Kayla Gerayli '23 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Kayla Gerayli and I am a midfielder at St. Margaret's Episcopal High School (class of 2023). I am currently going into my junior year and have been playing on the Varsity soccer team since freshman year. I became a starting midfielder as a sophomore. I have been playing soccer for pretty much my whole life, but joined my first team when I was 5. I started off on an AYSO team in 2011, but then joined an LNYSA team in 2013. After winning State Cup as an LNYSA signature team in 2015, our entire team switched to Laguna United FC. Essentially, I stayed with the same team for the past 9 years, as we consistently moved up higher and higher in rankings and  won numerous tournaments and league championships as highlighted in my profile. As of April '22, I will be moving to Irvine Strikers-ECRL and am looking forward to a more competitive league.

Since I’ve played soccer for so long, it has become a very significant part of my life, allowing me to travel to see matches at the World Cup and Euros. Playing soccer at a collegiate level at an academically strong university is my ultimate dream as I’d get to play the sport that I love while also pursuing a career in medicine and healthcare. 

I can play any position in the center midfield, preferably as a defensive midfielder. As a midfielder, my strengths are my vision, passing accuracy and ball distribution, defensive awareness, maintaining possession, decision making, and a good understanding of the game. Those strengths were recently recognized by the Cal South Scouting Staff  and I have been one of the select group of players invited to participate in the Pro+/Olympic Development Program in both summer and winter of 2021. My previous coaches have always commented on how enjoyable I am to be around on and off the pitch, during games and practice. I always come to games and practice with a big smile on my face and I frequently make the team laugh.