Before Khyah Harper was a Golden Gopher, she was on a team of two called the “pink-headband girls” with her sister Sadie playing against the older kids. 

Now, Khyah Harper is leading her team of 27 women sporting maroon and gold to their best start since 2018. 

Khyah Harper’s recent collegiate success is unorthodox for her, given it is the first season she started feeling healthy. In each of her three years as a Gopher, Harper needed surgery that put her off the field.

Khyah Harper played a complete year in her sophomore season but still felt the effects of her ankle surgery from her freshman year.

What makes 2024 different is she started healthy and shows no signs of slowing down, literally and figuratively.

Khyah Harper’s aggressiveness was put on full display in her debut game with the Gophers in 2021. She attempted four shots, the most by any Gopher in a single game that season.

Khyah Harper’s mother, Desiree Harper, said that rambunctious energy is normal for her daughter.

“Since she was a little girl, she’s always been a little spitfire,” Desiree Harper said. “She walked early, she talked early, always kind of a catch me if you can attitude.”

When Khyah Harper got to high school, she joined her former teammate from the “pink headband girls” on the North Branch Area High School soccer team. 

Sadie and Khyah Harper then transferred to Centennial High School. The two combined for 104 goals and 70 assists in their two years playing high school soccer. 

Without Sadie by her side, Khyah Harper still dominated the high school level. In her final season, she recorded 26 goals and 10 assists to bring her career total to 134 goals and 71 assists. 

Coming out of high school, Khyah Harper was a four-star prospect and committed to staying home, which meant her parents came to most games.

“They push me, they humble me and I think I’m super fortunate to have them,” Khyah Harper said. 

After high school, Khyah Harper played with Salvo Soccer Club, coached by Greg Wheaton, the men’s head soccer coach for 25 years at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. 

Before Kyhah Harper got to Salvo, Wheaton heard high praise for her.

“The talent has always been there,” Wheaton said. “She’s a talented athlete, a talented player. She just has that knack for scoring goals.”

Wheaton had Khyah Harper write down what she wanted to accomplish so she would have concrete goals to work toward. 

She wrote that she wanted to get a Big Ten offensive player of the week, win Golden Boot for Women’s Premier Soccer League and score at least 10 goals in her senior season. 

The Lino Lakes native accomplished the first two and scored eight goals with 11 regular season games remaining. 

Alongside her stellar play on the field, Khyah Harper is studying to become an orthopedic physician assistant. 

“I wanted to become an orthopedic PA specifically because of all my surgeries,” Khyah Harper said. “I really like the environment in the clinic.”

With seven games down and the team’s first Big Ten win on Thursday, Gophers head coach Erin Chastain said Khyah Harper’s success is partly due to her being at 100% on the field.

Desiree Harper is not convinced her daughter will be slowing down anytime soon. 

“I still feel like she hasn’t reached her ceiling in college,” Desiree Harper said. “I feel like she’s getting there this year.”

If the adage “mother knows best” is true, then Khyah Harper and the Gophers should be in for an excellent conference season.