The 2022 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 28th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, in Round Rock, Texas from Thursday, November 17 to Saturday, November 19, 2022. This was the second time the event was held here, the first being in 2019.
Overview
Men's championship In the finals, the reigning back-back-back champions, BYU, were making their 10th finals appearance against finals debutants Minnesota. Prior to this, in the group stage, BYU would defeat Rutgers 6–0 then 2004 national champions, Texas A&M, 4–1 while Minnesota would defeat 2012 national champions, Michigan State, 3–0 then region II tournament runners-up, William & Mary, 4–0 to top their group.
In the knockout round, BYU would defeat 2008 national runners-up, Colorado State, 6–0 in the round of 16 then, in a rematch of the 2019 national championship game, would face Ohio State and beat them 3–0. Meanwhile, Minnesota would defeat region I tournament champion, UConn, 6–0 in the round of 16 then would beat 2015 national champion, North Carolina, 2–1 to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, in a rematch of last year's championship game, BYU would face Texas and would defeat them 4–1 to advance to their third straight finals while Minnesota would defeat UC-Davis 2–0 to advance to their first finals.
In the finals, with neither team trailing the entirety of the tournament, Minnesota would take an early lead with a goal from Samuel Yarmulnik in the first minute. They would hold this lead until Eric Morris of BYU leveled the game at 1–1 in the 67th minute. 2 minutes prior to the end of regulation, eventual MVP Thys Call of BYU would score what would be a game winner in a 2–1 victory for BYU, their 9th men's championship title and third consecutive. This was also their fourth title in the five iterations since they returned to NIRSA from the PDL.
Women's championship In the finals, UConn would face 2011 runners-up Cal Poly. Prior to this, in the group stage, UConn would tie their opener 1–1 against region II tournament champion, Virginia, but a 1–0 win over Wisconsin would be enough to top their group. Meanwhile, Cal Poly would defeat Florida State 2–0 then would beat 2017 runners-up, Texas, 1–0 to also top their group.
In the knockout round, UConn would defeat UC-Davis 2–1 in the round of 16 then, after remaining deadlocked 1–1 after regulation and overtime would defeat 2005 national champion Michigan 5–4 in penalties to make their first semifinals. Meanwhile, Cal Poly would defeat Vanderbilt 1–0 in the round of 16 then would beat 2004 co-champion Colorado 2–1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, UConn would defeat Oregon 2–0 to advance to their first finals while Cal Poly would defeat 2019 champion, Ohio State, 2–1 to advance to their second finals.
In the finals, the game would remain deadlocked 0–0 at the end of regulation, meaning a 15-minute, golden-goal period would occur. Two minutes before the end of the overtime period, Bethany Love of Cal Poly would head a cross off of a corner kick past the eventual women's championship's most outstanding goalkeeper, Estelle Jarrett of UConn, to give Cal Poly their first women's national title. Fiona Plunkett of Cal Poly would be named the MVP of the women's championship division.
Men's open In the finals, UCLA, who were making their 3rd finals appearance in the last 4 iterations of the competition, would face Miami of Ohio, who were making their first ever open finals appearance. UCLA, led by captain and eventual MVP Ciaran Hernon, would go on to dominate 3–0 and claim their second men's open title.
Women's open In the finals, Kansas were looking to claim their first national title against one of the division's most successful teams, UCLA who, despite their success in previous tournaments, finished second in their group. The game would be tied 0–0 at halftime, but a second half goal would be enough for UCLA to join their male counterparts and claim a 2022 open title. This was their third open title in their history and meant they had tied the record for most championships in the women’s open division, going level with JMU who have also won 3 titles. UCLA would also see their own Alison Shea be named the MVP of the women's open division.
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 playThe 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 (only could occur in open division) 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 receives 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 YouTube on October 6, 2022 at 8am 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. 54 men's teams and 56 women's were selected.
