SE: Malsy Makes Most of Long Wait to Become K-State Starting Goalkeeper
Sep 20, 2018 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Emma Malsy waited a long time to play a match for K-State soccer. It drug on much longer than expected, with setbacks testing her along the way.
Malsy made the best of it all.
Only nine matches into the 2018 season, she already owns a school-record six shutouts. So, in hindsight, the redshirt sophomore transfer said she views her 663-day gap between her last match at Arizona State (October 23, 2016) to her first at K-State (August 17, 2018) as well worth it.
"Looking back," she said, "I think it was probably one of the best things for me."
In 2017, Malsy transferred to K-State from Arizona State, where she started nine matches for the Sun Devils as a true freshman goalkeeper. Because K-State was set at the position at the time, with second-year starter Miranda Larkin holding down the position, Malsy and the coaching staff agreed the best option for her future would be to redshirt.
That didn't make it easy.
"It was definitely really tough for me," Malsy said.
While waiting, she tried to focus her mind on the positives. One of them? She had a whole season to fine-tune her skills.
"Having that year to continue to build and perfect my craft in the goal was a really beneficial year for me," she said, before listing off some examples. "Making sure my hands were right and, for instance, my set position, getting my footwork right, getting my distribution perfected — those little details."
All of it led to a spring where she would take over in goal. Larkin had finished her eligibility. The two freshmen goalkeepers, Angie Ojeda and Olivia Elofsson, had not arrived yet. This was Malsy's time to establish herself.
Then, injuries got in the way. Next thing Malsy knew, she was right back on the sideline for the entire spring. She watched her teammates, from defenders to midfielders to forwards, rotate at goalkeeper simply so the team could scrimmage and compete.
That added time, Malsy said, ate at her more than the months prior because she did not see it coming. It did, however, become a positive with time.
"That was my time where I was, like, 'Oh my gosh, I want to play, I want to play!'" Malsy said. "I think having that month where I had to kind of adjust again really allowed me to find my love for the game and it really made me hungry to play again. Obviously, I had my chance in the spring and that was kind of taken away from me and now I had my chance again (in the fall), so it was like I wanted to be on the field that much more. That kind of lit my fire."
"She went through a lot of struggles, throughout the spring especially with her injuries, but I would talk to her almost every day about her confidence and everything," senior defender Morgan Egan added of Malsy. "She worked on it every day, positive thinking, and she got herself ready for the season. I'm really proud of her."
Malsy's first official match in a K-State uniform ended in a 1-0 victory against Saint Louis, but she said the Wildcats' first exhibition against Arkansas on August 4 was a big moment for her as well. It may not have counted in the record book, but it felt real enough for her.
"I was kind of getting my feet back under me, but I feel like that's the most confident I've ever felt playing, which is something I've worked on through the years is building my own confidence," she said. "I think that was the first time I was able to relax and let my game speak for itself."
Malsy and K-State's experienced backline — "That is a huge part of it. It's not just me," she said — helped the Wildcats open the 2018 season with three-straight wins. All of them were shutouts. Malsy's season-opening shutout streak of 288:23 topped Larkin's longest stretch by more than 22 minutes.
"She has a hidden confidence in her that allows her to shake things off, put things behind her, and focus on the key moments of the game," K-State head coach Mike Dibbini said of Malsy. "I think that comes with experience. We weren't able to see it because some of the injuries that she had but she's good in key moments and she keeps us in the game in key moments, so we're excited about that.
"She has a little bit of a hidden swag to her that she's confident she's going to keep the ball out of the net."
Most matches, she's done just that. At Indiana, Malsy recorded one of her six shutouts, tied for the Big 12 lead and ranked third nationally, and set a career-high with 11 saves to tie the school record. For the season, her 40 saves rank third in the conference.
"I feel very settled in," she said. "Obviously with nine games under my belt, I feel very comfortable stepping on the field. I don't feel nervous at all. It's more excitement to see what we can do as a team and what upsets we can bring to teams."
Which makes this weekend even more exciting for Malsy. K-State opens Big 12 play with home matches against No. 15 Oklahoma State (8-1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m., and Oklahoma (4-4-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"I definitely think we're ready. Last season was our first in the Big 12 and we had the jitters a little bit, but now it's like Coach Dibbini tells us all the time, 'Respect all, fear none,'" Malsy said. "We don't fear anybody now because we've had that season and I think this season is our time to really show teams who we are, what we're made of, because we're not the new kids on the block anymore."
