1996 NIRSA National Soccer Championship explained

1996 NIRSA National Soccer Championship
League:NIRSA
Sport:Soccer
Prevseason Year:1995
Hosts Alt:Site
Hosts:University of Texas
Austin, Texas
Duration:November 21–23, 1996
No Of Teams:16 (men's championship)
16 (women's championship)
8 (men's open)
4 (women's open)
Picked By Team:Results
Season:Men's Championship Division
Season Champ Name:Score
Season Champs:1–0
League Champ Name:Champion
League Champs:BYU
(1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place:Baylor
(1st title game)
Mvp:Roger Seaman (BYU)
Season2:Women's Championship Division
Season Champ2 Name:Score
Season Champs2:1–0
League Champ2 Name:Champion
League Champs2:Miami (OH)
(2nd title, 3rd title game)
Second Place2:Purdue
(1st title game)
Mvp2:Trisha Barkman (Miami (OH))
Season3:Men's Open Division
Season Champ3 Name:Score
Season Champs3:2–0
League Champ3 Name:Champion
League Champs3:Toledo
(1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place3:Angelo State
(1st title game)
Mvp3:Troy Bingham (Toledo)
Season4:Women's Open Division
Season Champ4 Name:Score
Season Champs4:9–0
League Champ4 Name:Champion
League Champs4:Texas
(1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place4:Rice
(1st title game)
Top Seed4:Jill Cook (Texas)
Seasonslist:NIRSA National Soccer Championships
Seasonslistnames:NIRSA national soccer championships
Prevseason Link:1995 NIRSA National Soccer Championship
Nextseason Link:1997 NIRSA National Soccer Championship
Nextseason Year:1997

The 1996 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 3rd NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas from Thursday, November 21 to Saturday, November 23, 1996.[1]

Overview

Men's championship

In the finals, BYU would take on Baylor. Prior to this, in the group stage, Baylor would face inaugural champions, Purdue, in their opener and would go down 2–0, but would score four consecutive goals to win 4–2. They'd then beat Northern Colorado 5–0 and finally tied Clemson 2–2 to top their group. Meanwhile, BYU would have a "perfect" group stage in that they'd win all three games by three or more goals without conceding a goal in any game, giving them 30 points. They did this by beating reigning champions and hosts, Texas, 7–0, then North Carolina 6–0, and finally Colorado State 3–0.

In the quarterfinals, Baylor would eliminate in-state rival, host, and reigning champion, Texas, 3–0 while BYU would beat Northern Colorado 10–1 which would be the only game where they conceded a goal this tournament. In the semifinals, Baylor would defeat Salt Lake CC 3–0 while BYU defeated Oregon 3–0. In the finals, BYU's Spencer Viernes would score the lone goal of the match as BYU claimed their first national NIRSA national title title. BYU's Roger Seaman would be named tournament MVP.[2] [3] [4]

Women's championship

In the finals, inaugural champion and reigning runners up, Miami (OH), would face Purdue. Prior to this, in the group stage, Purdue would tie their opener 0–0 to Southern Mississippi, then would defeat Penn State 1–0, and finally beat Tennessee 4–0 to win their group. Meanwhile, Miami (OH) would beat Kansas State 2–0, then would tie JMU 1–1, and finally beat Salt Lake CC 3–2 to top their group as well.

In the quarterfinals, Purdue would beat Clemson 4–1 while Miami (OH) beat Bowling Green 3–0. Following this, Purdue would defeat JMU 2–1 while Miami (OH) beat regional opponent Illinois 1–0 to reach their third finals in as many competitions. Illinois' Erica Loechl would be named the division's best goalkeeper and following this tournament would be a part of Illinois' first varsity team.[5] In the finals, eventual tournament MVP, Trisha Barkman of Miami (OH), would score the lone goal of the match to claim their second title in three seasons, the first team in any division to win two titles.[6] [7]

Men's open

In the finals, Toledo would face Angelo State. Prior to this, in the group stage, Angelo State would beat Wichita State 6–1 in their opener, then beat Houston 4–0, and finally lost to Tennessee 2–1 but would have enough to advance to the knockout round as the second placed team in the group. Meanwhile, Toledo would lose their opener 2–1 to inaugural open runners-up Texas Tech, then beat Lamar 5–2 to be level on points with them going into the group stage finale with Texas Tech ahead of both teams by 7 points. In the group stage finale, both teams would tie 1–1 with Toledo tying Texas A&M and Lamar tying Texas Tech 1–1, meaning both teams would still be level on points, but Toledo would claim the final knockout round spot due to them having the head-to-head tiebreaker.

