Even before the Canadian news media descended on Bisons football kicker Maya Turner after she made history and secured the much-needed first win of the football season on Sept. 23, Turner was already in the record books.
In August 2022, Turner became the first woman to make points in a U Sports football game, kicking a 25-yard field goal against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Bisons pre-season game.
The historic points were a long time coming in U Sports history but also for Turner herself, having gotten her start in soccer.
“I’ve always loved football,” she said. “I always thought it would be really fun to play and try to kick field goals, but I never thought that that would be something I would be able to do because I was so busy with soccer, and because girls don’t usually play football.”
After quitting varsity soccer, the Maple Grove, Minn. product tried out for the kicking position on the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers football club team. Reaching out to schools in both the United States and Canada, she finally found her football home after a visit to the University of Manitoba.
“I just really loved the environment here, and all the staff and all the people I met,” Turner explained.
“I just knew that this was the place for me after I went on my visit here.”
The rest is literally history.
Building off her work from last pre-season, Turner made two field goals for the Bisons in the 2023 pre-season contest against the University of Regina Rams — a 39-yarder and a 15-yarder. But her 2023 season wouldn’t stop there.
Turner made history again on Sept. 23 when she became not only the first woman to dress for a regular season U Sports football game but also the first woman to make points in a regular season U Sports football game.
Kicking her way into the record books, Turner put up nine points during the regular season game against the Rams at IG Field. She opened the scoring for Manitoba with a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter, followed by three one-point conversions before kicking the game-winning field goal in second overtime.
The recipe for Turner’s success is her game-time objective of staying “focused and in the moment” while on the gridiron. While her training in staying focused has worked every time she has taken the field with the Bisons, Turner did admit it was nerve-wracking leading up to that fateful September Saturday with the attention her presence on the gridiron had garnered.
“I knew that if I were to make a mistake, that would also be magnified,” Turner said.
“When it came down to it, I was just really excited to go on the field and get my chance.”
Turner’s teammates and coaches were thrilled for her success and have “always been really welcoming and supportive.”
“They respect me for the player I am,” Turner said.
Even more respect poured in from the Canadian Football League (CFL), who contacted Bison head coach Brian Dobie asking if the league can put an item of Turner’s from the historic game in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
“I just felt so honoured that the CFL would reach out and ask me for that,” Turner said.
“After this season, I might give them my cleats.”
Turner will continue to make history this season in the Bisons, Canada West and U Sports record books as she takes over kicking duties for the herd.
On Sunday, she recorded 10 points against the University of Calgary Dinos in the Bisons fourth consecutive regular season win against the team.
As for her future with the herd, Turner is still in her first year of eligibility, and knows there’s still a lot of football left to play.
“I just want to improve as much as I can while I’m here,” Turner said.
“I want to play football for as long as I can.”
