The same paths don’t always lead to the same destinations.

The same can be said for two of Sacramento State soccer’s best players this season, junior midfielder Marco Ramirez and sophomore midfielder/forward Ryan Rhoads.

Both Ramirez and Rhoads attended Beyer High School in Modesto and the duo played alongside one another for the Patriots. The similarities, however, end there.

Even though both players are listed as midfielders, they play entirely differently positions, in soccer terms.

Ramirez is the defensive commander for the Hornets, controlling the field and wearing out the opposing players with his running, tackling and smothering defense.

Rhoads is the polar opposite. He’ll shoot right by three defenders, beat another off the dribble and score, all the while making it look easy.

Sophomore defender Utodi Madu, who plays alongside Ramirez every game, says that although Ramirez doesn’t have the same flashy, offensive-minded style of play as Rhoads, his contributions to the team are equally as important.

“Marco’s work ethic and running is unparalleled; he tackles like a truck,” Madu said. “He is the focal point of our defense because he connects with everybody.”

Rhoads, who has scored seven goals in his last eight games, is more of an offensive threat than Ramirez because of his speed and ability to beat players with the ball, which creates shots for both himself and his teammates.

Junior forward Ricky Rodriguez, who’s hooked up with Rhoads for goals on many occasions this season, says that Rhoads’ passionate play as of late is the spark that the Hornets mightily needed.

“He’s always hungry for his goals. He complements the rest of the guys on the team perfectly because he’s always in the right place at the right time,” Rodriguez said.

Though their style of play is significantly different, their roots go way back. Because of their past experience together, both Ramirez and Rhoads have a good understanding of one another’s play on the field.

“Ryan’s always been talented and even though I was a senior when we played together at Beyer, he showed me what he could do when we played for the high school championship,” Ramirez said. “Since then, he’s matured and now is great with the ball on his feet. He’ll make you look real bad with some of his moves.”

Rhoads, who graduated two years after Ramirez, says that without Ramirez’ solid play in the backfield, the Hornets would never be where they are today.”He’s the engine that runs our team and sometimes he goes unnoticed,” said Rhoads of Ramirez. “He puts in all that work and without him winning all of the balls he does, we wouldn’t be doing this well.”

Despite the fact that the two players don’t have much in common, without Rhoads putting in a good word with head coach Michael Linenberger, the Modesto connection for the Hornets might not have ever happened.

After Ramirez graduated from Beyer in 2001, he played two years of soccer for Modesto Junior College, but right as Ramirez was about to play soccer for the Hornets’ biggest rival, San Diego State, fate appeared in the form of Ryan Rhoads.

“Coach called me into his office and asked me about Marco because he knew we went to high school together. I told him what kind of player he was, I gave him the tour when he came to watch a game, and then he said he’d go here,” Rhoads said.

“I was supposed to play for SDSU, but I wanted to come watch a game here first. Ryan showed me around campus and I decided (Sac State) is where I wanted to be,” Ramirez said.

During their high school days together, Ramirez and Rhoads admittedly ran with different crowds. But now that they’ve gotten a second chance at playing with one another, they haven’t taken anything for granted.

“We spend a lot more time together now than we did in high school,” Ramirez said. “I was thinking about moving in with him, maybe start taking him to a few parties. He’s a real cool guy.”

“Now that (Ramirez) decided to go to Sac State, we got another chance to hang out with each other; we can build on what we had back in the day,” said Rhoads of Ramirez.

Both traveled the same paths, and even with a detour from one, the Modesto connection reunited them back where they are both destined to be.