The 27th Annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships, played November 18–20, marked the return of national competition as NIRSA held its first, in-person national tournament since flag football in 2020. There were 684 days between the finals in flag football and day one of the soccer tournament. There were 727 long days between the soccer finals in Round Rock, Texas and day one in Foley. And after a great tournament weekend, we had results that last occurred 20 years ago.
Women’s Championship Division
The Penn State University Nittany Lions are the 2021 Women’s National Champions! It’s the program’s second national title. The first was won 20 years ago, which was also Region I’s last national championship.
Penn State started pool play with a comfortable 4-1 win over Baylor. They then suffered a minor setback with a 2-1 defeat over Colorado State to finish second in their pool. Penn State then kicked off bracket play with a 2-1 victory over UC Davis. They followed up with a 2-0 victory over Colorado in the quarterfinals. The semifinal match was thrilling as Penn State defeated Cal Poly 2-1 in extra time.
In Penn State’s final against North Carolina, UNC seemed to control play early on. Midway through the first half, Noriana Radwan converted a 25-yard free kick to give Penn State the lead. The high shot passed through the extended arms of the UNC goalkeeper and snuck in. The second half saw both teams have great chances at scoring. However, the Radwan free kick was good for the victory, the Most Valuable Player Award, and the national championship title!
Men’s Championship Division
Back in 2001, Penn State won the national title in the Women’s Division. Guess who won the men’s national title that year? Our 2021 Men’s National Champions, the Brigham Young University Cougars! This year’s win marks the program’s eighth national title—the most in men’s championship history. It is the Cougars’ second consecutive title and their third over the last four tournaments.
BYU opened tournament play slowly with a 0-0 draw in pool play over Notre Dame. They then followed with a comfortable 3-0 over Central Florida to win their pool. BYU opened bracket play with a strong Round-of-16 win over Syracuse 5-0. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches proved their worth! BYU overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Cincinnati 3-1 in a well-played quarterfinal. Michigan gave BYU a strong challenge in the semifinal, but a second-half penalty kick was the difference in BYU’s 1-0 victory.
BYU controlled much of the match versus Texas in the final. Michael Anderson opened the scoring for BYU in the first half. Texas then responded with a goal by Nicholas Aufiero to tie the match at 1 heading into halftime. In the second half, BYU proved too much for Texas in the run of play. Goals by Eli Holmstead and Adam Canfield for BYU put the match away and sealed BYU’s eighth national title. Nathan Mumford was named the Most Valuable Player in the Men’s Championship Division.
Open Division Champions
The James Madison Dukes are the 2021 Women’s Open Division Champions. JMU won their third open title in their history, the most in the Women’s Open Division. James Madison went through the tournament undefeated. The final against UConn was thrilling. Both squads alternated goals in each of the two halves. James Madison found the back of the net in extra time to claim the Open title.
The Boston College Eagles are the 2021 Men’s Open Division Champions. Boston College won their very first Open title. The Eagles finished second in their pool and was one of the top second place teams to advance. In the final, Irobosa Enabulele scored a second half goal against Missouri that was the difference in the match. Boston College won 1-0 to claim the Open Division title.
Looking beyond competition
Winning the positive sporting behavior awards were Villanova University in the Women’s Division and the University of Illinois in the Men’s Division. Both schools should be commended for adhering to the integral component of intercollegiate competition: positive sporting behavior.
To ensure student success in the classroom, NIRSA proctors exams for students at the tournament. A few highlights: NIRSA administered 18 exams from nine institutions (Wisconsin-Madison had the most exams at four), and the longest exam took nearly two hours. 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!
Thank you!
NIRSA would like to thank the city of Foley for their assistance as host of the NIRSA National Soccer Championships. More results and the NIRSA National Soccer Championships Blog are available on the NIRSA Championship Series Soccer webpage.
Thank you to all our officials and to the following tournament staff:
- Cybbi Barton, University of Michigan
- Simon Bravo, NIRSA Headquarters
- Michael Brito, West Virginia University
- Tim Crane, University of Alabama
- Brooks Ford, Texas A&M University
- Daniel Gardner, The College of William & Mary
- Connor Haines, York College of Pennsylvania
- Kristen Harrison, Trinity University
- Sarah Heemstra, The Ohio State University
- Jasmine Holmes, Syracuse University
- Jon Janis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Jonathan Johnston, Texas A & M University – Commerce
- Bailey Kenney, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Maham Khan, University of Dayton
- Kris Kuchler, Arizona State University
- Amber Mateer, Plymouth State University
- Stephen Newhouse, University of South Alabama
- Amy Ramras, University of Southern Indiana
- Mario Rios, Texas State University
- Laura Shively, University of Arkansas
- Chelsea Skinner, University of the Pacific
- Kristen Sullivan, Pennsylvania State University
- Sylvain Tchaptchet, Pennsylvania State University
- Laura Thomas, University of Alabama
- Alec Triggiano, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Brooke Turner, University of Alabama
- Amara Wiggan, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Chad Zimmerman, The University of Texas at Austin
Finally, tremendous thanks are owed to the tournament’s directors:
- Danny Feitel, Co-Director of Competition, University of California, Merced
- Chris McAlpine, Co-Director of Competition, University of Texas at Dallas
- Laurel Hanna, Assistant Director of Competition, University of Michigan
- Phil Carter, Director of Operations, Arizona State University
- Caroline Ciell, Assistant Director of Operations, University of Florida
- Erik Jaeke, Director of Officials, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Kevin Mauer, Officials Assignor
- Emily Patterson, Director of Team Experience and Logistics, Texas A&M University
- Valerie McCutchan, Tournament Director, NIRSA Headquarters
- Nicole Jackson, Assistant Tournament Director, NIRSA Headquarters
It was great to have a NIRSA national tournament again after such a long wait. It would not have been possible without the contributions of everyone involved.
Congratulations to all the teams and staff for making the tournament experience a wonderful one. We hope to see everyone next year at the 2022 NIRSA National Soccer Championships!
- For more information, contact NIRSA National Sports Programs Coordinator, Nicole Jackson.
Mario Rios is currently the Assistant Director of Sport Clubs at Texas State University.
