Thursday, October 1, 2026
If the West Hempstead boys’ soccer team wants to make some noise in Nassau Conference AB this fall and return to the playoffs, it will be because of its goalkeeping and defense.
After winning just two games last season, the Rams are already showing signs of progress. They stand at 1-2-1 through their first four contests, highlighted by a 2-0 win over Evergreen Charter on Sept. 9. The offense, which went scoreless in the first two matches, finally broke through in that victory before sputtering again in a 4-1 loss to Oyster Bay three days later.
Rams coach Chris Van Kovics has built his lineup from the back line forward, with senior sweeper Angel Guzman and sophomore goalkeeper and brother Bryan Guzman leading the way.
“Angel Guzman is playing sweeper,” Van Kovics said. “This is his fourth year as a senior. He and his brother seem to have a good connection back there. They’ve been very strong and kept us in the games that we’ve been in.”
He added that Angel Guzman has been key in handling pressure.
“Angel’s tough,” Van Kovics said. “He’s smart, he’s fast, he’s got good size. He literally uses his head a lot for all the crosses and goal kicks and free kicks and things like that.”
Bryan Guzman, meanwhile, has been fearless in goal.
“He’s an outstanding goalie,” Van Kovics said. “He’s done a really good job for us. He’s got experience. He is fearless going after any ball in the air. If you put the ball in the air for crosses, you’re not getting anything. He punches it, catches it, and he’s very good with the ball.”
Several others have emerged as steady contributors on the back end, including junior stopper Johan Grados, who Van Kovics said “has improved tremendously,” outside back Allan Bonilla, and fellow senior Edin Morales, “the toughest kid on the field” who shut down Oyster Bay star Jesel Cruz.
Van Kovics is hoping the continued strong defense and the play of midfielders Jayden Leslie, Josiah Verde, Jason Herrera, and Anthony Medina will continue to result in more offensive opportunities and goals.
“It’s a game of failure,” he said. “You only get so many chances. You’ve got to take advantage of them. What I would like to see is create a few more opportunities. But the ones that we’ve had, we were fortunate to score the goals we’ve had and had a couple of near misses. We’re going to try to create more over the next couple of games.”
Sophomore forward Cameron Leslie has already provided a lift after being promoted from junior varsity with goals in the Rams’ last two games. The Rams are also relying on versatile senior Fredi Castro, who can play and produce anywhere on the pitch.
Castro had an assist in the Evergreen win.
The Rams have a lengthy homestand to close the month, including games against winless Carle Place this Friday, Friends Academy on Sept. 25, Wheatley two days later, and another matchup with Evergreen on Sept. 30.
