Crystal Dunn may have had her first child 113 days ago, but since she’s a force of nature, she’s already back on the field.
The U.S. women’s national team and Portland Thorns star, who gave birth on May 20, returned to action Friday night in a 2-0 win for the Thorns over the Orlando Pride.
Dunn made a short appearance off the bench, replacing Sophia Smith in the 86th minute as the Thorns used extensive possession to set themselves up for a road win on goals from Yasmeen Ryan and Hina Sugita.
The appearance was Dunn’s first for either the Thorns or the USWNT since a 1-0 road win in Houston on October 17, 2021, and comes just days after national team manager Vlatko Andonovski—who called Dunn into his September camp in a training-only capacity—told reporters he felt like she was ready to play.
Welcome back, @Cdunn19! 🙌#ORLvPOR | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/Dy5RNdkQyZ
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 10, 2022
“I’ve visualized this moment for a really long time. Just, you know, thinking about how I was going to feel when I stepped on the field,” Dunn told reporters following the match. “I’ve been training full (speed) for a while now. I went in with the national team, which was really great for me, and I think coming to this moment, I was just like, ‘Crystal, you are a soccer player. Just play soccer, play simple.'”
Dunn said that while she’s not at maximum fitness yet, her status at the moment is right around where she expected to be at this point. One big help, according to her, was that her husband happens to be Thorns head trainer Pierre Soubrier.
“Obviously, he is my husband, but you know, he’s my athletic trainer. He’s really knowledgeable of the return-to-play process,” said Dunn. “I had to really respect that he knows his job well. There were times where he was telling me, ‘Hey, you can’t do this today, you gotta take it slow,’ and I was like (groans) but ultimately, I was like, ‘okay, you’re right.'”
Dunn also noted that she trained with Portland nearly until her due date, and that time spent in the weight room—a place she noted with a grin was not her favorite in the past—has helped her come back so quickly.
That said, she said it’s important to acknowledge that she’s not going to just be the same old Crystal Dunn.
“I feel like people are expecting you to feel the same. And I’m like, ‘you know what? I’m never going to be the same again,” explained Dunn. “I went through childbirth, there’s no going back to Crystal before giving birth, you know?”
No matter how different this version of Dunn is, Thorns veteran Meghan Klingenberg was delighted to have her back on the field.
“Our Thorns baby mama is incredible,” said Klingenberg. “She’s the ultimate team player. She’s the ultimate hard worker. And you know, it’s nice to see her have her moment, because I think a lot of times Crystal doesn’t get her moment. But this was a Crystal moment, and I love being part of it because you know she steps on the field and creates a huge difference.”
Portland head coach Rhian Wilkinson said that due to Dunn’s experience, there wasn’t a ton of advice she had to give on the touchline before sending her in.
“All I said was ‘just do what you do, and keep the keep driving the quality of our (passing) and our movement,’ and that’s exactly what she did,” said Wilkinson. “She’s not fully back yet, but she’s not far off. What a phenom. So impressed by her.”
