A goal-scoring leader on championship teams at Notre Dame High School and Mercer County Community College, Steve Reid ranks as one of the county’s premier soccer players.
An early star in the Hamilton Youth League for Trumpovich Roofers and Star Screen, Steve soon became one of the top players on the Scot Americans Junior squad of the Hamilton Junior League. At Notre Dame, Steve excelled on teams coached by Hall of Famers Bill ‘Stu’ Clarke and John Wagner. From Notre Dame it was on to Mercer County Community College, where Steve was a standout for two more Hall of Fame coaches – Stan Dlugosz and Joe ‘Sec’ Secretario. Steve won All-Region and All-American honors at MCCC, and was team MVP for the 1973 and 1974 seasons. He made the All-National tournament squad both years, and in ’74 Steve set a Vikings scoring record with 31 goals. That season, Steve had nine multiple-goal games, and in the Vikings’ last eight games of the year he scored at least two goals in every match.
Steve’s goal-scoring prowess continued at Penn State University, where he played for one year before leaving in 1976 to play semi-pro soccer in Scotland with Balliston Juniors and Glen Cairn Juniors. Drafted No. 1 by the New Jersey Americans of the American Soccer League in 1977, Steve soon helped lead that team, coached by internationally-renowned Manfred Schellscheidt, to the ASL championship in 1978. The following fall, Steve returned to Scotland to play for Partick Thistle Reserves in the Scottish Premier League, and also trained with the Glasgow Celtics of the Scottish Premier League.
Returning to the United States for the 1979 season, Steve signed with the New England Tea Men of the North American Soccer League and later played with the New England Sharks of the ASL. He spent the 1980 season with the Philadelphia Fury of the North American Soccer League, scoring two goals in 14 games.
In 1982, Steve suffered a career-ending knee injury while playing with Major Indoor Soccer League team, the Philadelphia Fever. Steve began his coaching career by returning to Mercer as the assistant Men’s Soccer coach, alongside fellow hall-of-famer Charlie Inverso, where together they led the 1988 squad to a National Championship victory.