In the semifinals, both teams would win 2–1 with Angelo State beating Texas Tech and Toledo being Tennessee. In the finals, Toledo would win 2–0 and claim their first open title. Toledo's Troy Bingham would be name tournament MVP and Toledo would eventual get a formal congratulations from their Mayor, Carty Finkbeiner.[8]

Women's open

In the finals, in-state rivals Rice and Texas would face off in the team's fourth meeting. Prior to this, in the regular season, the teams tied in their first meeting and Texas defeated Rice in the second. In the opener for both teams, Texas would defeat Colorado State 5–0 while Rice would defeat Texas Tech 2–0 with goals from freshman Tiffany Elkins and sophomore Casey Robinson. In the teams' second game, Texas would defeat Texas Tech 3–0 while Rice would lose to Colorado State 1–0. In the group stage finale, Texas would defeat Rice 6–0 and with Colorado State beating Texas Tech 5–1, going into the knockout round Texas would have the 1 seed and face the 4 seed Texas Tech while Colorado State would have the 2 seed and face 3 seed Rice. In the semifinals, Texas would defeat in-state rival Texas Tech 9–0 while Rice would remain tied 0–0 with Colorado State after regulation and overtime, meaning penalties would be required to determine a winner which Rice would win. In the finals, Texas would defeat Rice 9–0 in what is, as of 2024, the largest score differential in a finals across all 4 divisions. Texas' Jill Cook would be named the tournament's MVP.[9]

Format

The competition consisted of 44 teams partitioned into 24 men's teams and 20 women's teams. Each of these partitions were further divided into a 16-team, invite-only championship division, an 8-team men's open division, and a 4-team women's open division. The championship divisions were divided into four groups of four teams each, the men's open group divided teams into two groups of four teams each, and the women's division placed all the teams into a 4-team group.

All 4 divisions began with a round-robin tournament where each team played each of the other teams in their group once. Following this, the two best teams in each group in the championship division and men's open division advanced to a single-elimination, knockout round. All four teams in the women's open division advanced to their single-elimination, knockout round. The first metric for determining the best team was points, calculated first by giving a team 6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Then, a team could be awarded an addition point for a shutout and an additional point for every goal scored, up to a max of 3 goals per game. If teams were tied on points, the following criteria were used in order:

  1. Winner of head-to-head competition
  2. Greatest goal difference
  3. Most goals scored
  4. Coin toss

The knockout stage was an 8-team tournament for the championship divisions and a 4-team tournament for the open divisions. Knockout stage games needed to declare a winner, so if one was tied at the end of regulation, overtime would begin. Overtime in the quarterfinals consisted of two, 5-minute, golden-goal periods while in the semifinals and finals, overtime consisted of two, 10-minute, golden-goal periods. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would determine the winner. Pool play and quarterfinal games were two 40-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime with the semifinals and finals also being 40-minute halves, but having a ten minute halftime. If a player received three yellow cards during the course of the tournament they would be suspended the following the game.[10]

Qualification and selections

NIRSA extended invitations to the 16 men's and 16 women's teams to participate in the championship division beginning on October 23, 1996 with those invitations being extended to who NIRSA believed were the best in the nation. The teams that participated in the open division were chosen on a first-come first-serve basis via mail with registration beginning on September 15, 1996 with a maximum of 24 teams per gender division.

Men's championship

Participating teams!Region!Team!Appearance!Last Bid
IMaryland1stNever
IIClemson1stNever
IIJMU1stNever
IINorth Carolina1stNever
IIIPurdue3rd1995
IIIGrand Valley State2nd1995
IIIMiami (OH)1stNever
IVTexas3rd1995
IVBaylor1stNever
IVKansas1stNever
IVTulane1stNever
VColorado State1stNever
VNorthern Colorado1stNever
VIOregon2nd1995
VISalt Lake CC2nd1995
VIBYU1stNever

Women's championship

Participating teams!Region!Team!Appearance!Last Bid
IPenn State2nd1995
IITennessee2nd1994
IIClemson1stNever
IIJMU1stNever
IIMiami (OH)2ndNever
IISouthern Miss1stNever
IIIMiami (OH)3rd1995
IIIPurdue3rd1995
IIIIllinois2nd1995
IIIOhio State2nd1994
IIIBowling Green1stNever
IVKansas1stNever
IVKansas State1stNever
VColorado2nd1995
VIowa2nd1995
VISalt Lake CC1stNever
VISan Diego State1stNever

Men's open

RegionNumTeam
I0
II1Tennessee
III1Toledo
IV5Angelo State, Houston, Lamar, Texas A&M "B", Texas Tech
V1Wichita State
VI0

Women's open

RegionNumTeam
I0
II0
III0
IV3Rice, Texas Tech, Texas
V1Colorado State
VI0
Source: [11] [12]

Group stage

Men's championship

Group A!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Salt Lake CC321075+20621Advanced to knockout stage
2Kansas31114401414
3JMU310287+10612
4Grand Valley302158−30511
--------
Group B!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1BYU3300160+163930Advanced to knockout stage
2Texas311159−40413
3North Carolina302128−6028
4Colorado State301228−6025
--------
Group C!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Oregon312042+21417Advanced to knockout stage
2Miami (OH)311141+32314
3Maryland31112201212
4Tulane310227−5129
--------
Group D!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Baylor3210124+81824Advanced to knockout stage
2Northern Colorado320148−41417
3Clemson302156−10511
4Purdue301236−3036
--------

