CARSON, Calif. – Of the 288 players that have earned caps for the U.S. Women’s National Team, just 25 of those players have scored a goal in their first.
It’s a difficult feat to accomplish on a day already filled with nerves and anticipation. Prior to Saturday’s match, defender Izzy Rodriguez was the most recent player to do so on June 29, 2025. Two-time World Cup winner Christen Press, who U.S. Soccer honored with a retirement celebration before kickoff, also scored (twice) in her first cap.
Saturday was a debut day for Reilyn Turner, the Portland Thorns FC forward who earned her first cap, made her first start and scored her first career international goal in the USWNT’s 6-0 rout over Paraguay at Dignity Health Sports Park. The left-footed strike she slotted for a goal in the 45'+3' minute opened the scoring for the U.S.
“Today has been a dream come true, honestly,” Turner said. “This has been my dream since I was maybe three years old. As soon as I knew what it was, I wanted to be here.”
Turner is one of five players – along with Maddie Dahlien, Riley Jackson, Sally Menti and Ayo Oke – who earned their first call-ups to senior national team camp in January. Dahlien and Menti entered as substitutes against Paraguay, joining Turner as the three debutantes in Saturday’s match. Turner was previously part of the 2025 Futures Camp and U-23 WNT training camp in Los Angeles last April.
As a starter against Paraguay, Turner was also a member of the least capped lineup to open a match in the last 25 years. Even with a lot of inexperience, nerves and rust – the entire roster plays in the NWSL, which has just begun its preseason – players like Turner have been able to make the most of what this training camp has offered.
“The team has a really nice foundation of being welcoming and answering questions,” Turner said. “I've had a lot of questions this week, and we've had to figure it out really quickly, and I feel like everyone's been very helpful. The foundation of this team is really strong and that has definitely helped us.”
Up until Turner’s memorable goal, the team had been knocking on the door throughout the opening half against Paraguay and nearly converted what head coach Emma Hayes described as "golden chances." Turner herself nearly had a chance as early as the fifth minute when forward Ally Sentnor sent a crisp cross into the box for her from the left side of the field. Paraguay goalkeeper Cristina Recalde timed her play well and came off her line to deny a shot on goal from the debutante. Turner also nearly connected on a low cross from forward Trinity Rodman early in the match, which looked remarkably similar to the duo’s days as youth teammates for the So Cal Blues, where they played for 10 years together.
It would require more aggressive defending from Recalde and the Paraguayan defense to deny Turner and the rest of the USWNT several more times until the forward found an opening – and the back of the net.
“Real credit to her – she stuck at it and plucked it away for a first goal,” Hayes said.
After the USWNT controlled possession and created plenty of chances in the first half, it looked like the team would head into the halftime break in a scoreless deadlock with Paraguay. Turner called her go-ahead goal a “momentum shift,” and although she was subbed off at halftime, Turner’s teammates carried that momentum forward and used her goal to kickstart an active 12 minutes that included four more after the break.
“Going into halftime, we had a few chances that I think we would have liked to put away,” Rodriguez said. “Getting one brought our spirits a little bit higher. Then, we came on the second half and got on top of them.”
“Opening the gates right there to put us on the front foot going into that second half was great,” midfielder Claire Hutton echoed.
Turner not only scored in her first cap and created a momentum-shifting moment that lifted her team; the 24-year-old also had the chance to do all that in a place that means a great deal to her. The forward hails from Laguna Beach, California and played collegiately nearby at UCLA.
With the love and support of a hometown, SoCal crowd behind her, Turner was able to turn a major milestone into a magical day she’ll never forget.
“Just playing here at home, too, close to my family, and being able to play with these amazing players,” Turner said. “This week has been a really big learning opportunity for me, and I'm just really grateful.”
