2007 NIRSA National Soccer Championship explained

2007 NIRSA National Soccer Championship
League:	NIRSA
Sport:	Soccer
Prevseason Year:	2006
Hosts Alt:	Site
Hosts:	University of West Florida Pensacola, FL
Duration:	November 15–17, 2007
No Of Teams:	24 (Men's championship) 19 (Women's open) 16 (Women's championship and Men's open)
Picked By Team:	Results
Season:	Men's Championship Division
Season Champ Name:	Score
Season Champs:	0–0 (a.e.t.) 4–1 (pen.)
League Champ Name:	Champion
League Champs:	UC-Santa Barbara (1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place:	Texas Tech (4th title game)
Mvp:	Joe Ferreira (UC-Santa Barbara)
Season2:	Women's Championship Division
Season Champ2 Name:	Score
Season Champs2:	1–1 (a.e.t.) 4–1 (pen.)
League Champ2 Name:	Champion
League Champs2:	UC-Santa Barbara (2nd title, 3rd title game)
Second Place2:	San Diego State (2nd title game)
Mvp2:	Allie Browne (UC-Santa Barbara)
Season3:	Men's Open Division
Season Champ3 Name:	Score
Season Champs3:	1–1 (a.e.t.) 4–2 (pen.)
League Champ3 Name:	Champion
League Champs3:	Missouri (1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place3:	Kansas (2nd title game)
Mvp3:	Ross Pfeifer (Missouri)
Season4:	Women's Open Division
Season Champ4 Name:	Score
Season Champs4:	3–1
League Champ4 Name:	Champion
League Champs4:	Villanova (1st title, 1st title game)
Second Place4:	UC-Berkeley (1st title game)
Top Seed4:	Christina Sangiacoma (Villanova)
Seasonslist:	NIRSA National Soccer Championships
Seasonslistnames:	NIRSA national soccer championships
Nextseason Link:	2008 NIRSA National Soccer Championship
Nextseason Year:	2008

The 2007 NIRSA national soccer championship was the 14th 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 West Florida in Pensacola, Florida from Thursday, November 15 to Saturday, November 17, 2007. This tournament was the first where both the men's and women's championship division winners represented the same school.^[1]

Overview

Men's championship

In the finals, three-time runners-up, Texas Tech, were looking to claim their first national title against finals debutants UC-Santa Barbara in a rematch from the Group C finale. Coming into the finals, both teams would defeat Augustana 3–0 in the group stage, ensuring that, regardless of the score from their matchup, they'd both advance with the winner placing first in the group. Texas Tech would win the matchup 2–1 meaning they would face Group B runners-up Minnesota in the round of 16 while UC-Santa Barbara would face Group B winners, Vanderbilt.

In the round of 16, Texas Tech would win their matchup 2–1 against Minnesota, then would beat Arizona 4–0 in the quarterfinals, and finally would beat reigning champions and region III champions, Michigan, 2–1 to advance to their fourth finals. Meanwhile, UC-Santa Barbara would beat 2005 runners-up and region II tournament champion, Vanderbilt, 1–0 in the round of 16, then beat 2002 champions Weber State 1–0 in the quarterfinals, and finally would beat reigning runners-up, Illinois, 5–3 in penalties in the semifinals after a 0–0 game in regulation and overtime.

In the finals, UC-Santa Barbara would receive a red card at the start of the second half but the game would remain 0–0 after overtime and extra time, meaning penalty kicks would decide the men's championship for the first time. UC-Santa Barbara would kick first and both teams would score in the first round of kicks. In rounds 2 and 3, UC-Santa Barbara would score while Texas Tech would not, meaning when UC-Santa Barbara scored in the fourth round they'd secure the 2007 men's championship title. This would be UC-Santa Barbara's first men's championship title and the first time both the men's and women's championship title winners represented the same school. UC-Santa Barbara's Joe Ferreira would be named tournament MVP.^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

Women's championship

In the finals, reigning champion, San Diego State, would face 2004 co-champion UC-Santa Barbara. Coming into the finals, San Diego State would win all three group stage matches without conceding a goal while UC-Santa Barbara would lose its group stage opener to Michigan State and end up second in the group behind them.

In the knockout round, San Diego State would defeat region II champion Virginia Tech 2–1 in the quarterfinals then would defeat Michigan State 2–0 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, UC-Santa Barbara would defeat four-time champion Michigan 3–1 in the quarterfinals then after a 0–0 draw following regulation and overtime, they'd defeat 2001 champion Penn State 4–1 in penalty kicks in the semifinals. In the finals, eventual MVP Allie Browne of UC-Santa Barbara would open the scoring in the first minute but Cassidy Runyon of San Diego State would even the score at 1–1 off of a free-kick in the 23rd minute. The score would remain tied at 1–1 after regulation and overtime, meaning penalties would determine the champion. UC-Santa Barbara would kick first, and after both teams scored in the first round, eventual tournament outstanding goalkeeper Emily Ottinia of UC-Santa Barbara would save San Diego State's kicks in the second and third rounds while UC-Santa Barbara would score in both rounds. In the fourth round, UC-Santa Barbara would score their fourth straight penalty and win 4–1. This would be UC-Santa Barbara's second title and first outright due to the title in 2004 being shared.^[5] ^[6]

