In the finals, defending champions, Weber State, would return to face finals debutants Michigan State. Prior to this, in the group stage, both teams would top their group with Weber State defeating Grand Valley State 1–0 in their opener then Wash U 3–0 while Michigan State would defeat Colorado Mines 3–0 then LSU 4–0.[3]
In the knockout round, both teams would concede their first goal of the tournament in 1–1 draws in the round of 16 and would require extra time with Weber State defeating USC 2–1 with a golden goal and Michigan State needing penalty kicks over Georgia that they won 5–4. Following this, Weber State would beat Texas A&M 2–0 in the quarterfinals while Michigan State would have a rematch with Region III tournament champion, Illinois, who defeated them via penalty kicks in the semifinals of the regional tournament. In this matchup, Michigan State would win via an own goal late in the match to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Weber State would be tied 0–0 after regulation and overtime with regional opponent Cal Poly but would defeat them 4–3 in penalties while Michigan State would beat Wash U 3–0 to advance to their first finals.
In the finals, the game would be deadlocked at 0–0 after regular time and extra time, meaning the game would go into a penalty shootout, the second for both teams this tournament. Michigan State would kick first. Both teams would score their first attempts but in the second and third rounds, Michigan State scored but Weber State's attempts would be saved, leaving Michigan State with a 3–1 advantage. Max Washko of Michigan State would score to open the fourth round, ending the game at 4–1 on PKs and giving Michigan State their first national championship while preventing the Weber State repeat. First penalty kick taker and captain for Michigan State, Matt Kaminski, would be named men's championship MVP.[4][5][6]
In the finals, the winner of all 5 previous titles, UC-Santa Barbara, were looking to claim their 6th straight title and 7th overall against finals debutants Michigan State. Prior to this, in the group stage, UC-Santa Barbara would defeat Delaware 2–0 then Virginia Tech 4–0 while Michigan State would defeat 2007 runners-up, San Diego State, 2–0 then would lose to reigning semifinalist and 2010 runners-up, Texas, 1–3 but would still finish second in their group to advance to the knockout round.
In the knockout round, UC-Santa Barbara this would defeat Baylor in the round of 16 and Pitt in the quarterfinals, both by a score of 1–0, while Michigan State would defeat reigning runners-up Cal Poly in the round of 16 then 4-time champion Colorado in the quarterfinals, both by a score of 2–1. In the semifinals, UC-Santa Barbara would face Texas in a rematch of the 2010 national championship game and just like the game in 2010, the game would require a penalty shootout with UC-Santa Barbara once again being victorious with a 4–2 win to advance to their sixth straight national title game, the longest national final appearance streak of all time. Meanwhile, Michigan State would defeat Virginia 4–0 in the semifinals to advance to their first national title game.
In the finals, Samantha Pace of Michigan State would open the scoring with a goal two minutes into the second half, but Nadia Zadeh of UC-Santa Barbara would even the score in the 61st minute. The game would remain tied at the end of regulation, meaning 15 minutes of extra time were to be played. Three minutes prior to the conclusion of extra time, eventual women's championship MVP Maddie Lucci of Michigan State would score the sudden-victory goal, giving Michigan State their first national title and ending UC-Santa Barbara's streak of five straight national titles and 21-straight national championship wins.[7]
In the finals, 2008 open champions UC-Berkeley would face 2009 open runners-up San Diego State. After a 1–1 score line after regulation and extra time, the game would go into a penalty shootout. San Diego State would go on to win 4–3 and claim their first open national championship. San Diego State's Berrick Rastok would go on to be named men's open division MVP.[8]
In the finals, 2009 open champions JMU would face 2010 open champions Illinois in both of the clubs' second finals appearance. The game would remain scoreless after regulation and extra time, meaning a penalty shootout would be required to name a champion. JMU would win 3–1 and claim their second national title in 4 years. JMU's Saundra Bailey would be named women's open's MVP.[9][10]
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.
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)
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]
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 their regional tournament results and RPI.[2][12]
The 48 remaining teams participated in the open division, chosen on a first-come first-serve basis with a max of 4 teams per region being allowed in initially, with all teams applying after this being placed on the waitlist. Registration was online on September 25, 2012 at 8am PST.[13]
