All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
One of Minnesota’s best soccer players, Khyah Harper, will stay close to home to fulfill a lifelong dream
Khyah leaves Centennial with the second-most career goals (75) and points (121) in program history. (Photo credit: Lanie Kubes)

One of Minnesota’s best soccer players, Khyah Harper, will stay close to home to fulfill a lifelong dream

LINO LAKES, Minn. (BVM) — Even though she had verbally committed to play soccer at the University of Minnesota back in eighth grade, Khyah Harper said that making it official back in November was special.

“It was surreal,” Harper said. “I’ve always dreamt of it and just being in that moment signing the papers. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I committed I’m going to be going to the U next year.’”

Harper will join her older sister Sadie on the Gophers. The sisters both grew up dreaming of playing for Minnesota as kids, so when the Gophers began recruiting Sadie back when she was a sophomore, she of course asked them to look at her sister as well.

This was a no-brainer for the Gophers as Khyah had already been making a name for herself. Ever since winning state with her club team when she was 12 years old, the forward had continued to improve upon her ability to put the ball in the back of the net.

“I think after that moment I wanted to just keep succeeding and seeing myself in the future playing soccer,” Khyah said. 

With the help of a healthy sibling rivalry and constant training at her dad’s gym, Khyah not only made varsity as an eighth grader, she started for North Branch High School. She then went on to lead the team in goals with 32 and was second only to her sister for the team lead in assists with 12.

“I felt like I fit in well with them and I think starting as an eighth grader boosted my confidence too,” Khyah said.

The Vikings that year went to the MSHSL 1A State Tournament and would make it back to state again the following year. That year as a freshman, Khyah scored 32 goals and had 20 assists as North Branch took third at the state tournament.

After the sisters transferred to Centennial High School and moved up to 2A, the success continued. In her junior year, Khyah helped lead the team Cougars to a sectional championship and state runner-up finish after a loss to Maple Grove in the state championship.

This year as a senior, her goal was to win Ms. Soccer and to give her coach Ginger Flohaug a proper sendoff in her final season of coaching.

“I just gave it everything I had,” Khyah said. “A lot of time off field and a lot of time in the gym.”

It was important to the Centennial team to finish Flohaug’s last season with a win because of what she had done for them and their careers.

“She’s built my character a lot,” Khyah said.

Khyah developed a lead-by-example style of leadership and well and took pride in the fact that girls were looking up to her now like she once did to others.

“I always looked up to the girl that committed to the ‘U’,” Khyah said. “I always looked up to the girl that scored a whole bunch of goals in soccer and seeing little girls looking up to me is like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s me who I wish I was and now I’m that person.’”

With that knowledge and the goal of making this a memorable season despite COVID-19, Khyah had a stellar season. The senior forward scored 26 goals and had 11 assists in just 14 games as the Cougars were named conference and sectional champions.

In the end, Khyah was also named MSHSL 2A Ms. Soccer for the state of Minnesota and leaves the Centennial program second all-time in goals with 75 and points with 121. 

Although she is still excited about the second half of her senior year, she is also ready to get to Minnesota’s campus to begin her college career, for putting on that jersey and lining up alongside her sister will be a dream come true. For the Gophers, it will mean the addition of the best high school soccer player in the state of Minnesota being added to a young team looking to make a name for itself in the Big Ten. 

One thing’s for certain. When the time comes to put on that maroon and gold jersey, Khyah will be ready.

“I can’t wait to put on that jersey and step out on that field,” Khyah said.