In the finals, region II champions, Virginia Tech, were looking to end the tournament's winningest team, BYU's, streak of three straight titles. In the group stage, BYU won their opener 1–0 against the last team to beat them in the tournament, Florida, then secured first place in the group with a 2–0 win over Arizona State. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech won their opener against Colorado 2–0 but ended up finishing second in their group on the goals-for tiebreaker following a 1–1 tie against UCLA.
In the knockout round, Virginia Tech would require penalties against Missouri following a 0–0 draw in regulation and overtime. They would win 3–1 and face Rutgers in the quarterfinals which would finish 1–1 and again require overtime, but an overtime goal would send them to the semifinals against 2014 champion and 2019 runners up, Ohio State. Meanwhile, BYU would beat UConn 2–0 in the round of 16 and face Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals. Following a 0–0 draw in regulation, BYU would score 2 overtime goals to advance to the semifinals against UCLA. In the semifinals, Virginia Tech would once again require overtime after a 0–0 draw with Ohio State, but a late goal would send them to their first ever finals where they would face BYU who beat UCLA 2–0 and advanced to their 11th finals and fourth straight.[2]
In the finals, the game would be tied 0–0 at halftime, but a goal from a freekick from Talmage Woodhouse and a second from Kyle Cuvelier would see BYU win their fourth straight national title and become the first team in the tournament with 10 titles. BYU, notably, would end the tournament with 0 goals conceded leading their goalkeeper, Chris Jenkinson, being named the tournament's best goalkeeper. BYU's Ben Gonzalez would be named tournament MVP.[3][4][5]
Women's championship
In the finals, reigning open division champions, UCLA, would face 2019 championship runner's up Boston College. In the group stage, UCLA would win both their matches, first against Texas 3–0 then against Michigan 1–0, to win their group. Meanwhile, Boston College would win their opener against Purdue 2–0 but would tie their finale against Colorado 1–1 which would still be enough to win their group as well.
In the knockout round, UCLA would win their round of 16 matchup against Northeastern 2–0 then, following a 2–2 draw in regulation against region II champions, Virginia, UCLA would win 3–2 in overtime to advance to the semifinals against reigning champions Cal Poly. Meanwhile, Boston College would also win their round of 16 match 2–0 against Cornell then would also require overtime in the quarterfinals following a scoreless-draw against Florida that they would win 1–0 to face Vanderbilt in the semifinals. Boston College would win via a second half goal from eventual all-tournament member Camille Longabardi while UCLA would beat reigning champions, Cal Poly, 2–0 to reach their first championship finals. In the finals, a first half goal from UCLA would end up being the game winner as UCLA would win their first championship title. UCLA's Mia Kim would be named tournament MVP.[6][7]
Men's open
In the finals, reigning open finalist and region III tournament co-runner's up Miami (OH) would face regional opponent and 2019 open division champions Purdue. Coming into the finals, both teams would win all 3 group stage games and their groups to advance to the knockout round. In the knockout round, Miami (OH) would beat Cal Poly 2–0 in the quarterfinals then Colorado College 1–0 in the semifinals while Purdue would beat Kansas 1–0 then, following a 0–0 draw against regional foe Cincinnati in regulation and extra time, Purdue would advance via a 4–3 victory in penalties. In the finals, the game would be tied 1–1 at halftime but Miami (OH) would score 2 second half goals and claim their first open title with a 3–1 victory. Noah Hjelmeng of Miami (OH) would go on to be named men's open division MVP.[8]
Women's open
In the finals, 8-time women's championship winners and 2017 championship division winners, UC-Santa Barbara, would face 2018 open division champions San Diego State. In the group stage, UC-Santa Barbara would win their opener 4–1 over Quinnipiac but would tie their second match against Virginia Tech 1–1. However, a 4–0 win in their finale against Arkansas would see UC-Santa Barbara win their group and advance to the knockout round. Meanwhile, San Diego State would win all three games, first against Vermont 3–1 then against Colorado "Black" and Oakland by a score of 2–0. In the knockout round, San Diego State would beat Grand Valley State 3–1 then 2021 finalist UConn 2–0. Meanwhile, UC-Santa Barbara would beat UCF 2–0 in the quarterfinals then would beat Oregon 4–2 in penalties following a 1–1 draw in regulation and overtime. In the finals, both teams would score in the first half and the game would remain tied 1–1 at the end of regulation. In overtime, San Diego State would score the lone goal of the period and win their second open title with a 2–1 victory. Alex Guzzardo of San Diego State would go on to be named the division's MVP.[9][10]
The competition consisted of 96 teams partitioned into 48 men's teams and 48 women's teams. Each of these partitions were further divided into two 24-team divisions, an invite-only championship division and an open division. These divisions were finally divided into groups, eight groups of three teams each in championship divisions and six groups of four teams each in the open divisions. All four divisions engaged in a round-robin tournament where they played each team in their group and utilized the three points for a win system to determine teams able to advance to a single elimination, knockout stage. 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. The primary criteria for determining the best team was points followed by the following criteria.
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)
Pool play games were two 40-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime. 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.[11]
Seeding
In the championship division, teams coming out of the same group were placed on opposite ends of the bracket and 1st placed teams against 2nd placed teams in the first round. In the first round, group A was matched against group D, group H matched against group E, group G matched against group F, and group B matched against group C. The winner of the A vs D matchup would face the winner of the H vs E matchup and the winner of the G vs F matchup would face the winner of the B vs C matchup in the quarterfinals.
In the championship division's consolation bracket, the third placed team from group A played the third placed team from group E, the third placed team from group F played the third placed team from group B, the third placed team from group C played the third placed team from group G, and the third placed team from group H played the third placed team from group D with the winner of the A vs E matchup facing the winner of the F vs B matchup and the winner of the C vs G matchup facing the winner of the H vs D matchup.
In the open division, the bracket was numbered top to bottom from 1–8. First, the highest ranked wildcard team was placed in position 4 with the other wildcard team being placed in position 8. Then, the pool winner from the group with the wildcard team in position 4 was placed in position 5 and the pool winner from the group with the wildcard team in position 8 was placed in position 1. Finally, using the tiebreaking procedures, the highest ranked remaining group winning team was placed in position 3, the second highest was placed in position 7, the third highest placed in position 2, and the final being placed in position 6.[12]
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 the regional tournament results and RPI.[13]
The 48 remaining teams participated in the open division and were selected via a lottery draw that aired on October 6, 2023. Any team with membership in a NIRSA-affiliated league or with a minimum of four games played prior to the tournament was able to enter their name into the lottery. If a selected team qualified for the championship division, an alternate took their spot.[14]
In a tie breaking scenario involving more than 2 teams, the tiebreaker procedure would begin as normal. 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)