Emma Malsy waited a long time to play a match for K-State soccer. It drug on much longer than expected, with setbacks testing her along the way.
Malsy made the best of it all.
Only nine matches into the 2018 season, she already owns a school-record six shutouts. So, in hindsight, the redshirt sophomore transfer said she views her 663-day gap between her last match at Arizona State (October 23, 2016) to her first at K-State (August 17, 2018) as well worth it.
"Looking back," she said, "I think it was probably one of the best things for me."
In 2017, Malsy transferred to K-State from Arizona State, where she started nine matches for the Sun Devils as a true freshman goalkeeper. Because K-State was set at the position at the time, with second-year starter Miranda Larkin holding down the position, Malsy and the coaching staff agreed the best option for her future would be to redshirt.
That didn't make it easy.
"It was definitely really tough for me," Malsy said.
While waiting, she tried to focus her mind on the positives. One of them? She had a whole season to fine-tune her skills.
"Having that year to continue to build and perfect my craft in the goal was a really beneficial year for me," she said, before listing off some examples. "Making sure my hands were right and, for instance, my set position, getting my footwork right, getting my distribution perfected — those little details."
All of it led to a spring where she would take over in goal. Larkin had finished her eligibility. The two freshmen goalkeepers, Angie Ojeda and Olivia Elofsson, had not arrived yet. This was Malsy's time to establish herself.
Then, injuries got in the way. Next thing Malsy knew, she was right back on the sideline for the entire spring. She watched her teammates, from defenders to midfielders to forwards, rotate at goalkeeper simply so the team could scrimmage and compete.
That added time, Malsy said, ate at her more than the months prior because she did not see it coming. It did, however, become a positive with time.
"That was my time where I was, like, 'Oh my gosh, I want to play, I want to play!'" Malsy said. "I think having that month where I had to kind of adjust again really allowed me to find my love for the game and it really made me hungry to play again. Obviously, I had my chance in the spring and that was kind of taken away from me and now I had my chance again (in the fall), so it was like I wanted to be on the field that much more. That kind of lit my fire."
"She went through a lot of struggles, throughout the spring especially with her injuries, but I would talk to her almost every day about her confidence and everything," senior defender Morgan Egan added of Malsy. "She worked on it every day, positive thinking, and she got herself ready for the season. I'm really proud of her."
Malsy's first official match in a K-State uniform ended in a 1-0 victory against Saint Louis, but she said the Wildcats' first exhibition against Arkansas on August 4 was a big moment for her as well. It may not have counted in the record book, but it felt real enough for her.
"I was kind of getting my feet back under me, but I feel like that's the most confident I've ever felt playing, which is something I've worked on through the years is building my own confidence," she said. "I think that was the first time I was able to relax and let my game speak for itself."
Malsy and K-State's experienced backline — "That is a huge part of it. It's not just me," she said — helped the Wildcats open the 2018 season with three-straight wins. All of them were shutouts. Malsy's season-opening shutout streak of 288:23 topped Larkin's longest stretch by more than 22 minutes.
"She has a hidden confidence in her that allows her to shake things off, put things behind her, and focus on the key moments of the game," K-State head coach Mike Dibbini said of Malsy. "I think that comes with experience. We weren't able to see it because some of the injuries that she had but she's good in key moments and she keeps us in the game in key moments, so we're excited about that.
"She has a little bit of a hidden swag to her that she's confident she's going to keep the ball out of the net."
Most matches, she's done just that. At Indiana, Malsy recorded one of her six shutouts, tied for the Big 12 lead and ranked third nationally, and set a career-high with 11 saves to tie the school record. For the season, her 40 saves rank third in the conference.
"I feel very settled in," she said. "Obviously with nine games under my belt, I feel very comfortable stepping on the field. I don't feel nervous at all. It's more excitement to see what we can do as a team and what upsets we can bring to teams."
Which makes this weekend even more exciting for Malsy. K-State opens Big 12 play with home matches against No. 15 Oklahoma State (8-1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m., and Oklahoma (4-4-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"I definitely think we're ready. Last season was our first in the Big 12 and we had the jitters a little bit, but now it's like Coach Dibbini tells us all the time, 'Respect all, fear none,'" Malsy said. "We don't fear anybody now because we've had that season and I think this season is our time to really show teams who we are, what we're made of, because we're not the new kids on the block anymore."
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