Utah Celtic Premier FC 00 (19U Girls) Crowned National Champions
Defeat Lou Fusz Elam (MO) 9-1 to Become Utah’s First Youth National Champion its 40 Year History
Overland Park, KS – 07/28/19
Utah Youth Soccer Association, the leader in promoting, developing and governing youth soccer in Utah, is so excited to announce that Utah Celtic Premier FC 00 (Girl’s 19U team) are US Youth Soccer National Champions! Utah Celtic Premier FC 00 defeated Lou Fusz Elam from Missouri 9-1 to secure the title of National Champs!
The new National Champions have been undefeated in the National Championship Series from Utah State Cup through Far West Regional Championships and now through the US Youth Soccer’s National Championship Final! Their only tie through the series came from Lou Fusz in pool play of the National Championship tournament. Sunday’s match was a second chance to take on the team from Missouri, and the Celtic ladies made the most of it.
Coach Steve Magley said of the plan, “The game plan was to play our game. We felt the first time we played them we weren’t as sharp as we usually are and we still felt like we should have won that game. Our style tends to wear teams down and it’s hard to keep up with us when we are on top of our game, especially after a long week. We felt really confident that today we were going to have lots of chances and the girls were fired up from the beginning. We were much sharper than the first time we played them and that made a huge difference. We knew we would have possession a lot and today we were moving the ball a little bit faster than the last time we played it allowed us to have some great chances and the finishing today was fantastic.”
Utah Celtic FC scored an unbelievable 9 goals in the final and allowed only one. Anna Pickering (University of Utah) started the scoring frenzy in the 11th minute. With goals in the first half following from Tara Warner (BYU) in the 22nd and pair of goals from Kathryn Schirmer (Snow College) in the 26th and 32nd minutes. UCLA commit, Brecken Mozingo opened up the scoring in the second half with a goal in the 48th minute to bring the tally to 5. Samantha Brady (University of Minnesota) drove one home in the 74th minute of play. The lone Lou Fusz goal came in the 85th minute, but Kathryn Schirmer’s 3rd goal of the match in the 86th minute didn’t give Lou Fusz much time to celebrate. Megan Astle (Utah State University) and Rebecca Olsen (Salt Lake Community College) scored the team’s 8th and 9th goals in the 88th and 91st minutes.
Not only is the team bringing home The National Title, but several Utah Celtic players will be coming back to Utah with some additional hardware. Goal Keeper, Chelsea Peterson, who allowed only 6 goals at the National Championship tournament was honored with the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper. Jamie Shepherd will walk away the Golden Ball recipient as the age group’s MVP. Three Celtic players were added to the 19U Best XI list: Chelsea Peterson, Jamie Shepherd and Tara Warner.
“Chels is our rock. She leads us from the back. Her composure in her distribution allows us to play the way we like to play. When she’s called upon to make a save, she is always rising to the occasion. She thrives under pressure. Yesterday’s penalty kicks is a prime example. She loves that pressure and has come up huge for us over the years,” Magleby says of Peterson. “Our team has so many dangerous players. We attack from all areas of the field. It’s never been about one player and that’s what makes this team so hard to play against. We have quality all over the field and that’s really hard for teams to deal with. You think you might have something figured out then we attack from a totally different area.”
Utah Celtic Premier FC 00 is the first youth team from Utah to earn the title of National Champions. Utah Youth Soccer Association’s President of the Board of Directors, Brian Smith said of the feat, “Our girls programs in Utah are top-notch and on par easily with the Washingtons, Cal-Souths and obviously other states east. They are outpacing the boys in regional and national tournaments and in University play. These girls winning a National Championship is the culmination of a lot of work and preparation by parents, coaching staff under Steve and Caitlin, (Director of Coaching for Utah Celtic FC). They worked their game and showed their complete class both on and off the field. On behalf of the Board of Directors and UYSA Staff, I could not be any prouder of these ladies! They are National Champs in every sense!”
Magleby’s message to his team, “I can’t express how proud I am of this team. They have put in so much work to get where they are. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs throughout our time together. Those experiences have shaped us into the team and people we are. I’ve learned so much from everyone on this team. I can’t think of a more fitting way for this team to end their time together. I’m so excited to see what the future brings for them and wish them the best of luck. I’m so grateful to have been a part of their lives for the last 5 years and I’ll never forget our time together as a team.”
