Sunday, November 23, 2014

See you in Phoenix!

This year was overwhelmingly satisfying considering what happened in 2013.  This tournament brought back what we missed last year, great games with great students from great schools that make the tournament special.  It brought back the early morning and late nights (with late blogging) with great soccer during the 3 days. It was great to work with so many great people from our staff at NIRSA, to our colleagues across the nation who take time to make this tournament fun, to the staff in Memphis and to working with you by putting on this great tournament that I love to come back to year-after-year.

I enjoyed being your blogger again. I also was a guest field marshal and guest tweeter throughout the 3 days.  We hope you enjoyed what we had here with the blog and what we brought to Twitter with @NIRSAChamp and #NIRSASoccer.  I hope it adds to the tournament experience.  We'll see how we can improve the blog with Twitter next year.  If you have suggestions, please email me at mario.rios@utsa.edu.  We will see what we can do. We hope you follow us again in the future.

2015 brings us back to Phoenix.  We hope to have a great time there as we've had other times in the past and as we've had here in Memphis this year.

Be safe in your travels and I hope to see everyone again next year in Phoenix!

Goodbye and Good Luck!

Memphis Painted in Scarlet Tonight!

Two years ago Memphis was painted green with Michigan State winning both the men's and women's national championships.

This time the town is painted in Scarlet and Gray.  Ohio State men and women had the toughness and overcame adversity along the way to win their titles and are deserved to be crowned as national champions together.

Many may dislike the emphasis of THE in THE Ohio State University but in the club soccer world, you have to call THE Ohio State University...THE national champions!

Men's Championship Recap

Do you want to know about toughness?  That defined Ohio State.  They had tough games against UTEP and Virginia in their pool play games.  They had equally tough games in bracket play with wins over Florida and Virginia Tech.  The Texas A&M was tough for a half, especially after conceding an equalizer at the last kick of the 1st half. They seemed to be fighting everyone then (figuratively, including me).  But that toughness came through in the 2nd half as they cruised to a victory in that semifinal.  The final against San Diego State was epic and back-and-forth throughout.  They battled from 3 yellow cards in the first half, remained tough and forced the game to extra time.  In that extra time, a beautiful cross was put home to end it in the 92nd minute and gave them the national championship

They were led by Sam Nance as he won Most Outstanding Goalkeeper in the Men's Championship Division and by Tournament Most Valuable Player Alex Bujenovic who scored the dramatic championship winner in the 92nd minute to win the championship.  He overcame an early yellow in the first half, played with mental and physical toughness to stay in the game and be around in the 92nd minute to cash in the cross that sealed the title.

They are joined on the All-Tournament Team by:

Gregory Highley, Ohio State
Tim Grozier, Ohio State
TJ Schuster, Ohio State
Kody Duff, San Diego State
Ruben Vazquez, San Diego State
Kainoa Ownes, San Diego State
Greg Norris, San Diego State
Andrew Phinney, Michigan State
Jordan Brandel, Michigan State
Connor Hirt, Texas A&M

Congratulations to all of the players and to THE Ohio State University on winning the Men's National Championship!

Women's Championship Recap

Do you want to know about overcoming adversity?  Ohio State is your answer.  They started the tournament by losing to UCSB.  Not a bad team to lose to considering they had been to the last 6 championship games winning 5.  But they had to then rise to beat Penn State, UC Davis and Illinois on the way.  They had a tough defensive struggle against Texas but won that game at extra time.  Then they faced a team they lost to twice from their region: Miami University, the team that ended UCSB's run of 6 straight championship game appearances.  But did they run away from that challenge? No.  They faced it head on and won in convincing fashion in the title game where it mattered most.

They were led by Katie Woodling as she won Most Outstanding Goalkeeper in the Women's Championship Division and by Tournament Most Valuable Player Ellen Haas who scored the 2 goals in the final to seal their national championship.

They are joined on the All-Tournament Team by:

Tatum Marucci, Ohio State
Maria Riley, Ohio State
Emily Makowski, Ohio State
Madeline Sandhu, Ohio State
Taylor Wells, Miami University
Kathryn Altice, Miami University
Amanda Filian,Miami University
Mariela Cisneros, UCSB
Alexandra Childs, Texas

Congratulations to all of the players and to THE Ohio State University on winning the Women's National Championship!

Men's Open Recap

Do you want to know about efficiency?  California is your team.They gave up 1 goal in the entire tournament...and that was in the final against a team from their own pool, Central Florida.  California needed  a wild card to get in.  They won the tournament with only 5 goals scored in their 6 games.  They took care of business and got the job done.  They won the quarterfinal and semifinal in PKs.  They had 3 games that ended in 0-0 scores.  But in a tournament, you need resilience to advance. Cal had it and were very efficient in doing so.

They were led by Aziz Yehia as he won Most Outstanding Goalkeeper in the Men's Open Division and by Tournament Most Valuable Player Amir Guedoir.

They are joined on the All-Tournament Team by:

Arthur Rietdyk, California
Matthew Anderson, California
Brandon Braumuller, Central Florida
Matthew Gaskins, Central Florida
Andres Perotti, Central Florida
Julian Ruzzier-Gaul, California-Davis
Maximilien Bergman, California-Davis
Andrew Wohl, Oregon
Joe Jackson, Oregon
Yassine Hamdouni Alami, UCLA

Congratulations to all of the players and to the University of California-Berkeley on winning the Men's Open Division Championship!

Women's Open Recap

Do you want to know about domination?  Look at the Michigan women.  They played very well in the tournament.  Scoring 16 goals for and a tremendously impressive goals against of ZERO!

They were led by Michele Freed as she won Most Outstanding Goalkeeper in the Women's Open Division and by Tournament Most Valuable Player Beth Boyer.

They are joined on the All-Tournament Team by:

Adrienne Watts, Michigan
Becky Schuba, Michigan
Caitlyn Rize, Michigan
Paige Smith, Michigan
Sam Gordon, UCLA
Erica Slowik, UCLA
Maryann Laurias, UCLA
Ariel Hyderkhan, Virginia Tech
Nicolette Young, Virginia Tech
Jackie Gawne, Fordham

All showed great tenacity on joining the All-Tournament team this year.

Congratulations to all of the players and to the University of Michigan on winning the Women's Open Division Championship!

