A youth boys soccer team based in Orem has become just the second team ever to win three consecutive national championships.
OREM, Utah (ABC4) — A youth boys soccer team based in Orem has become just the second team ever to win three consecutive national championships.
On July 27, 2025, the Utah Celtic FC 08 boys won the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship for the third year in a row. The team competed in the 17-and-under division at the USYS national tournament in Orlando, Florida.
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Matt Bradley, the head coach of the championship team, spoke to ABC4.com in an exclusive interview Tuesday.
Utah Celtic FC 08 boys take home first in nationals for the third consecutive year. (Courtesy//USYS)
“If you asked the boys what makes this team different, they would all say it’s their love and commitment for each other,” Bradley said. “They show up for each other.”
The boys, all of whom were born in 2007 and 2008, also won the “under 16” national championship last year and the “under 15” national championship the year before.
“We have age groups all the way from six and seven-year-old kids… and it really starts to get competitive around 13U,” Bradley said.
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The boy’s program, formerly known as the Utah Rangers, merged with the Utah Celtic just over seven years ago. However, the Utah Celtic FC itself has existed for about 40 years, Bradley said.
The club, based in Orem, plays at fields across Utah county. The 08-team played most of their games at the Lakeside Sports Complex.
Bradley says the team is just the second team in the country to ever win three consecutive titles, and the first club from Utah to win three total championships.
“As you win, and find success, it brings eyeballs,” Bradley told ABC4.com, adding that many of the club’s best players often get picked up by professional academies across the country and even internationally. “It makes it hard to remain competitive because you lose some of your best talent.”
(Courtesy//Utah Celtic FC)
With only two division 1 college boys soccer teams in Utah, many players get recruited to play for programs outside the state.
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“Almost all of the boys are talking to coaches and will likely have opportunities to play at some level of college soccer, and a few of them will have opportunities to play in the pros,” Bradley said, adding that five or six boys currently have division 1 offers and most of the boys are in talks with college coaches.
Brooks Barker, the team’s striker, has already received offers to play at Georgetown, Oregon State, Utah Tech, and others.
“I loved playing, and I never thought I would love something as much as I loved playing, and then I started coaching,” Bradley said. “Watching that take place… with kids that I’ve known since they were 7 or 8 years old has been one of the more fulfilling experiences of my life,”
“There are lots of reasons to be motivated, you know, trophies, rewards, fear, duty, but ultimately, the greatest motivator in the world and the one that last is love,” he added.
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Source: Utah News