By Gio Gaxiola — Reporter
After a thrilling come from behind win against Utah Valley on Wednesday, the San Jose men’s soccer team (10-6-3, 7-2-2 WAC) faces off against top seeded No. 25 Grand Canyon University (14-3, 9-2 WAC) in the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
Senior midfielder Willy Miranda was the hero as his 55th minute goal lifted the Spartans over the Wolverines. As the top goal scorer for the Spartans this season, Miranda will be a key player to look out for on Friday.
The SJSU offense will be going against one of the best goalies in the conference. Freshman goalkeeper Rafael Guerrero has been a huge reason the Antelopes finished with the best record in the conference. In six games, Guerrero has 30 saves to only five goals allowed to go along with his three shutouts. If the Spartans want to pull off an upset win, they must get past Guerrero.
Despite giving up three goals in the first half on Wednesday, junior goalkeeper David Sweeney did give up any goals in the second half and managed to get seven saves in the match. Sweeney will try to keep the GCU offense at bay.
GCU’s senior defender Esai Easley was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year this season. Easley has been a problem for opposing offenses. He was also selected for First Team All-WAC honors. The Spartans offense will have to be sharp and not waste opportunities if they want to advance to the finals in the WAC tournament.
Earlier this season, the Spartans beat the Antelopes in their only head-to-head matchup, 2-1.
The match will take place on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Streaming on ESPN+.
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