Consolation Results

The Colorado School of Mines on the men's side and Florida on the women's side concluded their tournament with 3 straight wins after possibly being disappointed with the way things turned out in their quest for a national championship.  

Their performance here may springboard them in the off-season to prepare for another run at the national championship in 2015.

Congratulations on the achievement!

Saturday, November 22, 2014

More info late tonight

We had a great time in Memphis this year. We are now heading back to our hotel. There will be a late night blog posting of all the results . We will see you then.

More info to come

Ohio State pulls off the double!

More info to come late tonight.

Ohio State Wins National Championship in Extra Time!!!!

Alex Bujenovic with the championship winner in the 92nd minute wins it for Ohio State!!!

Ohio State 1 San Diego State 0

Men's National Championship Game in Extra Time!

San Diego State 0 Ohio State 0

Going to Extra Time!

San Diego State 0 Ohio State 0

Going to Extra Time!

Men's National Championship Game 2nd Half Underway

San Diego State 0 Ohio State 0

Remember to Follow us...

The Blog will update goals and halftime/final score.

Please follow Twitter: @NIRSAChamp using the hashtag #NIRSASoccer

Halftime

San Diego State 0 Ohio State 0

Men's National Championship Game


Men's National Championship Game Underway!

San Diego State v. Ohio State

Ohio State Double?

Michigan State won the double in Memphis 2 years ago.

Can Ohio State do the same this year?

Will San Diego State capture a national title?

Men's National Championship Game Up Next

San Diego State v. Ohio State

Ohio State wins the Women's National Championship!

Ohio State 2 Miami U 0

Ellen Haas with goals in the 34th and 63rd minutes seal the championship for Ohio State!

GOAL Ohio State!!

Ellen Haas scores in the 63rd minute for her second of the game!

Ohio State 2 Miami U 0

2nd Half Underway Women's National Championship

Ohio State 1 Miami U 0

Ellen Haas 34' Ohio State

Halftime

Women's National Championship

Ohio State 1 Miami U 0

GOAL Ohio State!

Ellen Haas scores in the 34th minute

Ohio State 1 Miami U 0

Women's National Championship Game Underway!

Miami (OH) v. Ohio State

The Blog will update goals and halftime/final score.

Please follow Twitter: @NIRSAChamp using the hashtag #NIRSASoccer

Women's National Championship Up Next

Miami (OH) v. Ohio State

The Blog will update goals and halftime/final score.

Please follow Twitter: @NIRSAChamp using the hashtag #NIRSASoccer

Colorado School of Mines wins Men's Consolation Final

Colorado School of Mines 1 Delaware 1

Colorado School of Mines wins 4-2 in PKs

Colorado School of Mines wins the Men's Consolation Final

Michigan wins Women's Open Championship

Michigan 2 UCLA 0

Michigan wins the Women's Open Championship!

California wins Men's Open Championship

California 2 Central Florida 1

California wins Men's Open Championship

Florida wins Women's Consolation Bracket

Florida 1 Penn Sate 0

Florida wins the women's consolation bracket.

Blogger setting up to announce

For those who remember, the blogger is also the PA announcer for the championship games. I am setting up and will not be at the open or consolation final games.

I am receiving radio reports and will post at the conclusion of the open and consolation games when I can.

They will be posted on Twitter first. Follow us at @NIRSAChamp and follow the conversation using the hashtag #NIRSASoccer

Women's national championship game set

Ohio State versus Miami (OH)

3 PM central today

Women's Championship semifinal results

Ohio State 1 Texas 0 at extra time
Miami (OH) 0 UCSB 0 (Miami (OH) advances 4–3 in PKs)

Men's national championship game set

Ohio State versus San Diego State

Today at 5 PM central.

Men's championship semifinals results

Ohio State 4 Texas A&M 2
San Diego State 1 Michigan State 0

Follow Twitter

Please follow Twitter for live updates of the championship semifinals.
@NIRSAChamp

#NIRSASoccer

Men's championship semifinals already underway

Ohio State versus Texas A&M
Michigan State versus San Diego State

Women's championship semifinals already underway

Texas versus Ohio State
UCSB versus Miami U

Men's open final set

California versus central Florida

1 PM today.

Men's open semifinal results

California 0 UC Davis 0 (California advances on PKs 4-3)
Central Florida 3 Oregon 0

Women's open final set

Michigan versus UCLA

1 PM today.

Women's open semifinal results

Michigan 3 Fordham 0
UCLA 2 Virginia Tech 1 aet

Men's consolation final set

Delaware versus Colorado School of Mines

1 PM today.

Men's consolation semifinal results

Delaware 5 Rice 2
Colorado School of Mines 3 UTEP 0

Women's consolation final set

Florida versus Penn State

1 PM today.

Women's consolation semifinal results

Florida 3 USC 1
Penn State 0 Florida State 0 (Penn State advances on PKs 4-2)

Follow the Twitter

Follow us for updates on the Open Semifinals

@NIRSAChamp

Join the conversation: #NIRSASoccer

8am Games

Men's Open Semifinals

UC Davis v. California
Central Florida v. Oregon

Women's Open Semifinals

Michigan v. Fordham
Virginia Tech v. UCLA

Men's Consolation Semifinals

Rice v. Delaware
Colorado of Mines v. UTEP

Women's Consolation Semifnals

USC v. Florida
Florida State v. Penn State

Saturday! Saturday!...Saturday!

Each day has gotten better than the last.

Day1: Fell out of bed waking up...cold start
Day 2: Cold Start...wet start...didn't fall out of bed
Day 3: NOT Cold Start...it's not raining...and didn't fall out of bed!

It is 54 degrees and the sun is out!

8am games are coming up next!

Championship Saturday

Looking forward to Championship Saturday.

Men's Open is down to UC Davis, Cal, UCF and Oregon.  UC Davis is the only undefeated and untied.  Can they continue their march to the open crown? Or did the power of the open division reside in Pool C with Cal and Central Florida?  Will the Quack Attack from Oregon fly through for the open championship?

Women's Open has 2 undefeated and untied teams, Michigan and Virginia Tech.  Will they play for the title?  Will Fordham join Va Tech for a Pool C rematch in the final?  Will UCLA "Bruin" everyone's march and win the open title?

