Reilyn Turner: Debut Goal

Reilyn Turner is 23 years old and has already done things most forwards never do. Forty-two goals at UCLA. A last-second equalizer in an NCAA championship game. Pac-12 Forward of the Year. Drafted 6th overall. Traded to Portland mid-rookie-season. And then in January 2026, she stepped onto the pitch in a USWNT jersey for the first time and scored. The 25th player in the history of the program to score on debut. That's the kind of player she is -- she arrives and immediately makes the moment hers.

The UCLA Years

Turner put up 42 goals and 16 assists as a Bruin. The number that sticks, though, is the one from the 2022 NCAA championship game -- a last-second equalizer that kept UCLA alive. She was named 2023 Pac-12 Forward of the Year and left Westwood as one of the most decorated forwards in program history. UCLA doesn't exactly have a shortage of those.

Louisville to Portland

Racing Louisville took her 6th overall in the 2024 draft. She didn't stay long. A mid-season trade brought her to Portland, and across both clubs she put up 4 goals and 2 assists in 22 appearances as a rookie. In October 2025, the Thorns locked her up through 2028 with a 2029 option. They saw what was coming.

The Cap That Changed Everything

January 2026. USA vs Paraguay. 6-0 blowout. But for Turner, the scoreline didn't matter -- what mattered was the goal. Her first cap. Her first goal. The 25th player in USWNT history to score on debut. That's a list that includes some of the greatest names in American soccer. She's on it now. At 23, the trajectory is pointing straight up. She started the Thorns' March 13 opener. She'll start a lot more before this is over.