2021 NIRSA National Soccer Championship

This tournament also marked the first, in-person national tournament that NIRSA held since the COVID-19 pandemic. The last national tournament NIRSA held was flag football which had concluded 684 days prior, and the last national soccer championship concluded 727 days prior.

In the men's championship division finals, reigning champion BYU faced Texas who had just come off of a 9-round PK shootout against 2018 finalist and 2015 champion North Carolina. BYU struck first with a goal from Michael Anderson but Texas tied the game with a goal from Nicholas Aufiero in the first half. In the second half, BYU put the game away with goals from Eli Holmstead and Adam Canfield. This 3-1 victory was BYU's eighth title, their second consecutive title, and their third title in the last four tournaments. This also meant BYU joined UC-Santa Barbara's women's team in having the most titles in a single division (8), which UCSB had sole possession of since 2011.[2][3]

In the women's championship division finals, Penn State faced off against UNC-Chapel Hill. Midway through the first half, eventual women's championship MVP Noriana Radwan scored the game's lone goal from a 25-yard free kick. This 1-0 victory was Penn State's second national title and was the first time in 20 years that a Region I team claimed the women's championship title; the last being Penn State's first title in 2001.

In the men's open division finals, Boston College face Missouri. The game was scoreless at halftime, but eventual men's open MVP Irobosa Enabulele scored the game's lone goal halfway through the second half to lead Boston College to their first open title.

In the women's open division, JMU faced UConn. After trading goals throughout, the game was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, meaning a 15 minute sudden-victory overtime was to be conducted. JMU landed the knockout blow in this overtime to gain their third open title and sole possession of the team with the most women's open championship titles.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

The 48 remaining teams participating in the open division were selected via a lottery draw that aired on YouTube on October 1, 2021 at 8am PST. 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. 43 men's teams and 47 women's were selected.[7]

Results from pool play from all 4 divisions:[8]