USWNT Midfielder Crystal Dunn Makes Her Return to the Field Less Than 4 Months After Giving Birth

Crystal Dunn is back in action less than four months after giving birth to her adorable son, Marcel.

The 30-year-old Portland Thorns FC midfielder came off the bench late in the second half of the team's game against the Orlando Pride on Friday, helping them secure a 2-0 win.

As she went on the field to step in for teammate Sophia Smith, Dunn was welcomed with cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd.

"Crystal Dunn makes her return to the NWSL," the team's broadcaster told fans as Dunn ran onto the pitch. "Her last appearance [was] last October...she's getting a big smile from Sophia Smith as she returns to the field."

Dunn and her husband Pierre Soubrier, the head athletic trainer for the Thorns, welcomed Marcel on May 20.

Following the match, Dunn said, per USA Today, "It was such a long journey. I have never been out that long. Honestly, it was about patience and trusting the journey and being grateful for giving birth to a happy, healthy journey."

On Saturday, Dunn shared a heart-warming Instagram photo of herself and Marcel all suited up in Thorns gear, alongside a photo of when she was pregnant with him. She wrote in the caption, "What an incredible journey it has been! Gameday looks a bit different!🥰🌹🙌🏾."

On Sunday, Dunn spoke with Yahoo! Sports about her new role as a mother and the impact it now has on her journey.

"Society kind of places this pressure on you: 'Oh, you have to get back to where you were before.' And I think that that's pretty much impossible," she said. "Because you've gone through something that has made you a different person, a different player."

But that is not keeping her from her goal of winning a second World Cup.

"How I get there, and what my road is gonna look like, is [uncertain] at this time," she admitted. Dunn added that her new mentality is "just going to make me an even better player, and a better person."

Dunn is one of the mainstays on the national team after years of training and improving to become a starter. Last May, she told PEOPLE she hopes to be an inspiration for Black players who come after her, and a source of comfort that she didn't have when she started on the team.

"I'm really blessed that I'm in this position where the younger black players are able to come to me and really just share any concerns that they have, because I know when I was a young player on the national team, I didn't have that," she said.

"I had to figure it out on my own. I didn't really have someone to reach out to when I felt uncomfortable or insecure in any way, shape, or form. And I think now that I am in a position where I can be that for other women of color, it's really, really incredible."