By Jose Trujillo
Things don’t always fall in order. It’s not always one-two-three.
Lil’ bro doesn’t always follow big bro. This is specifically true for brothers and San Jose State soccer players Eduardo and Willy Miranda.
Though they now both sport the Spartan blue, white and gold on gameday, their path to SJSU was quite the opposite.
Eduardo, the younger of the two, chose to become a Spartan straight after graduation.
“I wanted to come here because it was close to home,” Eduardo said. “ I knew who I was gonna be with — everything was perfect for me.”
Both Eduardo and Willy graduated from Alisal High School in Salinas, Calif., but unlike his younger brother, Willy went the community college route. He decided to stay even closer to home and attended Hartnell College.
Willy’s playing time at Harnell lasted just one season, but his productivity on the pitch was superb.
As a freshman midfielder in 2016, Willy finished as one of the top scorers in the California Community College system. He ranked 11th in the state with 19 goals, 14th with 43 points and buried six game-winning goals for the Coast Conference South Division champions.
“I saw Willy when he played two years ago as a JC kid at Hartnell and I loved him then,” said fourth-year head coach Simon Tobin.
But SJSU was not the only school scouting Willy.
“He is a high profile player,” Tobin said. “I knew he was getting looked at by UCLA and Cal.”
This is where Eduardo came in. Willy has more experience playing at the college level, yet he chose to transfer to SJSU because of his little brother, combined with their dream to play Division I soccer together.
Even though injuries and academic issues limited his playing time, Eduardo’s first full season at SJSU was successful. He was part of a team that upset No. 12 Air Force en route to the Spartans’ first Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship appearance since 2013.
“He was the main reason why I chose to come to San Jose State.” Willy said, “It was kind of like a dream to play together at a top level, and this was a good opportunity.”
The brothers have played together on weekend club teams, but this is a first for a Division I program.
Tobin now has a playmaking midfielder in Willy, and a healthy defensive right back in Eduardo who will be expected to contribute.
It’s really early, but for Eduardo, so far so good. In spring games against Cal and Stanford, he has looked 100 percent and flashed his potential.
“He was one of the best players on the field from either side,” Tobin said about Eduardo. “He is extremely quick and very tough … he can play in the middle of the defense or right back.”
Willy, on the other hand, is a different type of player. His strength is creating opportunity for himself and his teammates at the midfield position.
“He pulls all the strings,” Tobin said. “ We hope to go through him … he is a natural number 10, an attacking midfielder who likes to set up players and score himself.”
For the Miranda brothers, half of the battle has been accomplished. They achieved their goal of playing together at the highest collegiate level in the country.
Now it is time to produce, which Willy believes will happen.
“I do see myself out there making an impact and doing my part,” Willy said. “The system is great and something I can adapt to really quick.”
The sophomore midfielder enjoys the ball at his toes, and it reflects Tobin’s possession strategy really well.
The two have under 51 minutes of Division I experience combined, but that does not stop Tobin from believing in how much they can contribute this season and down the road.
“If they are fully fit and 100 percent, the two will be huge impact players for us this year,” Tobin said. “And over the next few years, I feel they can be two of the better Division I players on the West Coast.”
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