About Utah Celtic FC OO: Based out of Orem, Utah, Utah Celtic FC 00 is coached by Steve Magleby. They are Five-Time State Cup Champions, Two-Time Region IV Champions, Two-Time Desert Premier League Champions, the 2017 US Youth Soccer National Champion Finalists and the 2019 US Soccer National Championship Champions. Their outstanding goal differential through that National Championship Series stands at a whopping 61 goals for and only 8 against. This is a team that as Magleby puts it, “had a disappointing exit in regional semifinals last year.” Magleby continues, “they really used that as motivation to get better and get back to Nationals this year. There were a lot of specific games they were looking forward to and seeing them prepare and battle in those games, it felt like this team was ready to go all the way. They’ve been wanting this for a long time and they were so determined this year.”
About Utah Celtic FC: Utah Celtic FC was established as a club in 1996 with the philosophy statement, “Utah Celtic believes in a balanced approach to player development that creates a competitive environment to build team values and individual character for success in soccer and life.” Jerry Pennock, President of Utah Celtic FC says of this team and its accomplishment, “This team has tremendous talent and they play very well together. Not only do they understand and know the game, but they are also amazing young ladies that will bleed for each other, and that’s what makes them great! They also exemplify the motto of our club: Balance, Development, Character and Success. Steve and Caitlin have taught them to love the game of soccer. It’s rare that every player from a team is committed to play at the next level, and everyone from this team is committed. This National win is exciting for our club and it’s exciting for Utah. We feel this is just the beginning. We had two other teams at Nationals from our club, and it was an experience no one will forget.”
About National Championship Series: The US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the country’s most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on over 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play. The US Youth Soccer National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions for boys and girls teams in multiple age brackets as teams earn their way from the top teams in their state to the regional championship tournaments. US Youth Soccer State Champions and selected wildcard teams through US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues in most age groups are eligible to compete in one of four US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. The champions in the 13U through 19U age brackets from each regional event will converge in July for the US Youth Soccer National Championships.
Utah Celtic FC Roster:
#7 Tara Warner - 2020 graduate - committed to BYU
#20 Jordan Crockett - 2020 graduate - committed to Denver - Utah ODP team, Region IV ODP team
#18 Katie Haskins - 2018 graduate - attending Utah Valley University- Utah ODP team - Region IV ODP team
#4 Kathryn Wynn - 2019 graduate - committed to Utah State University- Utah ODP team
#23 Sydney Bushman - 2019 graduate - committed to Snow College
#12 Kennedy Jex - 2018 graduate - attending Southern Utah University
#5 Megan Unbedacht- 2019 graduate - committed to Utah State University
#19 Hailee Atwater - 2018 graduate - attending Utah Valley University - Utah ODP Team
#22 Jamie Shepherd - 2019 graduate - committed to BYU - Utah ODP team - Region IV ODP Team
#3 Megan Astle - 2019 graduate - committed to Utah State University
#9 Samantha Brady - 2019 graduate - committed to University of Minnesota
#10 Rebecca Olsen - 2019 graduate - committed to Salt Lake Community College
#8 Gabriella Jensen - 2019 graduate - committed to Dixie State University
#11 Abbigail Graham - 2019 graduate - committed to Utah Valley University
#33 Kate Schirmer - 2019 graduate - committed to Snow College
#2 Anna Pickering - 2019 graduate - committed to University of Utah - Utah ODP Team
#26 Alaina Pestana - 2019 graduate - committed to Snow College
#13 Brecken Mozingo - 2019 graduate - committed to UCLA - Utah ODP Team - Region IV ODP Team - U17 National Team
#0 Chelsea Peterson - 2019 graduate - committed to University of Utah - Utah ODP Team - Region IV ODP Team
Utah Celtic Premier FC 00 vs. Competition During National Championship Series:
From Utah State Cup to Far West Regional Championships, through National Championships:
Utah State Cup
Game 1: W (5-0) vs. Utah Celtic East DD
Game 2: W (4-1) vs. Blue Knights 00 Premier
Semifinal: W (4-1) vs. Wasatch SC 00/01
Final: W (6-0) vs. Blue Knights
Far West Regional Championship
Game 1: W (8-0) vs. Players Elite (NV)
Game 2: W (2-0) vs. Rio Rapids 00 Girls (NM)
Game 3: W (4-0) vs. CDA Slammers FC HB 00 Elite (CA-S)
Quarterfinal: W (3-0) vs. FC Boulder 00 Girls Elite (CO)
Semifinal: W (1-0) vs. 00 Boise Thorns Elite, 2-0-1, (ID)
Final: W (4-0) vs. CDA Slammers FC HB 00 Elite (CA-S)
National Championships
Game 1: W (3-2) vs. Sunrise Sting 2000 (FL)
Game 2: T (0-0) vs. Lou Fusz Elam (MO)
Game 3: W (5-0) vs. Legends FC South (CA-S)
Semifinal: W (4-3 PK) (3-3) vs. MapleBrook Fury (MN)
Final: W (9-1) vs. Lou Fusz Elam (MO)