Women's Championship will crown a new national champion thanks to Texas.  They are still in it.  Will they have enough to defeat a strong Ohio St. team?  UCSB will try to reclaim their crown they lost in 2012.  But Miami U also looked good throughout the weekend.  Who will win?

Men's Championship will feature some great match ups.  Michigan State still has a chance to remain champions.  After a draw to begin the tournament, San Diego State is starting to hit a stride.  Will their play be enough to knock the crown off the heads of the 2012 champions?  Texas A&M claimed some revenge over the team they lost to at their regional tournament.  Will that spark them to a victory over an undefeated and untied Ohio State squad?

Champions will be crowned tomorrow but they must first win their semifinal match ups on Saturday morning.

Join us tomorrow!  Good night!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Women's Open Semifinals Set

Michigan v. Fordham
Virginia Tech v. UCLA

Both games are at 8 AM on Saturday.

Women's Open Quarterfinal Results

Michigan 2 James Madison 0
Fordham 3 San Diego State 1
Virginia Tech 4 Colorado "Black" 2
UCLA 1 Northeastern 0

Women's Open Quarterfinals Ongoing

Michigan v. James Madison
San Diego St. v. Fordham
Virginia Tech v. Colorado "Black"
UCLA v. Northeastern

Men's Championship Semifinals Set

Michigan St v. San Diego St
Texas A&M v. Ohio St

Both games are at 10am Saturday

Men's Championship Quarterfinal Results

Michigan St 3 UCONN 1
San Diego St 2 Cincinnati 0
Texas A&M 3 SMU 1
Ohio St 1 Virginia Tech 0

Women's Championship Semifinals Set

UCSB v. Miami U
Texas v. Ohio St

Both games at 10am Saturday

Women's Championship Quarterfinal Results

UCSB 1 Delaware 0
Miami 2 North Carolina 0
Texas 1 Colorado 0
Ohio State 3 Illinois 0

Men's Open Semifinals Set

UC Davis v. California
Central Florida v. Oregon

Both games at 8am Saturday

Men's Open Quarterfinal Results

UC Davis 2 Arkansas 0
California 0 UCLA 0 (Cal advances after PKs 3-1)
Central Florida 1 Texas Tech 0
Oregon 2 Northeastern 1

Men's Consolation Bracket & Results

Rice 1 Marquette 1 (Rice advances in PKs 4-2)
Delaware 3 Iowa St 0
Colorado School of Mines 3 UMASS 1
UTEP 1 Tufts 1 (UTEP advances in PKs 3-1)

Consolation Semifinals

Rice v. Delaware
Colorado School of Mines v. UTEP

Both games at 8am on Saturday.

Women's Consolation Bracket & Results

USC 3 NC State 2
Florida 3 Cornell 0
Florida State 1 Pittsburgh 0
Penn State 1 Cal State Northridge 0

Up next in the Consolation Semifinals

USC v. Florida
Florida State v. Penn State

Both are at Saturday 8am

Women's Open Playoff

Michigan v. James Madison
San Diego St. v Fordham
Virginia Tech v. Colorado "Black"
UCLA v. Northeastern

Women's Open 2pm Results

Pool D
Michigan 2 Northeastern 0
Iowa 3 Mary Washington 0

Michigan wins pool (Auto qualifies for Open Playoff)
Northeastern 2nd
Iowa 3rd
Mary Washington 4th

Pool E
San Diego State 3 Vanderbilt 0
UMASS 4 UW-Milwaukee 0

San Diego State wins pool (Auto qualifies for Open Playoff)
UMASS 2nd in pool after tie in points with Vanderbilt with a higher goal differential +3
Vanderbilt 3rd (0 GD)
UW-Milwaukee 4th

Pool F
UCLA 5 U Miami 1
UCONN 1 Iowa State 0

UCLA wins pool (Auto qualifies for Open Playoff)
U Miami 2nd after tie in points with UCONN and defeating them 3-1 in pool play
UCONN 3rd
Iowa State 4th.

Back at HQ

Time to play catch-up.   I'll be posting info shortly.

Still guest marshal

I am able to blog results from what I can see from the field I am at.
I will post scores from the other divisions when I return to tournament headquarters at around 8 PM.
Please check the NIRSA website for official results from all divisions.

Men's championship division quarterfinal 6 PM games

SMU v.  Texas A&M
Virginia Tech v. Ohio State

Women's championship division quarterfinal 6 PM games

Ohio State v. Illinois
Texas v. Colorado

Men's championship division quarterfinal results 4 PM

Michigan State 3 UCONN 1
San Diego State 2 Cincinnati 0

Women's Championship division quarterfinals results 4p

UCSB 1 Delaware 0
Miami U 2 North Carolina 0

Guest Marshal until 8pm.

The blog will be dormant over the next few hours as I will be a guest marshal on one of our fields at 4pm and 6pm.

Please follow our Twitter account @NIRSAChamp for updates.

Results from 2 PM, 4 PM, and 6 PM will be updated later today.

Please check the NIRSA website for latest results.

Men's Championship Quarterfinals Set

Michigan St. v. UCONN 4p
Cincinnati v. San Diego St 4p
SMU v. Texas A&M 6p
Virginia Tech v. Ohio St. 6p


Hmmmmm....that SMU v. Texas A&M game sounds familiar. As if I've seen them play before at a tournament.

All games for both the men's and women's championship divisions will be great!  Hope to see you there!

Women's Championship Quarterfinals Set

Delaware v. UCSB 4p
North Carolina v. Miami U 4p
Colorado v. Texas 6p
Ohio St. v. Illinois 6p

The Twitter

Hopefully you are following us on the Twitter at @NIRSAChamp and joining the conversation using the hashtag #NIRSASoccer

I ran out of things to call the # sign.

