The year is 2022, and the Manitoba Bisons football team have made the trip out to Griffiths Stadium in Saskatchewan for exhibition play in August against the Huskies. Much like any other year, a plethora of athletes are taking part in their first game at the U SPORTS level. 
 
But this contest is different. 
 
In this instance, on the 25th of August, the Herd's active roster includes female kicker Maya Turner. 
 
The Bisons and long-time head coach Brian Dobie are no strangers to female representation in the male-dominated sport of university football. 
 
In 2018, defensive back Reina Iizuka out of Mississauga, Ontario became the first female to appear on a U SPORTS football roster, however she was a redshirt during her time with the Herd and did not appear in any games. 
 
When Turner, on the other hand, trotted onto the field with 8:01 to play in the third quarter, she made history. 
 
Her 25-yard field goal was right on the money, and in converting on the attempt, she became the first female to not only suit up in a U SPORTS football game, but also the first to score points in a U SPORTS football game.  
 
The Minnesota native is no stranger to high-level performance. Her background is originally in soccer, where she racked up 21 goals and 33 assists for Wayzata High School, and was recruited to play NCAA Division 1 soccer in 2020 for Loyola University Chicago.
 
But on a cool evening in Saskatoon, things were different.  
 
"I remember going into that pre-season game, that was probably the most nervous I've ever been for a game, ever. I was so focused on making my kicks in that game. I wasn't even thinking about potential media or anything. I was just so worried about performing in that game," the calm, well-spoken student-athlete said. 
 
"I remember getting interviewed and I just had no thoughts in my head. It had always been a huge fear of mine. In high school they would interview us a little bit and I would just be dreading that, I'd be so anxious with nothing prepared and having to react to questions.
 
"After that, I started mentally preparing for possibly having to do that in the future and being comfortable with it."
 
Turner didn't know it at the time, but a year later, her prediction would come true in a major way. 
 
A year later, she'd become a pioneer, ambassador, role model and so much more. 

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Growing up in the states, Turner's first love was soccer. 
 
Her older sister Morgan, three grades ahead, was also a star on the pitch, and eventually played pro in Portugal. Their mutual love for the game provided a connection, a way to relate to each other. 
 
"We'd often train together, work out together growing up. I learned a lot from [Morgan] with skills and training. In the summer when we'd come home from college soccer we'd train together. We've always trained together growing up."
 
Maya was an outsider midfielder who played both offence and defence. Her ball striking helped set her apart from others. 
 
"When I was really young I would often take the goal kicks, because I could kick it a lot further than anyone else on the field, and I would always take the set pieces because I was really good at placing the ball and kicking the ball far. I had always been known as having a really hard shot and was able to place the ball well."
 
Turner's university debut in 2020 was during the COVID-19 pandemic. There weren't many people on campus minus the athletes, who had to stay in their individual dorm rooms. 
 
The following season she appeared in two games during the spring, but her love for the game simply wasn't the same anymore.
 
"I'd been playing soccer for as long as I could remember. It was really the only sport I'd been serious about since I was seven or eight. I just spent so much time playing soccer, training and practicing year-round. I just started getting burned out, starting at the end of high school," she recalled. 
 
"Once you get to the Division 1 level, it really elevates the level of players around you and the pressure. If you don't really like the sport to begin with, it's really not going to be an enjoyable experience at all. It wasn't a good environment for me overall."
 
Turner decided that the best option for her mental health was to quit soccer, move on and "do something else that I actually enjoy."
 
That's when football entered the picture. 
 
Growing up, there weren't many opportunities for girls to play. But when Turner saw that there was a club football team at Loyola which was open to females, she felt there was no better time than the present to give the game a shot. 
 
"I thought it would be really fun to try and kick field goals, because I did love kicking a ball and I was pretty good at ball striking," she said. 
 
"I remember practicing kicking footballs the week before tryouts. It went pretty well considering I hadn't done it before. I went to tryouts and ended up being the only kicker on the team. I punted and kicked for the team for the fall season. It was really fun. I loved the environment of being on a football team and being involved with the sport."
 
Football gave Turner something to work on, something that truly motivated her. She felt invigorated by the game, by the chance to continue participating in high-level sport. 
 
"I loved training for [football], and seeing my progress. I knew that football would be a much better experience for me because of how much I genuinely loved the sport, and was willing to work and get better at it. I did everything I possibly could to achieve my goals of making it onto the university football team. I guess that shows how much I really wanted it."

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After her time with Loyola's club football program, Turner went to work to improve her skills as a kicker. She went to a regional camp in Chicago and multiple national camps. 
 
After honing her craft, she reached out to a bunch of universities, hoping to get a shot to prove herself. One of those schools was Manitoba. 
 
"We were graduating our kicker. We didn't have anybody in place, and it was getting concerning. Films were coming in, and it was like yeah, okay. Quite honestly [Turner's] film was really good, except it wasn't game film. The ball coming off her foot, she looked really good," said long-time Bisons head coach Brian Dobie. 
 
