Ohio junior keeper Mattie Liston described her apartment as plain — nothing out of the ordinary.
Liston, however, is anything but basic, as she’s defined by an eccentric personality, despite her disdain for fancy pillows.
“My apartment is so telling of me; that’s the funny thing,” Liston said. “I tend to be somewhat of a plain person. Like (with) clothes — I guess I’m not into fashion. I don’t like the whole decorating thing.”
Liston made Ohio history this year when she became the Bobcats’ all-time and season saves leader. She has 296 stops, 112 of which were recorded this season.
She said breaking the records hold a lot of significance to her because the players she passed are among her role models.
“To be in the same category as Vanessa Dennis (and) Michelle Meglaughlin — people like that — it’s really an honProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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,” Liston said.
Despite Liston’s historic achievement, she is cognizant that she is still a junior and has another year to accomplish her personal goals.
Though she met one of her career goals — to become Ohio’s all-time saves leader — she still has significant strides to make if she wants to hit her remaining benchmarks.
Liston said her main goal is to win a Mid-American-Conference championship, which she said would supplement any records she might break.
Ohio coach Stacy Strauss said she was happy to see Liston break the Ohio saves records, but added she still has plenty more to accomplish in her career.
“I would hope for her in her final season to potentially break another record or two,” Strauss said. “I think that goals against average and shutout records are typically a bit more indicative of the success of the team, so those are certainly some records I’m hoping that she will break or at least come close to.”
Liston is known among her teammates for her unique personality; her manner is usually joking and jovial. Her mantra, she said, is that you can’t laugh too much.
“I try to be a happy person,” she said. “I think it makes situations that are difficult a little bit easier to tolerate. If you’re having a really hard practice, there might be a moment for a little laugh or a little smile, so that’s definitely something that I bring to the team.”
Liston is known as the team jokester and said she very rarely feels awkward socially, which allows her to have a fun-loving, carefree attitude.
“When people play jokes on me, I think it’s as funny as everyone else does,” she said. “But if you’re going to play a joke on me, I’m going to have to play a joke on you. You have to be cautious if you’re going to come at me.”
Liston, who is studying engineering technology and management, spends her limited free time playing different sports to keep active.
She has a passion for music, which comes from her upbringing in a musical family; her sister plays piano and her mom sings.
Liston first learned to play the guitar when she was in boarding school as a teenager, playing 1980s songs on the electric guitar before transitioning to more acoustic vibes. She has a wide variety of musical tastes ranging from classical rock, such as the Goo Goo Dolls, to Drake, whom she said she loves profusely.
Ohio senior midfielder Cat Rogers said the first word that comes to mind when she thinks of her keeper is “loud.” Rogers said Liston is an impressive keeper who doesn’t always get the respect that she deserves.
Rogers, who is Liston’s workout partner, said Liston provides the team with more than just being a competent keeper. She also provides a motivational boost for players during practice with her energy and enthusiasm.
“We both do our individual (drills) together, so I’m always shooting on a good goalie, and she gets to face some better shots, hopefully, from me,” Rogers said. “I think, as a goalie, she doesn’t get maybe as much appreciation for what she does as should be allotted, because a lot of times, she probably should have been (MAC) player of the week defensively, and she didn’t get it.”
mk277809@ohiou.edu