2pm games ongoing

Women's Open Division

Pool D
Michigan v. Northeastern
Mary Washington v. Iowa

Pool E
San Diego State v. Vanderbilt
UW- Milwaukee v. UMASS

Pool F
UCLA v. U Miami
Iowa State v. UCONN

Women's Open Results 12p

Pool A
James Madison 1 Penn 1
Vermont 1 Texas Tech 0

James Madison wins pool with 7 points (Auto qualifies for open playoff)
Vermont 2nd
Texas Tech 3rd
Penn 4th

Pool B
Colorado "Black" 2 Missouri 0
Central Florida 1 Georgetown 0

Colorado "Black" wins pool with 7 points (Auto qualifies for open playoff)
Central Florida 2nd
Missouri 3rd
Georgetown 4th

Pool C
Virginia Tech 3 Washington U St. Louis 1
Fordham 2 Colorado Mesa 0

Virginia Tech wins pool with 9 points (Auto qualifies for open playoff)
Fordham 2nd
Washington U St. Louis 3rd
Colorado Mesa 4th
An error in score reporting earlier in the pool was corrected.  This reflects up to date point totals.

Men's Championship Results 12p

SMU 1 Cal Poly 0
Texas A&M 5 Florida St 0
Virginia Tech 2 Texas 2 (Virginia Tech advances 5-3 in PKs)
Ohio St 2 Florida 1

Women's Championship Results 12p

Colorado 2 Oregon 0
Texas 1 Michigan St 0
Ohio St. 1 UC Davis 0
Illinois 2 Virginia 1 after extra time

There will be a new national champion in the women's division!


12p games ongoing

Men's Championship

Cal Poly v. SMU
Florida St. v. Texas A&M
Virginia Tech v. Texas
Ohio St. v. Florida

Women's Championship

Oregon v. Colorado "Gold"
Michigan St. v. Texas
UC Davis v. Ohio St.
Illinois v. Virginia

Women's Open Division

Pool A
James Madison v. Penn
Texas Tech v. Vermont

Pool B
Missouri v. Colorado "Black"
Central Florida v. Georgetown

Pool C
Virginia Tech v. Washington U St. Louis
Fordham v. Colorado Mesa


Men's Open Playoff

Arkansas v. UC Davis
UCLA v. California
Central Florida v. Texas Tech
Northeastern v. Oregon

Games to be played at 4pm. Please check the NIRSA website for official start times.

10am Open Final Scores

Men's Open

Pool D
Boston College 1 Arkansas 1
Oregon 7 UC-Colorado Springs 0

Arkansas wins pool with 7 points
Oregon 2nd
Boston College 3rd
UC-Colorado Springs 4th

Pool E
UCLA 3 Mary Washington 0
SUNY Cortland 1 Mary Washington 1

UCLA wins pool with 9 points
SUNY Cortland 2nd with victory over Mary Washington as tiebreaker
Mary Washington 3rd
Washington U St. Louis 4th

Pool F
UC Davis 1 U Miami 0
Stony Brook 2 Purdue 0

UC Davis wins pool with 9 points
Stony Brook 2nd
U Miami 3rd
Purdue 4th

10am Championship Division Scores

Men's Championship

Michigan State 3 Virginia 3 (MSU advances 4-3 in PKs)
UCONN 1 Illinois 1 (UCONN advances 2-1 in PKs)
Cincinnati 3 Utah State 0
San Diego State 1 Colorado State 0

Women's Championship

Delaware 0 Texas A&M 0 (Delaware advances 3-1 in PKs)
UCSB 1 Colorado School of Mines 0
North Carolina 2 Colorado State 1
Miami U 2 Kansas 1


Follow us on the Twitter

@NIRSAChamp. Follow the conversation using the tic-tac-toe sign #NIRSASoccer

Weather at 10:23am

44 degrees and cloudy.

North Carolina wins the PKs for 2nd in Pool F

North Carolina wins the PKs 4-3 after Cornell could not come back from missing their first 2 PKs.

North Carolina is facing Colorado State now.

Cornell is facing Florida in the consolation rounds later today.

Men's Open 8am Final Scores

Pool A
Northeastern 2 Missouri 1
UW-Milwaukee 2 Utah Valley 1

Northeastern 1st with 9 points (Automatically Qualifies for Open Playoffs)
Missouri 2nd with 6 points
UW-Milwaukee 3rd with 3 points
Utah Valley 4th with 0 points


Pool B
Texas Tech 0 James Madison 0
Illinois "B" 1 Cornell 0

Texas Tech wins pool with 7 points (Automatically Qualifies for Open Playoffs)
James Madison 2nd with 5 points
Illinois "B" with 4 points
Cornell is in 4th


Pool C
California 0 Central Florida 0
Texas "B" 1 George Mason 0

Central Florida wins pool after a tie in points with California (7), Central Florida has a higher goal differential with +4) (Automatically Qualifies for Open Playoffs)
California (+3) 2nd.
George Mason 3rd (-2)
Texas "B" 4th (-5)

2nd place teams must await 10am results to see if they receive a wild card.

PKs Results on Twitter

Please follow us on the Twitter at @NIRSAChamp for the results of the PKs between North Carolina and Cornell when it happens.  Join the conversation using the pound sign #NIRSASoccer

I may post on the blog if I can.

Blogger Out until about 10:30am.

Games at 10am

Men's Championship Round of 16

Michigan State v. Virginia
Illinois v. UCONN
Cincinnati v. Utah St.
San Diego St. v. Colorado St.

Women's Championship Round of 16

Texas A&M v. Delaware
UCSB v. Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State v. Winner of 9:30am PKs from Pool F
Miami U v. Kansas

Men's Open Division

Pool D
Boston College v. Arkansas
UC Colorado Springs v. Oregon

Pool E
UCLA v. Washington U St. Louis
SUNY Cortland v. Mary Washington

Pool F
UC Davis v. U Miami
Stony Brook v. Purdue

Blogger to be Guest Field Marshal

8am scores will be posted a little later than normal.

I will be a guest field marshal on field 6 for about an hour beginning at 9:15am.

Stop by and say hi.  If you are Texas A&M and Delaware women, please bring your photo ID when you say hi.  You'll need that to check in.

Scores will be posted when I can get back to HQ.

Weather at 815am

It is 40 degrees with a light drizzle.

8am Games

Pool A
Missouri v. Northeastern
UW-Milwaukee v. Utah Valley

Pool B
James Madison v. Texas Tech
(Illinois "B" gets 1-0 over Cornell due to Cornell not traveling due to weather issues)

Pool C
California v. Central Florida
Texas "B" v. George Mason

Blog off to great start!

The blog didn't fall out of bed today so we are already ahead of yesterday!

Coming up we will have 8am games to start off our day.

