The 2013NIRSA national soccer championship was the 20th NIRSA National Soccer Championships, the annual national championships for United States-based, collegiate club soccer teams organized by NIRSA. It took place at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Arizona from Thursday, November 21 to Saturday, November 23, 2013.
After the first day of games, persistent rain over Thursday night resulted in the closure of all Reach 11's fields for all of Friday. The rain continued through to Saturday which inevitably resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the tournament. The weekend saw Phoenix receive over 2.5 inches of rain in a 30-hour period, more than four times the 0.65 inches it typically receives in the entire of month of November. Attempts at a continuation, like the one that happened when rain cancelled the 2004 tournament, were ultimately unsuccessful meaning the championship would see, for the first time in its 20-year history, not a single division able to name a champion.[1][2]
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 play
The ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria in order:
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:
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.[3][4]
Qualification and selections
Each of the six regions received three automatic bids for both the men's and women's championship that they awarded to its members. The final six bids were considered "at-large", and were given out by NIRSA to teams, typically based on their regional tournament results and RPI.[5]
The 48 remaining teams participated in the open division. Participants were chosen on a first-come first-serve basis through IMLeagues. Registration began September 24 at 8:00am PDT. The first four teams per region that register guaranteed a spot with each remaining team in the region being placed on the waitlist. If a region didn't fill up by 5:00pm PDT on September 24, waitlist teams would begin to fill those spots.[6]
No knockout games were able to be played due to the rain. Due to all championship group stage games finishing prior to the rain, the theoretical knockout matchups were set.
Men's championship
Sweet 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 10:00am • Field 11
Rice
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 11
Cincinnati
Fri • 10:00am • Field 12
Michigan State
Sat • 10:00am • Field 15
Kansas State
Fri • 10:00am • Field 13
CANCELLED
Georgia
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 12
Florida
Fri • 10:00am • Field 14
Weber State
Sat • 5:00pm • Field 16
UC-Santa Barbara
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 11
CANCELLED
Ohio State
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 11
Texas A&M
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 12
Illinois
Sat • 10:00am • Field 16
Missouri
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 13
CANCELLED
Colorado State
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 12
Cal Poly
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 14
UC-Davis
Penn State
Men's consolation
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 2
Virginia Tech
Sat • 8:00am • Field 15
Michigan
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 3
UTEP
Sat • 1:00pm • Field 11
Northeastern
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 2
CANCELLED
Colorado Mines
Sat • 8:00am • Field 16
Colorado
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 3
Delaware
Texas
Women's championship
Sweet 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 10:00am • Field 15
Florida
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 13
Texas A&M
Fri • 10:00am • Field 16
North Carolina
Sat • 10:00am • Field 17
Missouri
Fri • 10:00am • Field 17
CANCELLED
Colorado State
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 14
Miami (OH)
Fri • 10:00am • Field 18
Cal Poly
Sat • 3:00pm • Field 16
UCLA
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 15
CANCELLED
Pittsburgh
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 13
Illinois
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 16
Penn State
Sat • 10:00am • Field 18
Ohio State
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 17
CANCELLED
UC-Santa Barbara
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 14
Michigan
Fri • 12:00pm • Field 18
Delaware
Texas
Women's consolation
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 5
Salt Lake CC
Sat • 8:00am • Field 17
Air Force
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 6
Virginia Tech
Sat • 1:00pm • Field 12
Colorado
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 5
CANCELLED
Dayton
Sat • 8:00am • Field 18
USC
Fri • 6:00pm • Field 6
Baylor
Clemson
Men's open
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 15
Sat • 8:00am • Field 11
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 16
Sat • 1:00pm • Field 14
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 17
CANCELLED
Sat • 8:00am • Field 12
Fri • 4:00pm • Field 18
Women's open
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
Fri • 8:00pm • Field 15
Sat • 8:00am • Field 13
Fri • 8:00pm • Field 16
Sat • 1:00pm • Field 13
Fri • 8:00pm • Field 17
CANCELLED
Sat • 8:00am • Field 14
Fri • 8:00pm • Field 18
References
^O'Sullivan, Erin (December 5, 2013). "NIRSA Soccer Championships turned 20 this November". NIRSA. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
^"A message about the 2013 NIRSA National Soccer Championships". NIRSA. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014.
^"2013 NIRSA NCCS National Soccer Championships Rules of Play" (PDF). Colorado Mines. October 10, 2013.
^"20th Anniversary NIRSA National Soccer Tournament Schedule" (PDF). NIRSA. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2013.
^"Qualifying for the national tournament Championship Division". NIRSA. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013.
^McCutchan, Valerie (August 30, 2013). "Registration opens September 24 for the 20th Annual NIRSA National Soccer Championships". www.nirsa.org. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
^"2013 NIRSA National Soccer Tournament Results" (PDF). NIRSA. December 19, 2013.