2019 NIRSA National Soccer Championship

In the men's championship division finals, the division's most successful team and 2017 tournament champion, BYU, returned to the finals to face 2014 champions Ohio State, with both teams being eliminated by eventual champions Florida in the previous tournament. Coming into the finals, BYU drew their opening match to Texas A&M 1-1, but wouldn't concede another goal as they would go on to win their next four matches by at least two goals and an average margin of 3.25 against Iowa State in their group stage finale, Drexel in the round of 16, 2006 tournament champion Michigan in the quarterfinals, and 2015 champion North Carolina in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Ohio State would win both group stage games 1-0, against Texas Tech and Drexel respectively, then would defeat Texas A&M 3-1 in the round of 16, 2017 runners-up Cal Poly 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and Delaware 1-0 in the semifinals. In the finals, Ohio State would open the scoring on a goal from Luke Keiser in the 7th minute, but BYU would counter with a penalty kick goal from eventual tournament MVP Christian Baines in the 14th minute and a goal from Jake Ence in the 25th minute. The game remained at 2-1 until BYU sealed the win with a goal in the last minute by Michael Anderson leading BYU to their 7th national championship. This was BYU's second title in their three seasons back since leaving the USL League 2 in 2017.[2][3]

In the women's championship division finals, reigning champions Ohio State returned to the finals to face finals debutants Boston College. Coming into the finals both teams won both their group stage games. In the knockout round, Ohio State would win their round of 16 and quarterfinal game 2-0 against Illinois and four-time champion Michigan respectively then beat UCLA 3-0 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Boston College required penalty kicks in the round of 16 over Grand Valley after the game was tied 1-1, which they won 7-6, then 1-0 against both three-time champion Colorado State and four-time champion Colorado respectively. In the finals, Ohio State opened the scoring with a goal by Emma Ruck in the 26th minute off of a cross from a free kick at midfield, but Boston College's Celia Frei scored a free kick on the edge of the box in the 28th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Ohio State would retake the lead in the 36th minute from Kiley Maxwell via an Olympico, otherwise known as scoring directly from a corner kick. This would be enough for Ohio State to claim a 2-1 victory and the national title, their third national title and second straight. This win made them only the second women's team to go back-to-back outright, with the only other team being UC-Santa Barbara. Ohio State's Amy King would go on to be named tournament MVP.[4]

In the men's open division finals, one of the reigning co-champions, UCLA, were looking to claim its first outright title over finals debutants Purdue. Coming into the finals, UCLA tied their opening match 1-1 against Kansas but would win their next four, including against the division's most successful team, JMU, in the semifinals. Meanwhile, after winning their first two matches, Purdue would tie their group stage finale 1-1 against Cal State San Marcos then win their quarterfinal matchup against Cornell 1-0 and their semifinal matchup against Virginia Tech 4-2. In the finals, Purdue would shutout UCLA in a 2-0 victory and claim their first open title. Despite losing the match, UCLA's Markus Raad would be named men's open MVP.

In the women's open division, 2017 women's open champion, Oregon, would face 2008 women's open runners-up East Carolina. Coming into the finals, Oregon would tie their first two group stage games, but would win their group stage finale 5-0 to secure first place in the group. They would then beat Air Force 2-0 in the quarterfinals and UC-Berkeley 2-1 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, East Carolina tied their second group stage game to Missouri 1-1, but would win their other four games, including against two-time women's championship title winners, Miami (OH), in their group stage opener and the previous tournament's women's open champions, San Diego State, 1-0 in the semifinals. In the finals, Oregon would shutout UCLA and go on to win 2-0, securing their second women's open title. Oregon's Gabrielle Traylor would be named women's open MVP[5][6]

This tournament marked the inaugural season of the Unified Division comprising teams of athletes from Special Olympic programs and partners that compete alongside them. This division brought 3 teams (Tampa Unified, Northern Illinois, and Hendrickson SOTX) that each played each other once to determine seeds for the knockout round, with the first placed team getting a bye. After gaining the 1 seed on the goals-for tiebreaker, Tampa went on to win the first United Division championship against NIU 6-2. NIU's Rufus Smith-Jones would be named Unified MVP.

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.

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.[7]

Each of the six regions receives three automatic bids for both the men's and women's championship that they award to its members. The final six bids are considered "at-large", and are given out by NIRSA to teams, typically based on the regional tournament results and RPI.

The 48 remaining teams participating in the open division were selected via a lottery draw that took place at 8:00am PST on October 4, 2019 via YouTube. Any team with membership in a NIRSA-affiliated league or with a minimum of four games played prior to the tournament were able to enter their name into the lottery. If a selected team qualified for the championship division, an alternate would take their spot. 54 men's teams and 56 women's were selected.[8]

Results from pool play from all 4 divisions:[9]