Setting up for Friday

So who does the blog like for tomorrow...don't know, I've been asked many times today but I bounce around from field to field to update scores on the blog and take pictures for both the blog and the Twitter* so I don't have enough time to compare teams and see who might have an edge.

*-I call it the Twitter. #ImOldAndMakeUpMyOwnRulesOnTheBlog

Here is what I see:
In the women's championship, UCSB has been in every final I've seen since 2007(!).  They'll have some good games to win if they want to get to Saturday. 
North Carolina and Cornell have PKs to prepare for. So the morning will start off with a bang tomorrow.  Should be exciting to watch.
Miami U, Colorado State and UCSB all won their pool play games. Tough half of the bracket.
2012 champion Michigan State is in the bottom half and the only team in that half to win all their pool play games.  Do they have what it takes to get to Saturday again? Texas and Virginia, both semifinalists last time we were here in 2012, are also in that same half. Right off the bat for Michigan State...Texas.

In the men's championship, 2012 champion Michigan State is in the top half. Who will step up to challenge them this year? Illinois is the only team who won both their pool play games in the top half.  Will that help Friday?
The bottom half of the bracket looks challenging.  Cal Poly was a semifinalist last time we were in Memphis. Can they get through to Saturday?  Ohio State and Virginia Tech won both their pool play games...will that be enough to set up their match up in the Quarterfinals?

Tournaments are made to be won.  Will 1 of the teams above make it? Or will the rest of the field knock them out?

Find out Friday!  Hope to see you then!

Men's Championship Round of 16

Bracket play begins at 10am. Please check the NIRSA website and Tournament HQ boards for official times for your games.

Michigan State v. Virginia
Illinois v. UCONN
Cincinnati v. Utah State
San Diego State v. Colorado State
Cal Poly v. SMU
Florida State v. Texas A&M
Virginia Tech v. Texas
Ohio State v. Florida

Women's Championship Round of 16

Bracket play begins at 10am, with the PKs between North Carolina and Cornell taking place at 9:30am.  The winner will advance to the bracket play below.  Please check the NIRSA website and Tournament HQ boards for official times for your games.

Texas A&M v. Delaware
UCSB v. Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State v. 2nd Place in Pool F
Miami U v. Kansas
Oregon v. Colorado "Gold"
Michigan State v. Texas
UC Davis v. Ohio State
Illinois v. Virginia

Men's Consolation Rounds

After finishing 3rd in their pools the following match-ups are set in the men's championship consolation rounds.

Rice v. Marquette
Delaware v. Iowa State
UMASS v. Colorado School of Mines
Tufts v. UTEP

Women's Consolation Rounds

After finishing 3rd in their pools the following match-ups are set in the women's championship consolation rounds.

USC v. NC State
3rd Place in Pool F v. Florida
Pittsburgh v. Florida State
Penn State v. Cal State Northridge

North Carolina and Cornell will have a PK tiebreaker at 9:30am on Field 8 with the loser advancing to play Florida in the consolation rounds.

Blogging after dark

The blog enjoys late nights. So I'll be up setting up bracket play.

We'll start in the consolation rounds.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Bracket postings late tonight

Blogger will take a bit of a break

Bracket play will be posted later tonight.

8:15p Women's Open Scores

Pool D

Michigan 4 Mary Washington 0
Northeastern 1 Iowa 0

Pool E

San Diego State 5 UW-Milwaukee 0
UMASS 1 Vanderbilt 1

Pool F

UCLA 2 Iowa State 0
U Miami 3 UCONN 1

8:15pm Finals in Men's Championship

****ALL PROJECTIONS MUST BE CONFIRMED BY TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS.
PLEASE SEE THE NIRSA WEBSITE FOR OFFICIAL STANDINGS.

Pool E: Virginia Tech 3 UCONN 1

Virginia Tech wins pool with 6 points
UCONN 2nd with 3 points
Marquette 3rd with 0 points

Pool F: Utah State 1 Delaware 1

Florida State wins pool with 4 points
Utah State 2nd place with 2 points
Delaware 3rd place 1 point

Pool G: Cincinnati 2 Colorado School of Mines 1

Cincinnati wins pool with 2 goals for after ties in points (4) & goal differential (+1) with Texas A&M
Texas A&M 2nd place
Colorado School of Mines 3rd

Pool H: Illinois "A" 2 Texas "A" 1

Illinois wins group with 6 points
Texas 2nd with 3 points
Tufts 3rd with 0 points

UPDATE: Women's Championship Finals from 8:15p

****ALL PROJECTIONS MUST BE CONFIRMED BY TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS.
PLEASE SEE THE NIRSA WEBSITE FOR OFFICIAL STANDINGS.

Pool E: UC Davis 0 NC State 0

UC Davis wins pool with 4 points
Colorado School of Mines 2nd with 3 points
NC State 3rd with 1 point

Pool F: Michigan State 1 North Carolina 0

Michigan State wins pool with 6 points
We have a perfect tie for 2nd between Cornell & North Carolina.  Both tied and both lost to Michigan State 1-0.  
PKs will decide 2nd place.  Tournament directors will decide place and time of PKs.

TIME of PKs: 9:30am Field 8 As per tournament directors.

Pool G: Colorado State 2 Texas 1

Colorado State wins pool with 6 points
Texas 2nd with 3 points
Florida State 3rd with 0 points

Pool H: Ohio State 2 Penn State 0

UCSB wins pool with 6 points
Ohio State 2nd with 3 points
Penn State 3rd with 0 points

Weather at 9:04p

A cooler 45 degrees.

Obviously 815pm are on going

Men's Championship

Pool E: UCONN v. Virginia Tech
Pool F: Utah State v. Delaware
Pool G: Colorado School of Mines v. Cincinnati
Pool H: Ilinois "A" v. Texas "A"

Women's Championship

Pool E: UC Davis v. NC State
Pool F: Michigan State v. North Carolina
Pool G: Texas v. Colorado State
Pool H: Penn State v. Ohio State

Women's Open Division

Pool D
Mary Washington v. Michigan
Iowa v. Northeastern

Pool E
UW-Milwaukee v. San Diego State
UMASS v. Vanderbilt

Pool F
Iowa State v. UCLA
UCONN v. U Miami

UPDATED 6:30p Women's Open Division Finals

Pool A
James Madison 2 Texas Tech 0
Vermont 0 Pennsylvania 0

Pool B
Central Florida 0 Missouri 0
Colorado "Black" 2 Georgetown 0

Pool C
Virginia Tech 3 Fordham 2 (Corrects Error in Score)
Washington U St. Louis 3 Colorado Mesa 0

UPDATED: 6:30pm Finals in the Women's Championship Division

Women's Championship

****ALL PROJECTIONS MUST BE CONFIRMED BY TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS.
PLEASE SEE THE NIRSA WEBSITE FOR OFFICIAL STANDINGS.

