The 2021 Southeast Collegiate Soccer Alliance Regional Tournament was the 11th edition of the Southeast Collegiate Soccer Alliance's postseason club soccer tournament, which was held at ECU's North Recreational Complex in Greenville, North Carolina, from October 29–31, 2021. A tournament was held for each the men's and women's division, with each tournament champion receiving an automatic bid to the 2021 NIRSA National Soccer Championship's championship division. The remaining 2 of NIRSA Region II's automatic bids for each division were given out based on RPI, with a special consideration to this tournament's performance. This tournament marked the first SCSA regional tournament held since the COVID-19 pandemic and was an expansion of the previous tournament with both divisions adding 4 teams.[1][2]
Format
The tournament consisted of 12 women's teams and 16 men's teams. Each divisional champion received an automatic bid (6 for the women and 8 for the men) with the remaining wild card teams being the next highest RPI ranked teams that had not already qualified. Teams were divided into groups based on RPI.
For the men's division group stage, the 16 teams were split into four groups of four teams each. Each team played every other team in their group meaning a total of 6 games were played within a group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the round of 8.
For the women's division group stage, the 12 teams were split into four groups of three teams each. Each team played every other team in their group meaning a total of 3 games were played within a group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the round of 8.
Pool play games were two 35-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime and utilized the three points for a win system. After pool play, the two highest ranked teams from each group advanced to their respective gender division's knockout stage.[3]
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 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
Knockout stage games also consisted of two 35-minute halves. The 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.[4]