Men's open

In the finals, reigning runners-up, Kansas would face finals debutants Missouri. Coming into the finals, Kansas would win all three group stage games while Missouri would tie their group stage finale 1–1 to JMU but would win the group with 7 points. In the quarterfinals, Kansas would face Florida and Missouri would face Oregon with both teams winning 2–1. In the semifinals, Kansas would defeat JMU 2–0 while Missouri would require penalties after the game finished 1–1 which they'd win 4–1. In the finals, the game would be tied 1–1 after regulation meaning overtime would be required for the first time in the men's open division finals. The score would remain the same meaning penalties would determine the men's open champion. Missouri would go on to win 4–2, claiming their 1st men's open title. Missouri's Ross Pfeifer would be named division MVP.

Women's open

In the finals, Villanova would face UC-Berkeley in what would be the first finals appearance for both teams. Coming into the finals, both teams would win all three group stage games. UC-Berkeley would beat Alabama in the quarterfinals and Arizona in the semifinals, both by a score of 3–0. Meanwhile, Villanova would beat Texas State 1–0 in the quarter finals then beat Virginia 2–0 in the semifinals. In the finals, Villanova would win 3–1 and claim their first women's open title. Villanova's Christina Sangiacomo would be named divisional MVP. This was the only division finals to not require penalties.^[7] ^[8]

Format

The competition consisted of 75 teams: 40 championship teams and 35 open teams. The divisions were further divided into a men's and women's division: 24 men's and 16 women's teams in the championship division and 19 women's and 16 men's teams in the open division. The divisions were then further divided into groups: eight groups of three teams in the men's championship, four teams of four teams in the women's championship and men's open divisions, and five groups of four teams each with one group only having three teams in the women's open division. All four divisions engaged in a round-robin tournament that determined teams able to advance to a knockout stage. Each team played every other team in their group once in pool play which consisted of two 40-minute halves separated by a seven-minute halftime. Pool play utilized the three points for a win system and after pool play, the two highest ranked teams from each group in all but the women's open division advanced to their respective knockout stage, with the third placed team in the men's championship advancing to a consolation bracket while the third and fourth placed teams in the women's championship and men's open divisions being eliminated. In the women's open division, each pool winner automatically advanced in addition to three additional wild-card teams. Positions 1 and 8 were given to first place teams in groups that didn't have a wild-card team in order of tie-breaking procedures, positions 2, 6, and 7 were given to wild-card teams in order of tie-breaking procedures, and positions 5, 3, and 4 were given to the pool winners from the pools of the 2, 6, and 7 positioned wild-card teams, respectively.

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, therefore if a game was tied at the end of regulation, one 15-minute, golden-goal overtime period would begin. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would determine the winner.^[9]

Qualification and selections

Each of the six regions received three automatic bids for the men's championship division and two automatic bids for the women's championship that they awarded to its members. The final bids for each division were considered "at-large", and were given out by NIRSA to teams, typically based on their regional tournament results and RPI.^[10]

The remaining teams participated in the open division, chosen on a first-come first-serve basis via online registration beginning on October 12, 2007, with a max of 20 teams per gender division.^[11]

Men's championship

Participating teams!Region!Team!Appearance!Last Bid
I	Penn State	8th	2006
I	Navy	6th	2004
I	Penn	3rd	2005
I	Boston College	1st	Never
II	Georgia	4th	1999
II	Vanderbilt	4th	2005
II	Auburn	3rd	2006
III	Illinois	8th	2006
III	Michigan	7th	2006
III	Indiana	4th	2006
III	Ohio State	4th	1999
III	UW Milwaukee	1st	Never
IV	Texas	11th	2005
IV	Texas A&M	8th	2006
IV	Texas Tech	6th	2006
IV	Kansas State	3rd	1997
V	Colorado State	11th	2006
V	Minnesota	6th	2006
V	Augustana	1st	Never
VI	Weber State	8th	2005
VI	Arizona	7th	2006
VI	UC Santa Barabara	5th	2006
VI	San Diego State	3rd	2003
VI	UCLA	1st	Never

Women's championship

Participating teams!Region!Team!Appearance!Last Bid
I	Penn State	13th	2006
I	Delaware	6th	2005
I	Cornell	2nd	2006
II	JMU	10th	2005
II	Virginia Tech	7th	2006
II	North Carolina	5th	2006
III	Michigan	9th	2006
III	Illinois	7th	2005
III	Michigan State	5th	2006
IV	Texas A&M	10th	2006
IV	Texas	9th	2006
V	Colorado	13th	2006
V	Colorado State	11th	2006
VI	San Diego State	7th	2006
VI	UC-Santa Barbara	7th	2005
VI	UCLA	2nd	2005