Pool A: Virginia 0 Texas A&M 0

Texas A&M wins pool with most goals for (2) after ties in points and in goal differential
Virginia 2nd (1 goal for)
USC 3rd

Pool B: Miami U 4 Colorado "Gold" 1

Miami U wins the pool with 6 points
Colorado "Gold" 2nd with 3 points
Florida 3rd with 0 point

Pool C: Pittsburgh 1 Oregon 1

Oregon wins pool with most goals for (4) after ties in points and in goal differential
Kansas 2nd (3 goals for)
Pittsburgh 3rd (1 goal for)

Pool D: Delaware 3 Cal State Northridge 0

Illinois wins pool after ties in points (3) with Delaware & Cal State Northridge, and goal differential with Delaware (+1) (Cal State Northridge had -2 and is placed 3rd).  2 way tie in goal differential reverts back to head to head and thus Illinois wins the pool via the 3-1 win over Delaware.
Delaware 2nd place.
Cal State Northridge 3rd place.

6:30pm Finals in the Men's Championship Division

Men's Championship

****ALL PROJECTIONS MUST BE CONFIRMED BY TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS.
PLEASE SEE THE NIRSA WEBSITE FOR OFFICIAL STANDINGS.

Pool A: Florida 3 Rice 0

Michigan State wins the Pool with higher Goal Differential in pool +4
Florida 2nd +3
Rice 3rd

Pool B: Iowa State 1 SMU 1

San Diego State wins the pool with 4 points
SMU 2nd with 2 points
Iowa State 3rd with 1 point

Pool C: Cal Poly "A" 2 Colorado State 1

Cal Poly "A" wins the pool with 4 points
Colorado State 2nd with 3 points
UMASS 3rd with 1 point

Pool D: Ohio State 1 UTEP 0

Ohio State wins pool with 6 points
Virginia 2nd with 3 points
UTEP 3rd with 0 points



Weather at 6:30pm

It is now 50 degrees.

6:30pm Games

Men's Championship

Pool A: Rice v. Florida
Pool B: Iowa State v. SMU
Pool C: Colorado State v. Cal Poly "A"
Pool D: UTEP v. Ohio State

Women's Championship

Pool A: Virginia v. Texas A&M
Pool B: Colorado "Gold" v. Miami U
Pool C: Pittsburgh v. Oregon
Pool D: Cal State Northridge v. Delaware

Women's Open Division

Pool A
Texas Tech v. James Madison
Vermont v. Pennsylvania

Pool B
Central Florida v. Missouri
Georgetown v. Colorado "Black"

Pool C
Fordham v. Virginia Tech
Colorado Mesa v. Washington U St. Louis

Men's Open Division 445p Final Scores

Pool D
Boston College 4 UC Colorado Springs 1
Arkansas 1 Oregon 0

Pool E
UCLA 1 SUNY Cortland 0
Mary Washington 2 Washington St. Louis 1

Pool F
UC Davis 4 Stony Brook 0
U Miami 2 Purdue 0

Blogger on the move

The carrier pigeon has a rocksolid collective-bargaining agreement and was off again.
Will post men's open division scores shortly.

Weather at 525p

It is a nice 52 degrees.

Men's Open Scores from 3p

Pool A
Missouri 2 UW Milwaukee 1
Northeastern 3 Utah Valley 0

Pool B
Texas Tech 6 Illinois "B" 1
James Madison 1 Cornell 0
****Again with Cornell not here, James Madison wins 1-0.

Pool C
California 2 Texas "B" 0
Central Florida 1 George Mason 0

4:45pm Games On going

Men's Open:

Pool D
UC Colorado Springs v. Boston College
Oregon v. Arkansas

Pool E
SUNY Cortland v. UCLA
Mary Washington v. Washington U St. Louis

Pool F
Stony Brook v. UC Davis
Purdue v. U Miami

Carrier Pigeon on its way back to HQ

Awaiting scores from the open division at HQ.

Meanwhile...

Follow the Twitter

Again you can follow us on the Twitter at @NIRSAChamp and follow the conversation using the number sign #NIRSASoccer.

I guest tweet every once in a while.

#EquallyasfunnyonthetwitterasIamatblogging

Men's Championship 3pm Final Scores

Pool E: UCONN 2 Marquette 1
Pool F: Florida State 0 Utah State 0
Pool G: Texas A&M 1 Colorado School of Mines 0
Pool H: Illinois "A" 3 Tufts 2

Women's Championship Scores 3pm Games

Pool E: UC Davis 2 Colorado School of Mines 0
Pool F: Cornell 0 North Carolina 0
Pool G: Texas 4 Florida State 0
Pool H: UCSB 2 Penn State 1

Weather at 3:47p

Still a good 54 degrees.

Women's Open 1:15pm Scores

Pool D:
Michigan 3 Iowa 0
Northeastern 1 Mary Washington 0

Pool E:
San Diego State 2 UMASS 1
Vanderbilt 4 UW Milwaukee 1

Pool F:
UCLA 1 UCONN 1
U Miami 0 Iowa State 0

3pm Games

Men's Championship

Pool E: Marquette v. UCONN
Pool F: Florida State v. Utah State
Pool G: Texas A&M v. Colorado School of Mines
Pool H: Tufts v. Illinois "A"

Women's Championship

Pool E: Colorado School of Mines v. UC Davis
Pool F: Cornell v. North Carolina
Pool G: Florida State v. Texas
Pool H: UCSB v. Penn State

Men's Open

Pool A
UW-Milwaukee v. Missouri
Utah Valley v. Northeastern

Pool B
Illinois "B" v. Texas Tech
James Madison gets 1-0 victory with Cornell not at tournament due to weather/travel issues.

