Khyah Harper

Last updated

Khyah Harper
SC vs Minn - NCAA 2024 - 013 (cropped).jpg
Harper with Minnesota in 2024
Personal information
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Youth career
2015–2020 Minnesota Thunder Academy
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers 68 (20)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– NJ/NY Gotham FC 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Khyah Harper is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, winning Big Ten Forward of the Year in her senior season.

Contents

Early life and college career

Harper grew up in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, the daughter of Desiree and Brett Harper. Her father played college football at Wisconsin–La Crosse, and her older sister Sadie played soccer alongside Harper throughout high school and college. She is a cousin of ice hockey player Hunter Miska. [1] Harper and her sister played multiple sports growing up, including softball, baseball, and track, and she danced, but had the most passion for soccer. [2]

Harper played two seasons at North Branch Area High School before transferring to Centennial High School. She committed to Minnesota before her freshman year. [2] She helped Centennial reach the state championship game as a junior. In her senior season, she scored 26 goals with 10 assists and was named the Minnesota Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year for 2020. She finished her high school career with 134 goals and 71 assists in five seasons. During high school, she played club soccer for Minnesota Thunder Academy, earning ECNL All-American honors in 2018. [1]

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Harper made 46 appearances (25 starts) during her first three seasons with the Minnesota Golden Gophers while battling injuries. [1] She underwent surgery each of those years, repairing both of her ankles and one knee. [3] [4] Before her senior season at Minnesota, she played during the summer with Salvo SC and scored 16 goals to win the WPSL golden boot for the 2024 season. [5] Within the first three games of the 2024 season with Minnesota, she scored back-to-back hat tricks in a 4–1 win against St. Thomas (Minnesota) and a 3–2 win against Milwaukee. [3] She finished the season with 17 goals (second in the nation in the regular season), including another hat trick in a 3–0 win against Michigan, along with 6 assists in 22 games (all starts). She helped Minnesota earn their first NCAA tournament bid in six years and reach the third round, where they lost to eventual champions North Carolina. Harper was named the Big Ten Forward of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and second-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. [1] [6]

Club career

Gotham FC

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Harper to a one-year contract. [7]

Honors and awards

Individual

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Khyah Harper". Minnesota Golden Gophers . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Lyne, Michael (October 26, 2021). "'[We] wouldn't trade it for the world': The Harper sisters and their journey to Gophers soccer". Minnesota Daily . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Zgoda, Jerry (September 12, 2024). "She's back. Gophers soccer senior Khyah Harper has multiple hat tricks to prove it". Minnesota Star Tribune . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  4. ↑ Howard, Champ (September 14, 2024). "Khyah Harper kicks away injuries, shoots for sensational season". Minnesota Daily . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ "2024 Golden Boot Race". Women's Premier Soccer League. July 13, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ Christensen, Joe (November 11, 2024). "Gophers soccer lands first NCAA tournament bid since 2018". Minnesota Star Tribune . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Gotham FC Signs University of Minnesota Forward Khyah Harper". NJ/NY Gotham FC. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
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