Manitoba Bisons kicker Maya Turner continued to break the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman in Canadian university football history to be named to an all-star team.
Earlier this week, the Western Canadian league announced that the American had been selected as the best kicker in its circuit.
Turner concluded his 2024 campaign with 12 made field goals in 16 attempts. His 75% success rate is the best in his league and puts him in the top 10 among all kickers playing in the Canadian university circuit.
“I always wanted to do my best, but I could never have imagined accomplishing this in my second season in football,” the winner said Thursday.
For love of the oval ball
This woman’s story is fascinating. A soccer player since childhood, Turner played in the NCAA Division 1 with Loyola University in Chicago. In 2021, however, she no longer had fun playing soccer and decided to take up football, a sport that she has always loved deeply.
After working hard with a kicking specialist, the Minnesota native sent a video of her skills to numerous college coaches across North America.
Bisons head coach Brian Dobie was one of those who received the videotape. Impressed, he invited the athlete to Winnipeg for an in-person evaluation. The man who has been at the University of Manitoba since 1996 made her a place on his team immediately after seeing her kick with his own eyes.
In September 2023, she became the first woman in history to play a Canadian university football game. During this duel, she became the first woman to score points when she made a field goal for the victory in the second overtime. Turner has been at the heart of the Bisons’ success ever since.
“At first, people said ironically: ‘That’s fantastic, you’re allowing a girl to play. It’s great for gender equity, good for you.’ We never did it with that in mind,” Dobie said.
“This selection to the all-star team confuses the skeptics. It was exclusively our opponents who voted for her,” he added.
“My goal has always been to kick the ball well, not to kick the ball well for a girl,” Turner said.
In the spotlight
Humble by nature, Turner has had to get used to being the center of attention since arriving in Manitoba. Interview requests are numerous and there is not a match where women do not come up to her after the game to tell her that she inspires them.
“It’s definitely not something I imagined. I just wanted to play football at the best caliber possible. When this whole thing started, it was a little suffocating. However, I have learned to accept it. I am honored that my story interests and inspires people.”
Turner still has two years of college eligibility remaining. If she maintains the pace, she will conclude her career with practically all the records for the Bisons, a team that was founded in 1920.
It was inevitable to ask her if she then wanted to continue her adventure in professional football.
“I just want to keep playing and see how much more I can improve,” Turner replied. I would like to play in the highest caliber possible, which means a professional men’s team.”
“And why wouldn’t that happen?” her coach added, visibly convinced that her footballer was still capable of writing a new page in history.
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