Matt Turner has been established as one of the top goalkeepers in MLS for a while now, but the New England Revolution backstop is coming off one of his finest individual efforts yet in his team's 3-2 win over New York City FC at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
Turner made seven saves in the match, including a stellar penalty-kick denial of Valentin Castellanos in the 12th minute and a stuff on Maxi Moralez in the 91st minute that preserved all three points for New England and won him the honors as the MLS Player of the Week for Week 8. Turner's play has been a big reason why the Revs currently reside atop the Eastern Conference table, something that head coach Bruce Arena said is a credit to the 26-year-old backstop's remarkable evolution from a small-time college prospect out of Fairfield University into a standout professional.
"He's improved greatly," Arena said of Turner on his Monday video call. He continues to improve, he works real hard, he's a good student of the game, a great person. He had a remarkable game in New Jersey the other night. We're excited the way he's progressing as a goalkeeper. I like to believe with goalkeepers that they win you some games and don't lose you any, and that's the case with Matt Turner. Matt never loses a game and often wins us some games, so over a season that's a real plus for a team."
As Turner has continued to excel for the Revs on a weekly basis, buzz about an increased look with the US men's national team has also continued to grow. The 26-year-old has one senior cap, which he got in a January 2021 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago that the US won 7-0, and has also been named to the preliminary roster for this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup.
While he awaits word on whether he'll be named to the final roster, Turner said he'd relish the opportunity to get a sustained chance to show what he can do on the international level, as he tries to retain perspective and maintain his focus on the Revs.
"Obviously until the roster is finalized I'm not gonna count my chickens before they hatch because I thought maybe I was going to go earlier in the year in with the team and that didn't happen, so I'm done getting my hopes up. My focus is here now. All I can really do is focus on every single day, just being present," Turner said.
"In terms of the national team, yeah, I'd love to play in the games in the Gold Cup, I'd love to have a run of games like that to really show my stuff rather than a one-off game here or there, get the American fans excited about what I can offer up. I understand that it's a pretty crowded depth chart, guys are making moves and separating themselves from the pack and hopefully I'll be able to get a chance to make my case and when the opportunity comes, be ready to take it."