Pool C
Texas "B" v. California
George Mason v. Central Florida

Awaiting Carrier Pigeon...

...at tourney HQ for open scores from the 1:15p games.

Meanwhile...

1:15pm Men's Championship Scores

Pool A: Michigan State 4 Rice 0
Pool B: San Diego State 3 Iowa State 0
Pool C: Colorado State 2 UMASS 0
Pool D: Virginia 1 UTEP 0

1:15pm Women's Championship Scores

Pool A: Virginia 1 USC 0
Pool B: Colorado "Gold" 3  Florida 2
Pool C: Kansas 0 Pittsburgh 0
Pool D: Cal State Northridge 1 Illinois 0

Weather at 145p

A rather hot 54 degrees.

1:15p Championship Scenarios

Men's Championship

Pool A: No update now since we had a tie in the first game in the pool.
Pool B: Ditto.
Pool C: Ditto.
Pool D: Virginia must tie in order to still be in contention for the next round.  A loss will send them to consolation.

Women's Championship

Pool A: USC must tie in order to still be in contention for the next round.  A loss will send them to consolation.
Pool B: Florida must tie in order to still be in contention for the next round.  A loss will send them to consolation.
Pool C: No update now since we had a tie in the first game in the pool.
Pool D: Illinois can win the group with a win.

1:15pm Games Ongoing

Men's Championship

Pool A: Michigan State v. Rice
Pool B: San Diego State v. Iowa State
Pool C: UMASS v. Colorado State
Pool D: Virginia v. UTEP

Women's Championship

Pool A: USC v. Virginia
Pool B: Florida v. Colorado "Gold"
Pool C: Kansas v. Pittsburgh
Pool D: Illinois v. Cal State Northridge

Women's Open Division

Pool D:
Michigan v. Iowa
Northeastern v. Mary Washington

Pool E:
San Diego State v. UMASS
Vanderbilt v. UW-Milwaukee

Pool F:
UCLA v. UCONN
U Miami v. Iowa State

Women's Open Division Scores 11:30am

Pool A
James Madison 3 Vermont 1
Texas Tech 1 Penn 0

Pool B
Missouri 0 Georgetown 0
Colorado "Black" 0 Central Florida 0

Pool C
Virginia Tech 3 Colorado Mesa 1
Fordham 3 Washington U St. Louis 0

Womens Open Scores coming up

Carrier Pigeon took last hour off. Blogger on foot back to HQ. Scores posted shortly.

View from Texas Tech v. Penn Game

Like I said above.
Women's Open Division.
0-0 2nd half.

View from Colorado v. Central Florida Game

Like I said above.

Women's Open Division

Men's Open Scores 9:45am

Pool D
Oregon 1 Boston College 0
Arkansas 4 UC Colorado Springs 0

Pool E
UCLA 4 Mary Washington 0
SUNY Cortland 1 Washington U St. Louis 0

Pool F
UC Davis 1 Purdue 0
Stony Brook 1 U Miami 0

Weather at 1145am

A toasty 49 degrees.

11:30am Games Underway

Women's Open Division

Pool A
James Madison v. Vermont
Pennsylvania v. Texas Tech

Pool B
Missouri v. Georgetown
Colorado "Black" v. Central Florida

Pool C
Virginia Tech v. Colorado Mesa
Washington U St. Louis v. Fordham

Awaiting Carrier Pigeon....

Men's Open Scores from 9:45am will be updated when the carrier pigeon arrives.

Meanwhile...

Men's Championship Scores 9:45am

Pool E
Virginia Tech 4 Marquette 1

Pool F
Florida State 1 Delaware 0

Pool G
Cincinnati 0 Texas A&M 0

Pool H
Texas "A" 3 Tufts 0

Women's Championship Scores 9:45am

Pool E
Colorado School of Mines 1 NC State 0

Pool F
Michigan State 1 Cornell 0

Pool G
Colorado State 1 Florida State 0

Pool H
UCSB 1 Ohio State 0

Follow us on the Twitter

You can also follow us at @NIRSAChamp for information on the Twitter.  Use the pound sign #NIRSASoccer.

I'm Twitter-hip.

Weather at 10am

It is a warmer 45 degrees.

Men's Open 8am Scores

Pool A:
Missouri 1 Utah Valley 0
Northeastern 3 UW-Milwaukee 0

Pool B:
James Madison 1 Illinois "B" 1
Texas Tech 1 Cornell 0  ***Cornell is not here due to weather/travel issues.

Pool C:
California 1 George Mason 0
Central Florida 4 Texas "B" 1

Meanwhile 9:45am Games Underway...

Men's Championship:

Pool E; Virginia Tech v. Marquette
Pool F: Delaware v. Florida State
Pool G: Cincinnati v. Texas A&M
Pool H: Texas "A" v. Tufts

Women's Championship:

Pool E: NC State v. Colorado School of Mines
Pool F: Michigan State v. Cornell
Pool G: Colorado State v. Florida State
Pool H: Ohio State v. UCSB

Men's Open:

Pool D:
Boston College v. Oregon
Arkansas v. UC-Colorado Springs

Pool E:
UCLA v. Mary Washington
Washington U-St. Louis v. SUNY Cortland

Pool F:
UC Davis v. Purdue
U Miami v. Stony Brook

Awaiting Pony Express...

I am awaiting scores from the Men's Open 8am games at tournament HQ.

Will post when I get them.

Men's Championship Scores 8am

Pool A
Florida 1 Michigan State 1

Pool B
SMU 0 San Diego State 0

Pool C
Cal Poly "A" 0 UMASS 0

Pool D
Ohio State 2 Virginia 1

Women's Championship 8am Scores

Pool A
Texas A&M 2 USC 1

Pool B
Miami U 3 Florida 2

Pool C
Oregon 3 Kansas 3

Pool D
Illinois 3 Delaware 1

Blogger on foot

On way to HQ to update scores.
Meanwhile 9:45 a.m. games are underway.

Weather at 8a

It is a cool 34 degrees.

We are Underway!

The 2014 NIRSA Soccer Championships are underway!

