FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In the wake of yet another sterling performance from young goalkeeper Matt Turner in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Atlanta United FC, New England Revolution head coach Brad Friedel said that “as long as (Turner) stays grounded, humble, and focused,” he has a future with the U.S. National Team.
Based on those metrics, Turner should be well on his way to a career on the international level, because it takes only a brief conversation with the Revolution starter to reveal those characteristics in spades.
While teammates and coaches praised Turner’s dazzling performance against Atlanta – several of his six saves were other-worldly – he began his postgame media availability by critiquing the goal he conceded, and challenged himself to be better moving forward.
“I was really disappointed with how the goal went in in the first half,” Turner said. “I cheated a little bit and got punished, so we came in [to the locker room] down 1-0 and I felt like I should’ve done better in that moment. I challenged myself in the second half to go back out there and make a difference in the game.”
To say that Turner made a difference would be a massive understatement. As the Revs threw numbers forward in search of an equalizer they were left exposed at the back, and Atlanta’s torrid attack consistently got behind the Revolution backline for one-on-one opportunities.
And each time, Turner was up to the task, highlighted by a jaw-dropping one-handed save on Ezequiel Barco in the 82nd minute, pushing a point-blank effort onto the crossbar.
“It’s incredible,” said right back Andrew Farrell. “Every game, he makes these saves that you’re just like, ‘How’s he doing it?’ It’s a testament to how hard he works.”
While Turner made one massive save in stoppage time to preserve the point, most of his stops came in the second half with the Revs trailing 1-0. Time after time he came up huge to keep his team within touching distance, setting the stage for Teal Bunbury’s late equalizer from the penalty spot.
It was rewarding for Turner to see his efforts help produce a valuable result.
“It’s a really good feeling, because you feel like you’ve made a difference,” said Turner. “When you’re standing back there, you don’t always feel like you can make the impact on the game. It’s nice to feel like you’re making a direct impact on the game.”
Turner, who entered preseason with zero MLS appearances and third on the Revolution’s depth chart, has made that type of impact in several games this season, and those performances have convinced Friedel – perhaps the best goalkeeper in American history – of Turner’s astronomical potential.
“There’s not too many American goalkeepers that are better than him, anywhere in the world,” said Friedel. “He will have the ability to play at the national team level if – and only if – he continues to work the way that he does.”
That shouldn’t be an issue for Turner, who was already breaking down his performance and looking for ways to improve in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday night’s remarkable showing.
“That means a lot, but he still expects more out of me and I expect more out of myself,” Turner said when told of Friedel’s comments. “To be in that category right now is great, but I know I can do a lot better.
“I would’ve loved the clean sheet tonight. I sort of blame myself for the first goal, for moving my feet a little too soon and guessing. I’m still growing every day and trying to learn.
“It’s cool, but there’s still a long way for me to go before I’m on that level.”
That is, of course, the attitude that Turner needs to have as the 23-year-old goalkeeper continues to develop. But to listen to his teammates rave about him, he’s already there.
“He’s been outstanding. We rely on him on a lot,” said Farrell. “That game could’ve been different without those big saves he made. Hopefully we’ll see him keep going and keep doing his thing.”