Men's open

Participating teams!Region!Num!Team
I	3	Villanova, UConn, Towson
II	6	Florida, Alabama, UCF, Virginia Tech, JMU, Georgia Southern
III	1	Michigan State
IV	3	Kansas, Wichita State, Missouri
V	1	Iowa State
VI	2	Oregon, East Washington

Women's open

Participating teams!Region!Num!Team
I	4	Penn, Villanova, Vermont, Towson
II	7	MTSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia Tech, UCF
III	0	–
IV	3	Texas State, Kansas, LSU
V	3	Colorado, Iowa State, Colorado State
VI	2	Arizona, UC-Berkeley

Group stage

Men's championship

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Indiana	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UCLA	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Auburn	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Vanderbilt	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Minnesota	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	1	Advanced to knockout stage
3	San Diego State	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Texas Tech	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UC-Santa Barbara	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Augustana	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Penn State	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UW-Milwaukee	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Georgia	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Texas	2	2	0	0	8	0	+8	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Illinois	2	1	0	1	2	4	−2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Penn	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arizona	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Colorado State	2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	3	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Navy	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Weber State	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Ohio State	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas A&M	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	0	Consolation

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Boston College	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Michigan	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Kansas State	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	0	Consolation

Women's championship

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Michigan	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Delaware	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	5	Advanced to knockout stage
3	North Carolina	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
4	Colorado State	3	1	0	2	1	5	−4	3

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Michigan State	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UC-Santa Barbara	3	2	0	1	7	2	+5	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Texas A&M	3	1	1	1	1	3	−2	4
4	Cornell	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	San Diego State	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Colorado	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	JMU	3	1	0	2	2	6	−4	3
4	Illinois	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Penn State	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Virginia Tech	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	UCLA	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
4	Texas	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2	3

--------

Men's open

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Michigan State	3	3	0	0	7	0	+7	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Florida	3	2	0	1	10	3	+4	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Alabama	3	1	0	2	5	7	−2	3
4	Villanova	3	0	0	3	2	14	−9	0

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kansas	3	3	0	0	5	1	+4	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	UConn	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	4	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Iowa State	3	1	0	2	3	6	−3	3
4	UCF	3	0	1	2	0	3	−3	1

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virginia Tech	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Oregon	3	1	2	0	1	0	+1	5	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Towson	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	4
4	Wichita State	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Missouri	3	2	1	0	9	3	+6	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	JMU	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Georgia Southern	3	0	2	1	1	3	−2	2
4	East Washington	3	0	1	2	1	7	−6	1

--------

Women's open

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colorado	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Texas State	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Penn	3	1	0	2	5	4	+1	3
4	MTSU	3	0	1	2	2	9	−7	1

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Villanova	3	3	0	0	10	2	+8	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Kansas	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
3	Florida	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	4
4	Vermont	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arizona	2	1	1	0	6	0	+6	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Vanderbilt	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Iowa State	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	3
4	Unable to field team, all teams awarded 3 points and +1 GD

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Virginia	3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Alabama	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3	7	Advanced to knockout stage
3	Colorado State	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
4	LSU	3	0	0	3	1	8	−7	0

--------

Pos! style="width:13em"
Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	UC-Berkeley	3	3	0	0	10	0	+9	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Towson	3	1	1	1	2	1	+1	4
3	Georgia Tech	3	1	0	2	4	7	−3	3
4	UCF	3	0	1	2	2	10	−7	1

--------

Tournament bracket

Men's championship

Men's consolation

Women's open

Notes and References

Web site: Results: 2007 NIRSA Collegiate Soccer Sport Club Championships . 2023-09-06 . NIRSA Know.
Web site: Vanderbilt Men's Club Soccer Fall 2007 Results . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081009235628/http:/studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/mensclubsoccer/Results%202007%20Fall.htm . 2008-10-09 . 2023-07-07 . VUFC.
Web site: Results and Statistics . 2023-09-07 . University of Michigan Men's Club Soccer . en.
News: Berman . Daniel . 2007-11-12 . Club soccer hopes to repeat as champions . The Michigan Daily . 3B.
Web site: 2007-11-08 . Virginia Tech women's club soccer team wins NIRSA Region II soccer championship . 2023-09-07 . news.vt.edu . en.
Web site: Bittner . Adam . 2009-11-21 . Women's club soccer advances in national tournament . 2024-06-02 . The Daily Collegian . en.
Web site: About . 2023-09-07 . CAL WOMEN'S CLUB SOCCER . en.
Web site: Results: 2007 NIRSA Collegiate Soccer Sport Club Championships . 2023-09-08 . NIRSA Know.
Web site: 2007 Tournament Results . NIRSA.
Web site: NIRSA Soccer Regional Qualification Opportunities . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071102132353/http://www.nirsa.org/sports/soccer/sport_club/qualifying.aspx . 2007-11-02 . NIRSA.
Web site: 2007 NIRSA Collegiate Soccer Sport Club Championships . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080101111037/http://www.nirsa.org:80/sports/soccer/sport_club/2007/Default.aspx . 2008-01-01 . NIRSA.