Games at 8am

Men's Championship:

Pool A: Florida v. Michigan State
Pool B: SMU v. San Diego State
Pool C: Cal Poly "A" v. UMASS
Pool D: Ohio State v. Virginia

Women's Championship:

Pool A: Texas A&M v. USC
Pool B: Miami U v. Florida
Pool C: Oregon v. Kansas
Pool D: Delaware v. Illinois

Men's Open:

Pool A:
Missouri v. Utah Valley
Northeastern v. UW-Milwaukee

Pool B:
James Madison v. Illinois "B"
***NOTE: Cornell men did not make it due to weather.  Texas Tech will receive a 1-0 victory.  All teams in this pool will receive a 1-0 victory over Cornell.

Pool C:
California v. George Mason
Central Florida v. Texas "B"

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

All is Quiet

96 teams prepare for a championship that awaits them on Saturday. Only 4 will realize tonight's dream. And only 2 will be national champion.

We'll see you tomorrow at 8am!

Registration is ongoing until 7p

We are live in Memphis. The crew is awaiting teams as we begin to register teams into the tournament.

Registration until 7p. Captains meeting at 7p. Both near the Southeast Ballroom of Memphis Hilton.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

See you Wednesday!

I'll be in transit on Wednesday to Memphis.  Can't wait!

Men's Championship Division

The 24 teams in the Men's Championship Division will feature the team that last won the national title last time we were here...Michigan State.  Let's see who else will vie for the title.

Pool A finds Florida returning to the championship division from last year, with Rice (also returning from last year and Michigan State (2012 National Champions)

Pool B sees SMU, Iowa State (open participants last year) and San Diego State (also open participant last year).

Pool C features Cal Poly "A" (2012 Semifinalist), Colorado State returning to the championship division last year and Massachusetts.

Pool D is where we find, Ohio State (2012 Round of 16), UTEP returning to championship division from last year and Virginia.

Pool E finds Virginia Tech (2012 Round of 16), Connecticut (open participants last year) and Marquette.

Pool F sees Delaware returning to the championship division from last year, Florida State and Utah State.

Pool G features Cincinnati returning to the championship division from last year, Colorado School of Mines (2012 Round of 16) and Texas A&M (2012 Quarterfinalist).

Lastly, Pool H is where we find Texas "A" (2012 Round of 16), Illinois "A" (2012 Quarterfinalist) and Tufts.

Will Michigan State win the national title again in Memphis?  Will there be a new champion? The games begin Thursday at 8am!  (Didn't I just say that earlier?  Well Michigan State did win the men's and women's national titles last time we where here!)

Women's Championship Division

The 24 teams in the Women's Championship Division will feature the team that last won the national title last time we were here...Michigan State.  Let's see who else will vie for the title.

Pool A features Texas A&M (2012 Round of 16), Virginia (2012 Semifinalist) and USC who returns to the championship division from last year.

Pool B has Miami University returning to the championship division from last year, Colorado "Gold" (2012 Quarterfinalist) and Florida also returning to the championship division from last year.

Pool C houses Oregon, Pittsburgh (2012 Quarterfinalist) and Kansas (2012 Round of 16).

Pool D features Delaware (2012 Round of 16), California State-Northridge and Illinois returning to the championship division from last year.

Pool E is where we find North Carolina State, UC Davis (who participated in open last year) and Colorado School of Mines  (who also participated in open last year).

Pool F features North Carolina (2012 Quarterfinalist), Michigan State (2012 National Champions) and Cornell who participated in the open division last year.

Pool G has Colorado State (2012 Round of 16), Texas (2012 Semifinalist) and Florida State.

Finally Pool H is where we find Ohio State (2012 Quarterfinalist), Penn State returning to the championship division from last year and UCSB (2012 Finalist).

Will Michigan State win the national title again in Memphis?  Will there be a new champion? The games begin Thursday at 8am!

Men's Open Division

We will have a new champion in the men's open division.  Let's see who we've got.

Pool A features Missouri who returns to the Open tournament.  Joining Missouri is Northeastern, Wisconsin-Milwaukee & Utah Valley (the latter 2 returning to open from last year).

Pool B has James Madison (2012 Open Semifinalist) & Texas Tech, both returning to open from last year, Cornell and Illinois "B" round up the group.

Pool C has California-Berkeley (2012 Open Finalist), Central Florida, Texas "B" returning to open from last year and George Mason.

Pool D features Boston College & Arkansas (returning to open from last year), with Colorado-Colorado Springs and Oregon joining them in the pool.

Pool E has UCLA returning to open, Washington University-St. Louis & SUNY Cortland returning to open from last year with Mary Washington rounding out the group.

Finally, Pool F has California-Davis joining the open tournament, the University of Miami returning to open from last year with Stony Brook and Purdue rounding out the pool.

We will have a new champion in the men's open division...in case you forgot from above.  It promises to be exciting.  The men's open division opens play on Thursday at 8am!

Women's Open Division

We start to look ahead with the women's open division.

In Pool A, we find James Madison who is defending their 2012 open championship.  They will have to get by Pennsylvania and Texas Tech who return to the open division after entering last year's tourney and Vermont.

In Pool B we find Missouri who returns to the open tournament this year and will face Colorado "Black" who returns from last year's open tourney, Central Florida and Georgetown to round out Pool B.

In Pool C, we see Virginia Tech returning to the open tournament.  They find that Washington University-St. Louis who returns from last year's open tourney, while Fordham and Colorado Mesa round out Pool C.

In Pool D, Michigan returns to the open tournament this year with Northeastern & Mary Washington (both returning to open from last year) and Iowa rounding out the group.

Pool E has San Diego State returning to the open tournament to face Vanderbilt & Wisconsin-Milwaukee (both returning from open last year) and Massachusetts rounding out the pool.

Pool F has UCLA returning to open (Open Semifinalist in 2012) to face, the University of Miami (2012 Open Quarterfinalist), Iowa State  (returning to open from last year) and Connecticut.

James Madison is an Open powerhouse winning 2 of the last 4 open titles in the women's division.  They have advanced to the knockout round each year since 2008.

Will they have the edge this year?  We'll see on Thursday at 11:30am when things kick-off for the Women's Open Division.

Tournament this week!

Wait..the tournament is this week?!   The fall went by rather quickly.  Why wait until 11/19?  Let's see what is up this week!

Friday, October 24, 2014

2014 NIRSA National Soccer Blog

Blog will be live at the tournament beginning November 19, 2014.

See you then.