MSU goalkeeper Nicole Galas clears the ball from the box in the Sept. 19 women’s soccer game vs. Eastern Michigan. This year Galas has had 27 saves and three shut-outs.
—As senior goalkeeper Nicole Galas approaches MSU’s career shutout record, she not only gets satisfaction from not the numbers she’s putting up, but how those numbers contribute to her team’s success.
“I’m aware of it,” Galas said of her 21 career shutouts, one shy of the mark.
“I mean, it’s going to be cool, and I’m excited because it’s helping the team, but personally it’s just not that important.”
In her first season as starting goalkeeper for the Spartans in 2005, Galas set the single-season record with 12 shutouts.
It was then that she knew she was approaching the record. Even now, as she sits in second place, Galas prefers to let others get caught up in the numbers.
“I’ll come off the field and my dad or (senior defender Erin Doan’s) dad will be like ‘You’re two away, you’re one away,’ but I don’t really keep that much track,” Galas said.
While Galas is about to have her name on top of the career shutout record, her name is all over the MSU record book. Aside from owning the single-season shutout record, Galas also ranks third in career saves, third in saves per game, fifth in goals against average and is tied for third in career wins.
Although Galas has no idea of her stats, one thing she does know is who she’s about to pass on the shutout list.
Stacy Heller, the MSU goalkeeper from 2000-03, was a senior when Galas was a freshman and also is currently an assistant coach on the team.
“Stacy had such a great career here and to surpass her is cool because I looked up to her,” Galas said.
“She’s always been a great role model for me, especially now. She’s just a phenomenal coach, I couldn’t ask for a better coach than Stacy. It’s going to be cool because I respect her so much, and I respect her ability to play and what a great goalie she was.”
The respect Galas has for her former teammate and coach is mutual, as Heller said it has been a lot of fun watching Galas become one of the top keepers in MSU history.
“From the first day she stepped on campus until now, she has grown in not only her play but her maturity,” Heller said. “She’s respected me as a teammate and as a coach, and she’s just so much fun to be around.”
While Heller believes physical tools which Galas possesses are key reasons for her success, she believes it is Galas’ mentality and knowledge of the game that have put her among the elite.
“She’s got all the physical talents — she can catch, she can distribute and she can dive, but her mentality and presence is what makes Nikki, Nikki Galas,” Heller said.
“She’s got this ‘don’t come in here or you’re going to get knocked down’ mentality.’”
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