[2] In the knockout round, Weber State would win their first two games by a score of 3–1, first against Arizona in the quarterfinals and then against Delaware in the semifinals, to advance to their first finals.
In the finals, Tyson Craythorne of Weber State would open the scoring six minutes into the game giving BYU their first deficit of the tournament.
Near the end of match, BYU's goalkeeper, Erik Walunas, would receive a red card denying Weber State of an obvious goal scoring opportunity on a breakaway.
Weber State's goalkeeper, Scott Badger, would be named the tournament's MVP after maintaining a shutout despite facing 24 shots.
In the quarterfinals, Texas A&M would defeat two-time open champions, JMU, by a score of 1–0 then would beat Colorado 3–0 in the semifinals.
In the finals, Texas A&M would defeat Penn State by their largest margin of victory in a 4–0 win and claim their first open title.
In the knockout round, Arizona would defeat 1996 championship runners-up, Purdue, 2-1 then would beat 2000 open division champions Virginia 2–1 in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Delaware would defeat Texas Tech in penalties following a 0–0 draw in regulation and overtime, then would beat reigning open champions Colorado "Black" 2–0 in the semifinals.
If teams were tied on points, the following criteria were used in order: Knockout stage games needed to declare a winner.
[12][13] The remaining teams participated in the open division, chosen on a first-come first-serve basis via online registration beginning on September 3, 2002.