Misplaced Pages

The 2016 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 23rd NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Alabama from Thursday, November 17 to Saturday, November 19, 2016.

Overview

Men's championship

In the finals, 2014 champions Ohio State would face finals debutants Virginia. Prior to this, in the group stage, Ohio State would win their opener 2–1 over Utah State then beat North Texas 4–1 to top their group. Meanwhile, Virginia would win their opener 1–0 over Saint Louis to secure a spot in the knockout round but would drop the finale 1–0 to 2014 runner-up San Diego State to finish second in their group.

In the knockout round, Ohio State would defeat 2008 runner-up, Colorado State, 2–1 in the round of 16 then would defeat 2004 champion, Texas A&M, 3–0 in the quarterfinals while Virginia would defeat 2006 champions, Michigan, 1–0 in the round of 16 then would defeat Delaware 1–0 in the quarterfinals to make their first semifinals. In a rematch of the 2014 national championship game, Ohio State would defeat San Diego State, once again, by a score of 2–1 with a golden goal in overtime to make their second national title game in 3 years while Virginia would defeat Cincinnati 1–0 to make their first national championship game.

In the finals, eventual tournament MVP, Tyler Miller-Jones of Virginia, scored the game's first goal in the 11th minute but Ohio State would counter with a goal a minute later, tying the game at 1–1. In the 24th minute, Virginia would retake the lead from a goal by Tysen Tresness and then double their advantage right before halftime on a goal by Brian Leibowitz, and take their 3–1 advantage into halftime. Ohio State would score with 25 minutes left in the match but, despite a barrage of shots, eventual tournament most outstanding goalkeeper, Blake Ruzich of Virginia, wouldn't give up any more goals, giving Virginia their first national title with a 3–2 victory. This was the second year in a row a Region II team would claim the men's national title despite not winning any of the previous 21 iterations.

Women's championship

In the finals, familiar face UC-Santa Barbara was looking to claim their 7th national title against North Carolina who were making their first finals appearance. Coming into the finals, North Carolina had been an offensive threat scoring 13 goals in five games (2.6 goals per game). Conversely, UC-Santa Barbara had been a defensive powerhouse and hadn't given up a single goal in their five games, but had only scored five goals in that time. In the finals, eventual MVP Lindsay Ringman of UC-Santa Barbara opened the scoring in the 35th minute. Despite eight shots on goal from North Carolina, none were able to get past eventual Most Outstanding Goalkeeper Lauren Racioppi of UCSB and UC-Santa Barbara would go on to win their 7th national title 1–0. This meant, UCSB didn't allow a single goal in all six games of the tournament and only scored six goals.

Men's open

In the finals, last year's championship finalist Penn State would take on familiar face Oregon who were looking to defend their open title in their 4th open division finals. Penn State took the lead in the first half from eventual Tournament MVP Matthew Lundstrom, but midway through the second half, Oregon would equalize with a goal from Rikunosuke Kawashima. In the 70th minute, Robbie Edwards of Penn State would retake the lead off of a header, which was all that was needed for them to claim their first open division title in a 2–1 win.

Women's open

In the finals, Virginia Tech would face Oregon. Despite needing a seven-round PK shootout in the semifinals against defending champion UCLA, Virginia Tech dominated their first 3 games of the tournament by scoring 15 goals while only giving up 1. Oregon were also dominate by scoring 13 goals in their previous four games while only giving up 3. Virginia Tech started hot by scoring 2 goals in the first five minutes with the first coming from eventual MVP Emily Fitzsimmons. However, these were the only goals they would score, meaning when Meghan Schroeder of Oregon scored in the 66th minute, it was just a one goal game. Eventual Most Outstanding Goalkeeper Catherine McNicol of Virginia Tech would ensure that the two goals scored in the first five minutes would be enough, as Virginia Tech went on to win 2–1 for their second women's 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.

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 are 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 aired on YouTube on October 4, 2016 at 1pm 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. 50 men's teams and 40 women's teams were selected.

Men's championship

Women's championship

Men's open

Women's open

Source:

Group stage

Men's championship

Women's championship

Men's open

Notes:

1. ^ Actual GD differs because the max GD for any one game is ±5, which came into effect when JMU beat St. Edwards 8–0

Notes:

1. ^ Tiebreaker: Penn State beat Houston CC 1–0
2. ^ Actual GD differs because the max GD for any one game is ±5, which came into effect when Houston CC beat Miami (FL) 6–0

Notes:

1. ^ Actual GD differs because the max GD for any one game is ±5, which came into effect when Utah Valley beat Colorado Springs 8–0

Women's open

Notes:

1. ^ Actual GD differs because the max GD for any one game is ±5, which came into effect when Virginia Tech beat Denver 10–0
2. ^ Actual GD differs because the max GD for any one game is ±5, which came into effect when Cornell beat Denver 6–0

Tournament bracket

Men's championship

Men's consolation

Women's championship

Women's consolation

Men's open

Women's open

Broadcasting

All championship divisional finals were streamed on Periscope:

• Men's finals: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1MYxNOPRQebKw
• Women's finals: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1mnxejzDoMPKX

References

1. Rios, Mario (December 6, 2016). "Read all about the 2016 NIRSA National Soccer Championships". NIRSA. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
2. Peters, David (November 19, 2016). "Virginia Wins Men's National Championship". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
3. Christopher, Kaylyn (December 1, 2016). "UVA Men's Club Soccer Team Coaches Itself to a National Title". UVA Today. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
4. LeFew, Sam (November 21, 2016). "Men's club soccer captures first ever national title". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
5. Jun Chee, Yuan (November 28, 2016). "Tufts attends club nationals as only Div. III team". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
6. Peters, David (November 19, 2016). "UC Santa Barbara Captures Women's National Championship". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
7. Mead, Madison (January 5, 2017). "UCSB Women's Club Soccer Team Wins their 6th NIRSA National Championship" (PDF). UCSB Recreation.
8. Rios, Mario (November 22, 2016). "Penn State, a year later". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
9. Peters, David (November 19, 2016). "Penn State Wins Men's Open Title". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
10. Rios, Mario (November 22, 2016). "Virginia Tech took care of business". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
11. Peters, David (November 19, 2016). "Virginia Tech Claims Women's Open Championship". NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
12. McCutchan, Valerie (November 8, 2016). "2016 NIRSA National Soccer Championships Rules of Play" (PDF). NIRSA Play.
13. "Open Division Drawing". NIRSA Play. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
14. McCutchan, Valerie (November 4, 2016). "2016 NIRSA Soccer Newsletter" (PDF). NIRSA Play. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
15. Nadelman, Jesse (October 10, 2017). "Syracuse women's club soccer eyeing a second-straight trip to nationals". The Daily Orange. Retrieved November 28, 2024.

• NIRSA National Soccer Championships
• 2016 in sports in Alabama
• 2016 in American soccer
• College soccer tournaments in Alabama
• Baldwin County, Alabama