Peekaboo, Karnley Loves MSU
October 26, 2021 | Soccer, Joel Coleman
Monigo Karnley’s journey has taken her from Liberia all the way to beloved Bulldog.
STARKVILLE – As Mississippi State soccer senior forward Monigo Karnley remembers it, it all started because she had no idea how to pose.
It was prior to Karnley's sophomore year. MSU was going through its preseason routine with the school's creative department, taking photos and videos to be used promotionally throughout the year. Karnley was holding a soccer ball, but didn't have a clue what she should do with it for her shot.
"The photographer looked at me and was like, 'You can just hold it and peek from behind it,'" Karnley recalled.
An innocent suggestion turned into a bit of a viral sensation. It wasn't long before the peekaboo moment had been captured and turned into a GIF that soon made its rounds, also landing on the devices of the MSU soccer coaches.
"I'll never forget it," State head coach James Armstrong said. "I was in my office. [Assistant coach Brian Dunleavy] was in his office. All I heard was this uncontrollable laughter. I was like, 'What are you laughing at?' I shouted down the corridor. He's still laughing. He couldn't answer. I walked in his office and he's crying. He still couldn't talk. So he hands me the Twitter feed of it and I couldn't stop laughing. Then [assistant coach Nick Zimmerman] came in and then he couldn't stop laughing. We were probably belly laughing for a good 30 minutes and tears were definitely shed. That was one of the funniest moments that we've had since we've been here for sure, if not the funniest."
Who could've ever imagined a simple photo/video shoot could've brought so much joy? Yet it played out perfectly. The stars aligned, so to speak.
It's fitting, because it's not completely unlike how Karnley fortunately ended up at MSU and became such a beloved Bulldog in the first place.
From Africa To America To MSU
Karnley was born in the West African country of Liberia. It's where she spent the first 13 years of her life.
As she entered her teenage years though, Karnley's parents felt it was best for their daughter to head to America, given the family's situation.
"My parents are humanitarians, and they travel a lot," Karnley said. "Most of the time I'd be home by myself, and they didn't really want that because the environment was pretty bad. We had thieves and people getting kidnapped and all that all the time. They didn't really want me in there putting my life at risk while they were traveling. So they thought it would be best for me to just come over here [to America] to my aunt where I'd be safer and get a better education."
Karnley's landing spot was Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. She attended Chichester High School and shined on the soccer field. Karnley was a three-year letter-winner and earned All-Delaware Valley honorable mention three years in a row, scoring 35 goals and adding 20 assists in her career.
Karnley absolutely loved soccer and everything about it, so she wanted to keep on playing into college. Yet she wasn't sure that'd be a possibility. Like the soccer photo shoot that'd happen years later, everything came together in a magical way.
"In high school, we had a website where you put in the major you want in college and what you want to be, and it can show up the top schools for it and all that," Karnley said. "Before I graduated [high school] I was wanting to do something in aerospace. The first university that popped up was Mississippi State. So I just emailed the soccer coach and was like, 'Hey, I'm interested in your school if you are in me. He was like, 'Come to the camp, and we can go from there.' I was like, 'OK.' That's how it all happened."
Karnley came to the camp at State, and her dream of playing college soccer was well on the way to being reality.
"All of a sudden, the coaches were saying, 'Yeah, we want you here. This is the program you want to be at,'" Karnley said. "I was like, 'OK. It seems like you guys really want me, so I'm going to come since you want me.' I came over here after I graduated, and now I'm here."
And here seems like exactly where Karnley is supposed to be. There's a new coaching staff in place since the one that originally brought in Karnley. What hasn't changed is the adoration for the fun-loving young woman everyone knows as 'MK'.
"MK is one of the most talented, soccer-loving, passionate-about-soccer players that I've ever had the pleasure to coach," Armstrong said. "She loves to play the game, and you can tell that by her intensity, and with the humor she brings with it. There isn't a practice that goes by where we don't have a little laugh at MK and just some of her antics. She's able to keep it light when the mood needs to be light, but man, when she needs to flip the switch into competitive mode, she is fully, fully, fully focused. She's meant a ton to this program."
All Things Must End
Karnley and five of her classmates will be honored Thursday as part of Senior Night when Mississippi State hosts Ole Miss at 7 p.m. It's a sure sign that Karnley's time as a Bulldog player is nearing an end.
Headed into the matchup with the Rebels, Karnley has scored 10 career goals over her four years. She's tallied 14 assists and played nearly 3,300 total minutes of game action in Maroon and White.
In Southeastern Conference play, Karnley's four career game-winning goals are a school record. She's tied for fourth in MSU history for points in league contests with 15, and is ninth all-time with 34 career points overall.
What doesn't show up on the stat sheet is the number of laughs she's brought to those around her. There is no way to record how many times she's made someone's day better. She's meant so much to Mississippi State. And you better believe Mississippi State means just as much to Karnley.
How much?
"Aw, man, don't make me start crying," Karnley said, at the time staring out at the MSU Soccer Field that essentially brought her to Starkville in the first place. "It has definitely meant a lot to me. I love this place. This place gave me a chance. I didn't even know where else I would've gone. This was just it. At that camp, if they didn't want me, that would've been it. I didn't know what I was going to do. The people here really made it special. My teammates, my coaches, they all made me feel welcome and comfortable. They didn't really see me as someone that was different. We were all the same people and just together. So yeah, they really, really helped me and did so much for me."
What's Next?
Before Karnley takes her next steps in life, first things first. She wants to help State win on Senior Night and keep the team's SEC Tournament hopes alive.
But eventually, whether it's one game remaining or several, the final buzzer will sound on Karnley's Bulldog career. Where does she go from there?
Well, she's now majoring in business management. She ended up not pursuing her aerospace interests. But if Karnley gets her way, she might just stay on the pitch in some way or another.
"My ultimate goal from here is to see if I can go play professional soccer," Karnley said. "If not, just get a license in coaching because I love coaching and playing soccer. I love everything about soccer. I love playing soccer first, then coaching soccer second."
And who knows?
"Maybe I'll be back coaching here one day," Karnley said with a big smile.
There's certainly a strong recommendation for Karnley's coaching plans coming from the man who's currently in charge of the Bulldogs.
"She'd be an unbelievable coach," Armstrong said. "She'd be a great mentor for younger players. With her tactical knowledge of the game, I know it sounds crazy, but when you coach at the collegiate level, sometimes you just expect everybody to watch soccer outside of their own game. But they don't. That's one of the frustrating parts sometimes as a coach. With MK, you could talk to her about any game going on at any time, whether it's in the Spanish league, the Italian league, the Champions League, the English league, and she'll have watched it. She'll have an opinion on it. So anybody that has a true passion for something is going to be successful at it…I think she'd make an exceptional coach, and I'd love to encourage her to do that."
From Africa, to Pennsylvania, to Mississippi State, Karnley has always seemed to end up right where she needed to be. Behind a strong work ethic and infectious personality, odds seem to be in her favor to find success with whatever the future holds for her.
But again, there's still at least a little bit of time left for Karnley as a Bulldog player. The future can wait until at least after Thursday, when Karnley might just put an exclamation point on her time in Starkville with a fitting Senior Night moment to remember.
"On the field, [teammates] sometimes tell me, 'Hey MK, when you score, do the peekaboo thing,'" Karnley said. "I haven't really had the chance to do it yet, but I think I'm going to do it next time."
