatic
V	Missouri	Automatic
V	Colorado	Automatic
VI	San Diego State	Automatic
VI	Cal Poly	Automatic
VI	Weber State	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
VI	UC-Santa Barbara	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist

Women's lottery selection

Region	Team	Selection Type	Bid result
I	Springfield	Automatic
I	Rochester	Automatic
I	George Washington	Automatic
I	Penn State	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
I	Boston College	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
II	UCF	Automatic
II	Western Carolina	Automatic
II	High Point	Automatic
II	Alabama	Automatic
III	Miami	Automatic
III	Central Michigan	Automatic
III	Michigan State	Automatic
III	Purdue	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
III	Ohio	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
IV	Baylor	Automatic
IV	Iowa State	Automatic
IV	Arkansas	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
V	Colorado	Automatic
V	Kansas	Automatic
V	Northern Colorado	Waitlist	Accepted from waitlist
VI	UCLA	Automatic
VI	UC Davis	Automatic
VI	USC	Automatic
VI	Oregon State	Automatic

Group stage

Men's championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Boston College	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Auburn	2	1	0	1	5	4	+1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Washington	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0	Consolation

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

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

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Wisconsin	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Virginia	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Saint Louis	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	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	Rutgers	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Arizona State	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0	Consolation

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virginia Tech	2	1	1	0	7	2	+5	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Minnesota	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas A&M	2	0	0	2	1	8	−7	0	Consolation

Women's championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tennessee	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Maryland	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Utah	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0	Consolation

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

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

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

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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brown	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Ohio State	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Virginia Tech	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	5	2	+3	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Colorado	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas A&M	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0	Consolation

Men's open

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC-Santa Barbara	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Elon	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
3	Brown	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3
4	Colorado "Black"	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2	1

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cal Poly	3	3	0	0	10	1	+9	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Cincinnati	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
3	Sacred Heart	3	1	1	1	3	6	−3	4
4	~~College of Charleston~~	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0	~~Did Not Appear~~

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Miami	3	3	0	0	18	4	+12	9	Advanced to knockout stage
1	Quinnipiac	3	2	0	1	16	4	+8	6	-
3	WKU	3	1	0	2	9	20	−9	3	-
4	Abilene Christian	3	0	0	3	4	19	−11	0	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Purdue	3	3	0	0	12	1	+9	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Tampa	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
3	Texas A&M "B"	3	1	0	2	1	8	−5	3
4	Minnesota "Maroon"	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Weber State	3	2	1	0	17	3	+10	7	Advanced to knockout stage
1	Kansas	3	2	1	0	8	3	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Hillsdale	3	1	0	2	3	9	−5	3
4	Sam Houston State	3	0	0	3	1	14	−10	0

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Women's open

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UCLA	3	3	0	0	13	1	+12	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UCF	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Ohio	3	1	0	2	1	6	−5	3
4	Arkansas	3	0	0	3	0	8	−8	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado "Black"	3	2	1	0	10	2	+6	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Miami	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Rochester	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3
4	Western Carolina	3	0	0	3	0	12	−10	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Central Michigan	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	George Washington	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
3	Baylor	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
4	Northern Colorado	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Boston College	3	2	1	0	5	0	+5	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Michigan State "White"	3	2	1	0	2	0	+2	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Oregon State	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1	3	-
4	Alabama	4	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0	-

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Purdue	3	3	0	0	11	0	+11	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	USC	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6
3	Iowa State	3	1	0	2	2	6	−4	3
4	Springfield	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0

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