Reading High’s Kevin Guzman fronts All-Berks soccer team as Player of the Year
By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
Seven years have passed since Reading High’s dream soccer season. Some connections to those memorable days still remain.
As the Red Knights charged toward the District 3 championship in 2014, one of their future stars was watching closely. He was a fifth grader at the time. The kid brother of All-State selection Omar Guzman.
Kevin Guzman had big dreams of his own.
“Seeing those games when I was little, I looked up to him,” he said of Omar. “I was hoping to be that player once I got to high school.”
The younger Guzman received the Berks League’s highest honor Monday: He was voted Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Fleetwood’s Malachi Herndon and Exeter’s Tanner Karas were the other two All-State selections. Fleetwood’s Keith Schlegel was voted Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to the county championship.
This was a season short on strikers. Even some of the best teams with the greatest traditions didn’t have one. Reading was an exception. Guzman was an attacking force.
The four-year starter, who played for Muhlenberg last season, put home 26 goals in 18 games. No other player has even reached 20. Only five other players made it 15.
Guzman was the kind of finisher who forced rival coaches to change their tactics. He learned from Omar, who played three seasons as a defender at Reading before scoring 24 goals as a senior on the Dream Team. The two worked together closely.
“That’s a big part of why I was able to score as many goals as I did,” Kevin said. “Shooting was a big part of our training sessions. We worked on every single aspect of the sport. You can’t just work on one. Because if you only work on one you won’t get better.”
Click here for the All-Berks and all-division teams
Guzman’s best memory from the season was one of his final games. He scored four times against Northern Lebanon, including three in the final 13 minutes, to pull out a 5-4 victory. The senior ended that day with 25 goals, one more than his brother for the family record.
Reading finished 5-12-1 and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Red Knights knocked off Wilson in the finale to help Exeter reach the BCIAA Tournament. The Eagles lost to Fleetwood in the final.
Guzman is Reading’s first Player of the Year since Edwin Navas in 2016. He joins Omar Guzman, Oliver Calvo and Kelvin Del Cid as recent All-State selections.
That fifth grader’s hopes were realized. He scored 39 career goals and became one of Reading’s greats.
“It’s nice to receive that honor because me and my team didn’t make it far this season,” Guzman said. “To be able to achieve something individually is great. I’m very proud of it.”
Fleetwood was the only team with three All-Berks selections. Herndon was joined by freshman Davin Millisock and senior Ryan Piskorski. Exeter had two selections in Karas and Brady Hannahoe. Tulpehocken had two in Mason Lillis and Brayden Evans.
