THE FIRST. FOREVER.

The story of the 2009 Navy Boys and the MLS NEXT Cup run that changed New England Surf.

The run in Utah was incredible.

The dramatic penalty shootout in the Round of 32. The dominant Round of 16 performance. The Quarterfinal appearance. The opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the country on one of youth soccer’s biggest stages.

But the people closest to the team will tell you the same thing:

The story was never really about Utah.

“The run in Utah was amazing, but the real story was the journey,” said Assistant Coach and parent Kevin Gorham. “The foundation was built throughout the season, particularly in NJ. Utah was simply where this group got to showcase how far they had come and showcase this on the national stage.”

That journey began long before Salt Lake City.

It began with a group that learned how to overcome setbacks. A group that learned how to trust one another. A group that continued believing even when results didn’t always go their way.

“There were highs and lows,” said Head Coach Adam Kelley. “What stood out was the team’s ability to stay together, keep believing, and find momentum at the right moments. By the end of the season, they were playing their best soccer when it mattered most.”

The challenges were real. There were difficult stretches throughout the year. Moments when confidence could have disappeared. Moments when it would have been easier to look elsewhere for answers.

Instead, they stayed together.

“The biggest challenge was maintaining belief in ourselves and in what we were building, even when the results weren’t going our way,” Adam said. “The players stayed committed to the process. They trusted each other, trusted the staff, and continued to work.”

That belief eventually carried them to the MLS NEXT Cup Regional Qualifiers, where they achieved something no New England Surf team had ever done before.

They qualified for MLS NEXT Cup.

And in doing so, they changed the future of the club.

“As a club it was a pivotal moment because with this being our first year in the MLS NEXT platform it’s a great foundation to all our teams to know we can and will be successful in this platform,” said State Boys Director of Coaching Kyle Bak. “They deserve to be remembered because they are the first to earn the right to MLS Cup.”

Why Not Us?

When the team arrived in Salt Lake City, they were stepping into uncharted territory.

The MLS NEXT Cup represents the highest level of youth competition in the country. The best teams. The best players. The biggest stage.

For many clubs, simply being there is enough. This group wanted more.

Watching his players walk out before their opening match against FC Tucson Youth Soccer Club, Head Coach Adam experienced a moment he will never forget.

“Standing there and watching the boys walk out onto that stage, I kept thinking, ‘Why not us?'”

It was a simple thought, but it captured everything this team had become.

They weren’t there to participate. They were there to compete.

And compete they did.

Their opening match delivered everything that had defined the group throughout the season.

New England Surf jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Then 3-1. The match eventually ended 3-3 and headed to penalties.

“This team has never made things easy on me,” Adam joked. “Throughout the shootout, I never stopped believing in the group. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but one that perfectly captured who this team is.”

With Aaron Drew producing heroics in goal and New England Surf advancing on penalties, the boys were through to the Round of 16.

The confidence only continued to grow.

A dominant 5-0 victory over New Mexico Soccer Academy sent New England Surf into the Quarterfinals and among the final eight teams remaining in the country.

“The atmosphere was unlike anything I had seen from the group all season,” Adam said. “There was a confidence and energy within the team that continued to grow with every result, and you could feel that they believed they belonged on that stage.”

Because by then, they did.

More Than Soccer

The results were special.

The memories away from the field may have been even more meaningful.

“People see the games but they don’t see the relationships,” Kevin said. “The team culture and camaraderie in this group was top class and that was a major reason why they had so much success.”

For an entire week, the players were together.

Meals.

Recovery sessions.

Hotel conversations.

Moments that will never appear on a scoresheet.

“Every minute of the day, the group was together,” Adam said. “Whether it was watching games, recovery sessions, hiking, eating meals, or simply spending time around the hotel, they genuinely enjoyed being around each other.”

That bond became one of the defining characteristics of the team.

“The connection. Talent matters, but team character and culture matters too,” Kevin said. “They worked hard, held each other accountable and enjoyed being together. When adversity came, there was no drifting apart. Everyone selfless and working for the common goal.”

Those relationships helped carry them through every challenge they faced throughout the year.

“The foundation for the team success wasn’t built in Utah,” Kevin said. “It was built throughout a challenging season where the team had to deal with a lot of setbacks and adversity. They stuck together, picked each other up, supported each other and stayed true to themselves and their goals.”

And that may be the most important lesson of all.

Success is rarely built in a single moment: it is built through hundreds of moments that nobody sees.

“Success like this doesn’t happen overnight,” Kevin said. “It’s built throughout years of commitment, hard work, setbacks, and growth. What we saw in Utah was the result of countless training sessions, sacrifices from families and players buying into a shared goal.”

The Standard They Set

The tournament ended in the Quarterfinals against Players Development Academy.

But even in the final moments of their run, the team continued to demonstrate exactly who they were.

“The boys were down 3-0 and playing with 10 men,” Kyle recalled. “The amount of quality moments in and out of possession from the boys is everything I want from our teams. It was a very proud moment to see the boys playing to our standards no matter the score, situation and opponent.”

That resilience was not an accident.

It was the result of an entire season spent learning how to respond when things became difficult.

“I’m most proud of the resilience they developed over the course of the year,” Adam said. “They learned how to face adversity together. They learned to trust the person next to them, stay committed to their roles, and keep fighting regardless of the circumstances.”

Those lessons will stay with the players long after the memories of individual games begin to fade.

“I hope they remember just how special this run was and the standard they set for the club,” Adam said. “Even when facing adversity, including playing with a red card, they never gave up. They continued to battle, compete, and create opportunities.”

That standard now belongs to every team that follows.

“The success of the 2009’s is driving all our players and teams to want to perform on the national stage,” Kyle said.

And perhaps that is their greatest accomplishment.

Not simply reaching MLS NEXT Cup. Not simply reaching the Quarterfinals.

But showing future generations what is possible.

The First. Forever.

Years from now, people may forget the scores. They may forget who scored the goals. They may forget the details of individual games. But they will remember this team.

They will remember the first team in New England Surf history to earn the right to compete at MLS NEXT Cup.

They will remember a group that never stopped believing.

They will remember a team that chose unity over individual recognition, resilience over excuses, and commitment over comfort.

As Adam reflected:

“We may not have been the most talented team in the competition, but we had 19 players who fully bought into a shared vision and gave everything for one another. When a group embraces that collective mindset, truly special things can happen.”

The 2009 Navy Boys were more than Quarterfinalists.

They were pioneers.

They were standard setters.

They were the first.

And while they won’t be the last, they will always be the team that showed the way.

National Attention

The impact of the 2009 Navy Boys’ MLS NEXT Cup run extended far beyond the results on the field.

Throughout the tournament, more than 30 college programs were in attendance to watch New England Surf compete, representing NCAA Division I, Division III, Ivy League institutions, military academies, and some of the nation’s most respected academic and athletic programs.

The level of college coach attendance was one of the strongest recruiting presences ever seen around a New England Surf team and serves as another reflection of the quality, character, and potential within this historic group.

College programs in attendance included: Villanova, Brown, Dartmouth, Georgetown, UConn, Penn, Washington, American University, Air Force, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Grand Canyon University, University of Portland, University of Louisville, University of Chicago, University of Rochester, Williams College, Pomona-Pitzer, Washington & Lee, Haverford, Emerson, Juniata, Assumption, North Central College, and many more.