By Laura Amato
The Guzzo siblings grew up playing soccer together and, for a long time, the plan was to keep that trend going—or at least to play at the same school. That plan, however, didn’t quite play out and, now, the Guzzos are on the opposite side of the Queens soccer divide.
Joseph Guzzo, a senior at Bayside, and Annalie Guzzo, a freshman at Francis Lewis, are both in the midst of successful soccer seasons, but while the Guzzo siblings might not be sporting the same uniform colors this season, the brother and sister duo haven’t missed a beat when it comes to supporting each other.
After all, they’re family and they love soccer almost as much as they do each other.
“I think it’s amazing because sometimes I get a little nervous on the field and I put a little bit too much pressure on myself,” Annalie said of her off-field support system.
“I come home to a family that’s very supportive and they tell me that I played great and give me some tips to do better next time,” she added. “It’s really great to have that and it really helps me play better on the field.”
Soccer has always been the unofficial sport of the Guzzo family and the two grew up with a ball at their feet.
“Our parents are really supportive of us playing and when we were growing up they were always really good about it,” Joseph said. “It might not be the most popular sport in the U.S., but they were always good about getting us out there.”
Of course, as the older sibling, Joseph has been tasked with the job of providing advice for Annalie and the pair regularly bounce ideas off each other over the dinner table. There are naturally differences between the boys’ and girls’ game, but, in the end, the goal is always the same—score goals and win games.
“I would say that I give her some pointers and things on the position, just because I’ve been exposed to different parts of the game,” Joseph said. “Wisdom does come with age when it comes to high school sports and I try and help direct her.”
Those dinner-time conversations also involve a bit of good-spirited competition as well. After all, they are brother and sister and they both play the same position (defensive midfield), so there’s only so much support they can give before they start talking stats and respective team records.
“There’s always that competitive edge,” Annalie said. “It’s the kind of usual competitive relationship, you know, between a brother and sister.”
The Guzzos have one other sibling—an 11-year-old brother—who’s also been bitten by the soccer bug and both Joseph and Annalie are already making their case for him to pick their respective programs once he hits high school.
But before they can do that, the siblings have their sights set on a city championship. Both Bayside and Francis Lewis are primed to make deep runs in the postseason and while Joseph and Annalie want to stay supportive, they also hope they’ll miss each other’s games—that means they’ll still be playing.
“I’m hoping to keep playing for a while,” Joseph said. “We’ve made it to the semifinals the last two years, but I think the third time’s the charm and we’re just looking to go out on a high note this season.”
