Cabrillo High School student dies after medical emergency during soccer game

The Cabrillo High School community gathered at the school Saturday to mourn a 14-year-old student who died after suffering a medical emergency during a soccer game.

Hundreds of people turned out on the school's soccer field Saturday morning for a vigil for Brian Guzman. The vigil included several high school athletes from other schools, according to Long Beach Watchdog.

"I want to take a moment to acknowledge the Cabrillo High School community, which is mourning the loss of a 9th grade student, Brian, who passed away yesterday after experiencing a medical emergency during a soccer game," Mayor Rex Richardson said Saturday on X. "This is a devastating loss that no family or community should ever have to experience. My prayers are with Brian's family, loved ones, and the Cabrillo High School family."

In a post Friday on Instagram, the official Cabrillo Boys Soccer account announced Guzman's death, saying it was "the hardest post we have ever had to make."

"Forever and always we will hold Brian in our hearts," the post added.

The death occurred during the Cabrillo frosh-soph soccer team's game against Poly High on Friday.

"He loved playing the sport. He loved playing the game," Brian's uncle Timothy Guzman said Saturday, Long Beach Watchdog reported. "He was always a jokester — someone filled with laughter, filled with joy."

Counseling services will be available for students when classes resume Tuesday, following Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Long Beach