Mikayla Taycher '24 Recruiting Profile

When I was eight years old I took to the soccer field for the very first time. It was then that I fell in love with the game. While many of my peers explored other sports my passion has been soccer, and I have dedicated time and commitment over many years to develop on and off the field, through practice, team play, private training and observation of the game. I am the player that doesn’t give up on the play, makes a slide tackle at the right time, isn’t afraid to be aggressive, listens to coaches, and cheers on their team. 

In Fall 2021, I decided that I wanted to be a kicker on my high school football team. Even though it was mid-season, I took to the practice field with my dad, made some amazing field goals, and composed a video, sending it to the varsity football head coach. I was invited to join the team for their next practice. While I didn’t make it to the field for a game, my goal of joining the team as a girl kicker was accomplished.

People always tell me that I put on my game face for soccer and I suppose it is true. I take competition and desire to win seriously. I also love to have fun, and enjoy time with my teammates, but my determination comes out during competition. From an early age, I’ve been skilled at ‘seeing the field’. I think this is due to my opportunities to train with college and pro players. During my high school freshman year, I achieved my goal of making my high school varsity team. I played winger at the time, but my coach saw an opportunity for me to contribute through playing defensive mid (6). I took on the challenge, excelled, and within a couple games, became a starter. In 2021, I was asked to move up to the 19u club state elite team as one of the youngest players on the team. Again, I quickly moved to being a starter, and was often used as a leading example by my coaches.

My academics are something that I work very hard at. It’s important for me to do well in school. My Sophomore year of high school was spent partially in virtual learning with having my acl surgery and I needed to adapt to new ways of learning, but did well in all of my classes, and achieved a 3.78/4.0 GPA.

I’m really looking forward to the college experience. It’s been a goal of mine for a long time to play college soccer. I’m willing to learn, work hard, and do what it takes to achieve my goal!