Read all about the 2016 NIRSA National Soccer Championships

The 23^rd Annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships, which took place November 17–19, turned out to be a thrilling event that crowned four new champions. The tournament was hosted at a new venue this year, the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, AL.

Women’s National Championship

The University of California, Santa Barbara won the Women’s National Championship with a stalwart 1-0 victory over the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The match was a proverbial unstoppable force vs. immovable object. UNC came into the match scoring 13 goals while giving up three while UCSB came in allowing zero goals and scoring five.

During the final, UNC was able to fire off eight shots on goal. However, none of them got past Most Outstanding Goalkeeper Lauren Racioppi. A 35^th-minute goal for UCSB by Most Valuable Player Lindsay Ringman proved to be the decider. UCSB was able to withstand the UNC charge for the remaining 45 minutes to capture the title. It was the sixth title for UCSB and their first since 2011.

Men’s National Championship

In the Men’s National Championship, the University of Virginia held off Ohio State University 3-2 to capture their first national championship title. Virginia came to the title game on the heels of five straight 1-0 matches defeating Michigan, Delaware, and Cincinnati along the way. Ohio State came in undefeated scoring 13 goals along the way. The championship match featured an unexpected barrage of goals from the start.

For a team that was used to 1-0 matches, it was surprising to see Virginia score three in the first half. Tournament MVP Tyler Miller-Jones scored first in the 11^th minute to take the lead. A minute later Ohio State answered with a goal from Nikola Popovich. Twelve minutes later Virginia took the lead for good with a goal by Tysen Tresness. A third goal came from Brian Leibowitz just before halftime to make it 3-1.

Ohio State started quickly to attempt a comeback with a goal by Mike McKune five minutes into the second half. But Tournament Most Outstanding Goalkeeper Blake Ruzich ensured that Virginia would hold on the rest of the way to win the national championship 3-2.

Open Division winners

In the Open Division finals, Penn State won the Men’s Open title by defeating Oregon in a thrilling match 2-1. Matthew Lundstrom from Penn State was named Men’s Open Tournament MVP.

Virginia Tech triumphed in the Women’s Open championship match, defeating Oregon 2-1. Virginia Tech’s Emily Fitzsimmons was named Women’s Open Tournament MVP.

More than competition

Winning the sportsmanship awards were the University of Delaware in the Men’s Division and the University of Denver in the Women’s Division. Both schools are to be commended for displaying both the athletic ability and the great sportsmanship that help make the NIRSA National Soccer Championships such an outstanding event.

The tournament proctor was also very busy this year. A total of 36 tests—including some final exams—were administered over the three-day event. The NIRSA Championship Series is committed to student development and the number of proctored tests just goes to show that the Series really is about more than competition!

Thanks to staff and sponsors

NIRSA would like to thank Flite for providing the official ball of the tournament. Thanks also go to the Foley Sports Complex, ClubSoccerPhotos.com, and Team Connection. Special thanks go to the City of Foley for their assistance as first-time host of the NIRSA National Soccer Tournament. More results and the NIRSA National Soccer Championships Blog are available on the NIRSA Championship Series Soccer webpage.

Thanks are also due to our officials who officiated the tournament and the following tournament staff:

• Cybbi Barton, Penn State University
• Catherine Bishop, Georgia Southern University
• Ryan Bradshaw, George Mason University
• Phil Carter, Arizona State University
• Vinnie Daino, Pittsburgh State University
• Amanda Deml, University of Oregon
• Morgan Eddins, Georgia Southern University
• Chad Ellsworth, Arizona State University
• Scott Flickinger, Cornell University
• Scott George, Central Michigan University
• Marisella Gonzalez, University of South Florida
• Laurel Hanna, University of Iowa
• Elise Harvey, University of Georgia
• Jon Janis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• John Luk, Oakland University
• Chris McAlpine, University of Texas at Dallas
• Chad McKenzie, City of Round Rock
• Erik Pabst, Middle Tennessee State University
• Emily Patterson, Arizona State University
• David Peters, Florida State University
• Amy Rask, University of Denver
• Mario Rios, Texas State University
• Hannah Roberts, East Carolina University
• Robert Silvers, University of Minnesota, Crookston
• Corey Sinclair, Central Washington University
• Nick Singer, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
• Ricky Talman, Emory University
• Laura Thomas, Texas Tech University
• Brooke Turner, University of Alabama
• Alec Triggiano, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Chelsea Watson, University of Georgia
• Oscee Wheatfall III, Texas A&M University
• Alyssa Whitney, Oregon State University

Finally, tremendous thanks are owed to the tournament’s directors:

• Doug Ewing, Director of Competition, Fort Lewis College
• Danny Feitel, Director of Competition, Texas A&M University–Kingsville
• Erik Jaeke, Assistant Director of Competition, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Sadat Khan, Director of Operations, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Kristi Levanduski, Assistant Director of Operations, The Ohio State University
• Noah Yannie, Director of Officials
• Valerie McCutchan, Tournament Director, NIRSA Headquarters
• Keeley Naughton, Assistant Director, NIRSA Headquarters

It was a fun and exciting tournament that would not have been possible without the contributions of all those involved. Congratulations to all the teams and to the staff for making the tournament such a success. We hope to see everyone again at the 2017 NIRSA National Soccer Championships in Phoenix, Arizona!