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The Portland Thorns held a baby shower yesterday afternoon at Providence Park for moms, including Sophia Wilson. She (like midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa) is out for the season on maternity leave. The team’s other star striker, Morgan Weaver, is sitting out the year with a knee injury. Between the two strikers, that’s 16 of Portland’s 37 goals scored last season that the Thorns must find a way to replace.
That gap ties into the biggest question surrounding this year’s Thorns squad: Who is this team? And, more specifically, how is Portland going to harness the young, exciting talent on their roster and turn that into results on the field?
Reilyn Turner is taking it all in stride.
“Losing those players who have very, very large presences on the field in their attacking ability and their goal-scoring ability is tough right before season,” the striker says. “But that just opens opportunities for so many other players to show what they can do.”
It was playing alongside Wilson that Turner revealed a glimpse of the threat she poses. Last season, she scored Portland’s lone first-round playoff goal against NJ/NY Gotham FC, a match that the Thorns lost 2-1. It was what should become a classic Turner goal: rising above Gotham’s defenders on a free kick to head the ball confidently into the back of the net.
Eight games into 2025, Turner leads Portland’s young roster in goals with three on the year. (She also put up an assist, displaying her back-to-goal work on the Thorns’ lone goal in their victory against the Orlando Pride last night.) That’s a decent claim on a team that, despite being high in league standings for shots and expected goals, sits sixth in goals scored this season.
“My goal, no matter what my role on the team, no matter what team I’m on, is to make a difference and make an impact and score as many goals as I can,” Turner says.
On a team without their 2024 leading scorer, a goal to score goals is always going to be a good thing. That Turner is delivering makes it even better.
“She’s been dynamic for us,” Coffey said, pointing to Turner’s ability to poach balls from opponents and finish her chances as well as posing an aerial attack threat for the Thorns. “I’m really confident we’re going to continue to see more of that. I think she’s just getting started.”
Turner, in her second National Women’s Soccer League season, is no stranger to the spotlight. In 2021, as a sophomore at UCLA, she became the first college athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Nike. At the time, she talked about the Black athletes that paved the way before her—and her hopes to inspire those who come after.
“I feel like the game has changed a lot since then, in a good way,” Turner says. “The representation that Black athletes have in this league has grown exponentially.” She highlights the U.S. women’s national team “triple espresso” front line at the 2024 Olympics, comprising Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and the Thorns’ own Wilson.
With Wilson on maternity leave, the spotlight on Turner has grown brighter. But that doesn’t mean the expectation is on her to carry the team. “I ask every player to score goals for me,” Thorns head coach Rob Gale said at the beginning of the season.
Figuring out final pass combinations in-game and homing in on chances in front of the net are things that take time—especially for players who are adjusting to the NWSL’s speed of play and to working alongside one another. Portland’s generally been improving game by game this season. If that trend continues, there’s no reason increased goals from all areas of the pitch won’t accompany it. But most importantly, this year’s squad seems to have bought in to the process and one another.
“The culture of the team this year is very supportive,” Turner says. “We know what we’ve lost and we also know what we’ve gained.”
Turner points to Caiya Hanks, the rookie out of Wake Forest University, whom Gale has touted as the first pick in a college draft this year. “Her speed and her ability to go one v one down the flank and get balls across the box is really, really dangerous,” Turner says. “I’ve found joy playing with her a lot. I would consider myself on the faster end of players, and it’s really nice being able to play with her and her speed and her tenacity.”
That’s not to mention recent signing Mimi Alidou or Deyna Castellanos, both members of their respective national teams who have a goal each in their Thorns scoring accounts. Or rookie Pietra Tordin on the bench. And we can’t forget someone like centerback Jayden Perry, who has two penalty kick goals in her first year in the league. Or the more established Sam Coffey or Hina Sugita or Olivia Moultrie or Jessie Fleming.
Turner, for one, is excited about the possibilities. “Experience is important, but I also think that new players and players that might not have as much experience are exciting to play with,” she says. “And it’s hard to play against. Not having a lot to scout off of is dangerous in this league.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that Turner is more settled in Portland. “Sometimes it takes a second to get settled and find your footing,” said teammate and Thorns co-captain Sam Coffey. “She’s coming into herself in such an amazing way. It’s been a joy to watch and to play with.”
With an offseason under her belt, Turner’s had a chance to embrace being in a city and scout out the nearby woods and local coffee shops. (She’s into exploring new spots, rather than frequenting the same cafe every time.)
On the pitch, Turner feels like she has the permission to keep experimenting, too. “Our team has the confidence in each other to take risks,” she says. That helps she when she misses a pass or hits a shot wide; she knows she’s going to get another chance.
She’s well on the road to establishing herself as a key figure of this new generation of Portland soccer—one that has an identity apart from past legends.
“I’m very tenacious in front of goal, no matter where that is,” Turner says. “When the ball is going down the field and I know we’re in a goal-scoring opportunity, I come alive.”
NEXT MATCH
@ San Diego Wave FC
7 pm Saturday, May 10
Televised on ION