Perfect Fit

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It's hard to slow down Miami senior Kayla Perfect.

Anyone watching the RedHawks' match last Friday against Western Carolina could see that.

Perfect was trailing the Catamounts' back line by multiple yards when teammate Morgan Tyrakoski lofted a looping ball over the players' heads and toward the WCU goal midway through the second half.

Then, all of a sudden, Perfect was somehow ahead of everyone else on the field with the ball at her feet. Kayla Perfect

And in the blink of an eye, she had deposited a shot past the visitors' keeper and into the back of the net to double Miami's lead en route to a 3-0 victory to wrap up non-conference play.

Perfect has picked up where she left off after an All-Conference season a year ago, producing a team-high three goals and seven points through eight matches this fall for the Red and White. The Medina, Ohio native has found success at multiple positions on the field for Miami coach Courtney Sirmans, which makes it nearly impossible for opponents to scout or prepare for the 5-foot-5 speedster.

"She will chase down anything – she's one of the fastest people on the team," Sirmans said. "She puts players under immense pressure: If they're trying to play a ball back to their goalkeepers, she can pick those passes off. She finds herself in the right place at the right time...she'll create space for herself in the box, and she just has a knack of scoring goals...a large part of that is just her IQ and understanding the game.

"She is a staple for us. She's a fantastic leader on the field. She knows how to manage a game. She knows what it takes to win, and I love it."

"If I was doing a scouting report for myself, it would be, 'Okay, we don't really know what position she'll play this game – but either way, she'll make a difference!'", Perfect laughed.

"I mean, I've already played two or three different positions already this season. At midfield, I have a really good vision of the field, and that's the position I've played my whole life...but then, at forward, I'm very fast and I can beat people with speed. The goal I had [against WCU], I literally just ran! It was one of the easiest goals I've had, actually."

Kayla Perfect

The flexibility to slide from the front line to more of a playmaking 'No. 10' role in the midfield and back –depending on what the RedHawks need on any given day– is a big reason why Perfect has started every match since Oct. 31, 2024 for the Red and White.

"When we recruited Kayla, she was more of an attacking midfielder, and when we got her here at Miami, she didn't play a lot her first two years," Sirmans recounted. "It took her a while to get into the physicality of our conference, so we slid her out wide as a wide forward, and she's done really well there. Last year, we decided to play in the 'two-front', and with how aggressive she is going forward and how much composure she has in front of the net, she can score goals for us. So we love her in [that formation]...

"But the past couple of games, we've been playing her as the '10' because she is so smart on the ball. She can have tons of assists because she has great vision, where's she's able to slot her teammates through to score goals. At the same time, she can still get in the box and create goals for herself...

"She's just so versatile because she's so smart."
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Despite not getting on the scoresheet through her first two seasons in Oxford, Perfect finished the 2025 campaign with four goals and a team-best six assists to rank second on the roster in points that year, helping the Red and White to a top-two finish in the regular-season standings and the program's most victories since 2014. In all, five of the top eight scorers on the 2025 roster were juniors, so hopes are high for the upcoming conference slate, which begins Sept. 17 vs. Akron. Add in fourth-year goalkeeper Dominique Popa, Miami's career shutouts leader, and it's clear that the RedHawk senior class is poised to do special things this season as they chase the program's first MAC title since 2012.

"Courtney always said that we have to mature a little bit quicker than a lot of junior classes, because basically half of our class started last season," said Perfect. "So we had a lot of junior voices on the field...

"But we don't want to be complacent with our junior year...everyone's still learning [and] growing...

"I always want to be the hardest worker...I feel like with the way I've pushed myself, my class has also all pushed each other," Perfect continued. "They've all grown into such great players. And a lot of the upperclassmen know how much MAC play means: It's basically a new season, so I think [if we can] just set that tone to the rest of the team...people will follow in our footsteps." Miami Soccer celebration

"We always thought when we recruited this class that this would be the class to win us a championship," Sirmans added. "So we've been hard on them ever since their freshman year and really held them to a high standard...a lot of our starters were juniors last year, so they have tons of experience.

"We had to have them grow up a lot last year and kind of be the leaders already, so they're ready for this role."

Not only are the seniors exceptionally close as a class, but Perfect said they intentionally work on developing that bond by getting together each week for senior dinners. When Morhéa Hoefen's father was in town visiting for a few weeks, he did the honors of cooking the meal. Other times, it's just a trip to a local restaurant. But, as Perfect said, "It's just nice to talk about everything as a class."

In other words, if you're trying to find Perfect on a rare night off, just track down her classmates or teammates. Maybe it's a coffee run. Occasionally, a movie night. Or, if the weather's nice, a bonfire. But the odds are, no matter what they're doing, the RedHawks are together.

"We're all best friends," she smiled.

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Perfect has also been as successful in the classroom as she has on the field, racking up Academic All-District and Academic All-MAC honors last year to go with her playing awards. A Psychology/Premedical & Pre-Health Studies major, she hopes to go on to be an optometrist someday, even if that ultimately means a few more years of school once her Bachelor's degree is completed. But before Perfect can think about graduation and her next step toward a career, she has a clear vision for how she wants her senior season with Miami Soccer to end.

"I've never won a championship," she said. "Last year, we would literally talk about, 'When we win', in the beginning of the year. And then we got so far, we were like, 'Wow, we actually COULD do it!'

Kayla Perfect vs. LSU

"This year, it's: 'Okay, we got there. We can get further. We know what it takes. We can do it. I think there's really good vibes that come from last year, but no one wants to settle with that.'

So how would it feel to go out on top at a university known for 'Graduating Champions', holding a degree in one hand and wearing a championship ring on the other as this chapter draws to a close for Perfect and the other Miami seniors?

"That would be so cool," she nodded.

A perfect fit, indeed...and an absolutely 'Perfect' ending.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Miami Soccer opens conference play Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. against Akron at Bobby Kramig Field before heading to Kent State Sunday afternoon. The RedHawks' complete schedule is available here.

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Kayla Perfect

Dominique Popa

Morgan Tyrakoski

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