Women's championship

Group A!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Purdue321050+53422Advanced to knockout stage
2Penn State320151+42519
3Southern Mississippi31112202213
4Tennessee300309−9000
--------
Group B!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Miami (OH)321063+31622Advanced to knockout stage
2JMU321042+21420
3Salt Lake CC310256−10511
4Kansas State300315−4011
--------
Group C!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Illinois3300130+133829Advanced to knockout stage
2Clemson31118801616
3Ohio State31115501515
4Kansas3003013−13000
--------
Group D!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Colorado3300124+80826Advanced to knockout stage
2Bowling Green320195+41720
3Iowa31021013−30814
4San Diego State3003413−9044
--------

Men's open

Group E!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Texas Tech321063+30621Advanced to knockout stage
2Toledo311175+20514
3Lamar311157−20514
4Texas A&M301236−3036
--------
Group F!Pos!Team!Pld!W!D!L!GF!GA!GD!SO!GFP!Pts!Qualification
1Tennessee330093+61827Advanced to knockout stage
2Angelo State3201113+81720
3Houston310269−30511
4Wichita State3003314−11033
--------

Women's open

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDSOGFPPtsQualification
1Texas3300140+143930Advanced to knockout stage
2Colorado State32016601417
3Rice310227−5129
4Texas Tech3003110−9011
--------

Tournament bracket

Women's open

All-tournament teams

Key
MVP
Best goalkeeper

Men's championship

PositionNameTeam
MidfielderRoger SeamanBYU
GKScott CarlsonMiami (OH)
ForwardJarred HendersonSalt Lake CC
ForwardJon LovellBYU
ForwardGreg CokeTexas
ForwardRyan AandervelOregon
MidfielderClement YehBaylor
MidfielderBrad PetersonBYU
MidfielderJosh YatesBaylor
DefenderJon MillerSalt Lake CC
DefenderMike ParksBaylor
DefenderNathan MorrisBYU

Women's championship

NameTeam
ForwardTrisha BarkmanMiami (OH)
GKErica LoechlIllinois
ForwardSamantha ButkeClemson
ForwardKristin SwensonMiami (OH)
ForwardPaula KeltonJMU
MidfielderBrandi DuffyPenn State
MidfielderBrittan HlistaColorado
MidfielderAbby IllyesPurdue
MidfielderFrancie RankPurdue
DefenderNicole NotarianniBowling Green
DefenderKatie HallMiami (OH)
DefenderKaren KeitzerPurdue

Men's open

PositionNameTeam
MidfielderTroy BinghamToledo
GKShawn WallaceTexas Tech
ForwardJohn GrossTennessee
ForwardBryan RappToledo
ForwardKyle DotyAngelo State
ForwardMatt BryantAngelo State
MidfielderMike DawdyTexas Tech
MidfielderRyan MilesTennessee
MidfielderMike LoiselToledo
DefenderLuke VosburgAngelo State
DefenderMatt RappeTennessee
DefenderJarred GravesTexas Tech

Women's open

PositionNameTeam
ForwardJill CookTexas
GKLaTisha BraddockTexas Tech
ForwardLeslie NouriTexas Tech
ForwardAimee HenleyTexas
ForwardBrooke CotterRice
MidfielderRebecca ResichColorado State
MidfielderKristen AndersonTexas
MidfielderAmy ChlapowskiRice
MidfielderAmy BoyceTexas
DefenderCasey RobinsonRice
DefenderMarissa BartlettColorado State
DefenderKelley YoungTexas

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Essential Information . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19980713083548/http://nirsa.org/nir14a22.htm#ess . 1998-07-13 . NIRSA.
  2. News: 1996-11-26 . Brigham Young – Men's Club Soccer . The Deseret News . D5.
  3. News: Ward . Michelle . 1996-12-03 . Men's soccer finishes second in tournament . The Baylor Lariat . 4.
  4. News: 1996-11-25 . Junior Colleges-SLCC Soccer . The Deseret News . D5.
  5. Web site: News-Gazette . 1997-09-15 . Illinois soccer stays unbeaten . 2024-06-14 . The News-Gazette . en.
  6. News: Foshee . Franklin . 1996-12-10 . Women's club soccer wins national title . The Miami Student . 11.
  7. News: 1997-11-21 . Club Sports . The Purdue Exponent . 14.
  8. News: Alo . Noure . 1996-12-05 . UT Club soccer wins national title . . B6.
  9. News: Ryerson . Anders . 1996-12-06 . Season ends with 2nd at nationals . . 16.
  10. Web site: Rules . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19980713083548/http://nirsa.org/nir14a22.htm#rul . 1998-07-13 . NIRSA.
  11. Web site: 1996 Participants . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19980713095058/http://nirsa.org/nir14a30.htm . 1998-07-13 . NIRSA.
  12. News: McMichael . Darcy . 1996-11-15 . Men's soccer receives national bid . The Baylor Lariat . 6.