"We were totally aware that she was a woman. Her film was certainly, for quite a while, the best film. I kind of ghosted her for a while. She re-sent it at least once, maybe twice. It wasn't because of gender, it was a combination of let's see what else is out there, it was early enough, and I wanted to see some game film. We really liked what we saw, we were impressed."
 
Dobie and his staff put Turner on the "active back-burner" for the time-being, but as film continued to come in, the Herd "just liked her better." Manitoba's staff had a discussion internally, and decided to bring her up, and "see if she's for real."
 
"She came up with her folks on a crappy, but sunny day. It was a breezy, cold, Manitoba spring day. The field itself was still pretty hard, all the rubber pellets weren't what they should be, but it was what it was. Our kicker that was departing, Cole Sabourin, he had a big leg. He was still here finishing school so he went out with her with a small handful of players so that we could function in drills," mentioned Dobie. 
 
"They warmed up together, and we started getting into it and getting competitive. We were using [Sabourin] as a benchmark quite honestly. She out-kicked him. She was just deadlier, she was more accurate. She was hitting everything, until we got to about 43 yards. She was still hitting, but not as much."
 
At that point, Manitoba's decision was made. 
 
"We just went, she can do this. She's flat out good," said Dobie. 
 
"It wasn't just the competition and the performance, it was everything. She can kick. She's technically really, really good. She's going to keep getting better and better. Her whole demeanour, her professionalism, I'm sure she was nervous, but she didn't come off that way. And that's still how I see her to this day. She's so professional."
 
At one point, the group took a break, reflecting on what they had witnessed. 
 
"Several of our players came over and just went 'coach, she's the real deal.' They didn't even know her. They were simply gauging her on her performance and her demeanour. Word got around, and we signed her of course."

The date is September 23, 2023. The Bisons are sitting at 0-3 in the 2023 Canada West campaign, and need a homecoming victory against Regina to keep their playoff hopes alive. 
 
In the most important game of their season, Turner is called upon. 
 
One year after becoming the first female to suit up and score points in a U SPORTS pre-season game, she's set to do the same in regular season action. 
 
But this time, as she suits up in a meaningful game for the first time, the stakes are much higher. 
 
"The night before I was super nervous. What if I go on and have a chance to score and I miss? I had some of those thoughts in my head about things that could go wrong, and the eyes that were on me. The day of, I was just trying to focus on my kicking and shutting everything else out, focusing on the game like any other player would," she said. 
 
"Sometimes I think it's ironic that I am a football kicker, because anxiety is something I've struggled with my whole life. It's kind of been a huge part of my life. I think the background of playing a high level sport, and being in a lot of high-pressure situations like taking free kicks, and being able to focus and clear my mind in order to perform was helpful."
 
With 9:42 to play in the second quarter, Turner entered the football game. 
 
With 4500 loud and passionate fans in the stands, she booted a 21-yard field goal right down the middle, like she'd been doing it her whole life.  
 
History made, once again.
 
The entire stadium, whether it be Rams or Bisons fans, stood up for an extended applause to a trailblazer. 
 
"When she hit that, it was like a roar. Everybody was standing and going nuts," said Dobie.
 
"It just kept going. I turned around and looked at one point, and all the Regina people were all in one area, and they're all pumping their fists cheering. I thought wow, this is a moment. That doesn't happen very often."
 
"I remember after it happened, I wasn't really planning on that moment being as exciting and as memorable as it was. But I remember after the game thinking this might be one of the best memories probably ever in sports that I've had," Turner added.
 
"This is something I'll always remember. There was so much joy, the feeling of accomplishing something big that I'd never had before." Turner's field goal gave the Bisons a 3-2 lead. But the game was far from over. 
 
There were five lead changes afterwards, and the game eventually went to double overtime. 
 
A seven play, 20-yard drive set up the Bisons at the 21-yard line, where Turner was called upon once again, this time to win the game. 
 
Like clockwork, she nailed the attempt, once again right down the middle. 
 
Manitoba kept their playoff hopes alive, and eventually made the post-season for a historic fifth year in a row. 
 

Turner was the Herd's primary kicker the rest of the way. 
 
During the team's march to the playoffs she hit a 48-yard field goal, and her overall percentage of 79 (minimum of five field goals) is the third-highest in single season program history. 
 
"She had a 48-yarder. That's serious. Hitting a 48-yard field goal is not a gimme," said Dobie. 
 
"To all the doubters out there, go stand at midfield and take a look at those uprights. That's a real deal kick at any level. She's such a true athlete. I cannot say it enough."
 
In 2024, Turner will begin her second season of U SPORTS eligibility. She's coming in with the same driven mindset that got her to the dance, but it's also safe to say that she's playing for more than herself.
 
"Being a female athlete my whole life I see the difference in men's and women's sports. It's important for female athletes and female empowerment in the sports world. I really hope that women's football will be able to get more exposure so that more girls who love football will have the opportunity to do that," she said. 
 
"It's really important for other girls to see that they can accomplish things like this. There's still more to come."