Waunakee freshman Malia Zillman is one of the most athletic, agile and skilled goal keepers to pass through the area in quite some time.
If soccer doesn't work out for Zillman, though, she can always fall back on a career in psychology.
In a WIAA Division 1 sectional final at Burghy Soccer Stadium last Saturday, host Middleton and Waunakee went to a shootout in a scoreless game. And as each Cardinal approached for their penalty kick, Zillman had a message for them.
“I was just saying, ‘You can score. You can score. Put it in the net. Come on, you’ve got it,’ ” Zillman said. “Normally they’re used to goalies yelling at them, swearing at them and stuff like that. But I was telling them they can do it. Reverse psychology.”
Perhaps it was Zillman’s mental tricks, or her overall brilliance in the cage. But Zillman stopped all four of Middleton’s penalty kicks, allowing the Warriors to prevail, 2-0, on penalty kicks in the scoreless tie.
