Thorns star Crystal Dunn expecting first child

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - The Portland Thorns are headed to San Diego on Saturday to meet the expansion Wave for match number two of the NWSL Challenge Cup.

While 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Crystal Dunn won’t be making the trip, the PTFC and Team USA star is remaining rather busy while expecting her first-born son.

Dunn married Pierre Soubrier in 2018. Her husband accepted the head athletic trainer job for the Thorns in 2019 while she was playing for the NWSL Champion North Carolina Courage.

“I really do value family and I think that was a big reason why I did make that decision to come to Portland, also to have a challenge, a new challenge of being a professional athlete in a new city, an amazing city which is like the soccer hub of the world, you know? Because I value family, I knew it just meant so much to me to make this work,” Dunn said.

Now in her eighth month of pregnancy, the former league MVP is already aiming for an eventual return to the pitch during her second season in Soccer City.

“I’m not the first woman to be a professional athlete who is with child and expecting and I certainly won’t be the last, hopefully. I think it’s really amazing that the women who have come before me have really laid the groundwork of what it means to be a professional athlete who wants to start a family as well. I think it’s really important for women to have that option, now it’s not a journey that everyone wants to take. I think a lot of woman want to do career first and then family after, but I do think having the option is amazing and I do think that is where the game is growing.”

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