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.
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 2âÂÂ1 over Utah State then beat North Texas 4âÂÂ1 to top their group. Meanwhile, Virginia would win their opener 1âÂÂ0 over Saint Louis to secure a spot in the knockout round but would drop the finale 1âÂÂ0 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, 2âÂÂ1 in the round of 16 then would defeat 2004 champion, Texas A&M, 3âÂÂ0 in the quarterfinals while Virginia would defeat 2006 champions, Michigan, 1âÂÂ0 in the round of 16 then would defeat Delaware 1âÂÂ0 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 2âÂÂ1 with a golden goal in overtime to make their second national title game in 3 years while Virginia would defeat Cincinnati 1âÂÂ0 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 1âÂÂ1. 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 3âÂÂ1 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 3âÂÂ2 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.
In the finals, six time national champion, UC-Santa Barbara, would face region II tournament champions, North Carolina, who were making their first finals appearance. Prior to this, in the group stage, UC-Santa Barbara would win their opener 2âÂÂ0 over Florida State and would top their group despite a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Illinois. Meanwhile, North Carolina would defeat Kansas 1âÂÂ0 then defeat 2008 runners-up, Arizona, 5âÂÂ1 to also top their group.
In the knockout round, UC-Santa Barbara would defeat Gonzaga 1âÂÂ0 in the round of 16 then would defeat Texas A&M 2âÂÂ0 to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, North Carolina would defeat Colorado Mines 2âÂÂ0 in the round of 16 then would defeat UConn 3âÂÂ0 in the quarterfinals to advance to their first semifinal since 1998. In the semifinals, in a rematch of the 2012 national championship, UC-Santa Barbara would face Michigan State. The game would remain deadlocked at 0âÂÂ0 after regulation and extra time meaning, just like in 2012, penalties would be required to determine a winner. This time, however, UC-Santa Barbara would emerge victorious in the shootout with a score of 4âÂÂ2 to advance to their first finals since that 2012 Michigan State game. Meanwhile, North Carolina would defeat 2014 national champion, Ohio State, 2âÂÂ1 to advance to their first finals.
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 1âÂÂ0 and would not concede the entirer tournament.
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 2âÂÂ1 win.
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 2âÂÂ1 for their second women's open national title.
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.
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.
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