Men's championship +Automatic bidRegionMethodTeamAppearanceLast BidITournamentCo-champUConn6th2021ITournamentCo-champDelaware14th2019IHighest RPI ofremaining teamsRutgers1stNeverIITournamentChampionNorth Carolina17th2021IIHighest RPI remaining teamsClemson5th2003II2nd highest RPI ofremaining teamsWilliam & Mary1stNeverIIITournamentCo-champOhio State15th2019IIITournamentCo-champNotre Dame2nd2021IIIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsIllinois16th2018IVGroup AWinnerTexas Tech11th2021IVGroup BWinnerTexas21st2021IVGroup CWinnerTexas A&M21st2021VPool AWinnerMinnesota17th2021VPool BWinnerColorado20th2021V3rd PlaceQualifier WinnerColorado State23rd2021VINorth TournamentChampionBYU12th2021VISouth TournamentChampionUSC4th2019VISouth TournamentRunners-upUC-Davis4th2021
+At-large bidsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIGeorgetown1stNeverIIJMU4th2021IIFlorida14th2019IIIWisiconsin7th2021IIIMichigan State13th2019VIWeber State15th2015 Source:
Women's championship +Automatic bidsRegionMethodTeamAppearanceLast BidITournamentCo-championBoston College6th2021ITournamentCo-championPenn State24th2021IHighest RPI ofremaining teamsUConn4th2019IITournamentChampionVirginia12th2021IIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsVanderbilt1stNeverII2nd highest RPI ofremaining teamsVirginia Tech17th2019IIITournamentCo-championCincinnati1stNeverIIITournamentCo-championMichigan State15th2018IIIHighest RPI ofremaining teamsWisconsin6th2021IVGroup AWinnerBaylor11th2021IVGroup BWinnerWash U St Louis5th2018IVGroup CWinnerTexas21st2019VPool AWinnerColorado State25th2021VPool BWinnerMinnesota3rd2021V3rd PlaceQualifier WinnerColorado27th2021VINorth TournamentChampionOregon2nd2014VISouth TournamentChampionCal Poly10th2021VISouth TournamentRunners-upUC-Santa Barbara21st2021 +At-large bidsRegionTeamAppearanceLast BidIIFlorida State4th2016IIGeorgia Tech2nd2021IIIMichigan20th2019IIIOhio State21st2021IVTexas A&M21st2021VIUC-Davis6th2021 Sources:
Men's lottery selection Full men's lottery selectionsRegionTeamSelection TypeBid resultIUMass AmherstAutomaticIBabsonAutomaticIPennAutomaticICornellAutomaticISpringfieldWaitlistIStony BrookWaitlistIUConnWaitlistITempleWaitlistINew HavenWaitlistIVermontWaitlistIYaleWaitlistIBoston U.WaitlistIPenn StateWaitlistIBoston CollegeWaitlistIQuinnipiacWaitlistITowsonWaitlistICarnegie MellonWaitlistIFordhamWaitlistIConnecticut CollegeWaitlistIJohns HopkinsWaitlistINortheasternWaitlistIUMBCWaitlistIAdelphiWaitlistIITampaAutomaticIIVirginia TechAutomaticIIFlorida Gulf CoastAutomaticIIVCUAutomaticIIJMUWaitlistIIICincinnatiAutomaticIIIMiami (OH)AutomaticIIIOhio StateAutomaticIIIPurdueAutomaticIIIIllinoisWaitlistIIIOhio U.WaitlistIIIKent StateWaitlistIIIXavierWaitlistIIIGrand Valley StateWaitlistIIIMichiganWaitlistIVKansasAutomaticIVLSUAutomaticIVOklahoma StateAutomaticNot acceptedIVTexasAutomaticIVMissouriWaitlistAccepted from waitlistVIowa StateAutomaticVColorado CollegeAutomaticVUtah Valley StateAutomaticVColoradoAutomaticVMinnesotaWaitlistAccepted from waitlistVArizonaWaitlistVICal BerkeleyAutomaticVIOregonAutomaticVICal PolyAutomaticVIUCLAAutomaticVIBoise StateWaitlist +Participating men's lottery teamsRegionTeamSelection TypeBid resultIUMass AmherstAutomaticIBabsonAutomaticIPennAutomaticICornellAutomaticIITampaAutomaticIIVirginia TechAutomaticIIFlorida Gulf CoastAutomaticIIVCUAutomaticIIICincinnatiAutomaticIIIMiami (OH)AutomaticIIIPurdueAutomaticIVKansasAutomaticIVLSUAutomaticIVTexasAutomaticIVMissouriWaitlistAccepted from waitlistVIowa StateAutomaticVColorado CollegeAutomaticVUtah Valley StateAutomaticVColoradoAutomaticVMinnesotaWaitlistAccepted from waitlistVIUC-BerkeleyAutomaticVIOregonAutomaticVICal PolyAutomaticVIUCLAAutomatic
Women's lottery selection