FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Former Fairfield University goalkeeper Matt Turner collected his first career start with the New England Revolution, getting the nod in the team's 2018 opener against the Philadelphia Union. Turner is in his third season with the New England Revolution organization.

On Saturday, the goalkeeper made four saves in his debut including two highlight reel saves in the first half that kept the game scoreless. The first save came in the 22nd minute when a ball was sent from the right corner of the box to the middle where a shot was sent on target. Turner stepped up and turned away the shot to keep Philadelphia off the scoreboard. In the 34th minute, a cross was sent from the deep left corner of the pitch to the center of the box where a shot was delivered to the far right corner but Turner was able to dive and deflect the ball away from danger.

The Union ended up winning the game 2-0 as Revolution were handed two red cards during the game which caused the team to play shorthanded for a good portion of the game. Still, Turner was able showcase his talent and display impressive play win his first game in Major League Soccer (MLS). He earned the opportunity to play in the season opener with strong play in the preseason as well as the putting forth the same strong work ethic as he did as a member of the Fairfield University men's soccer program.

Throughout preseason I felt like I was in the running for the job the whole time," Turner said in a postgame interview. "They had confidence in me as long as I was on the field trying to make positive things happen and moving on to the next play and communicating well with the team I was going to have a chance to win the job. I worked hard over the past two seasons and did a lot of travel playing in the USL to get to this moment and so tonight was really nice."

Turner, who had dressed for games in the past but never earned minutes, honed his skills by playing with the USLs Richmond Kickers. While there, Turner recorded seven clean sheets and surrendered just seven goals in his first 990 minutes of professional soccer. This preseason, Turner honed his skills with the Revolution with the hopes of earning the starting job, a goal he achieved when he heard that he was starting on the day of the game.

"I found out today but that is kind of the way it's been," Turner said after the game. "You prepare every day, every week, every training session, and every rep like you are going to be the starter for that game. So on the day of the game, you hope your name in on the sheet. You prepare always like you are going to be program. If you are on the sheet, you succeeded that week and so you take every week as it is and you can't be complacent."

Turner was a standout for the Stags during his career at Lessing Field, serving as the team's starting goalkeeper as a junior and as a senior. As a junior, he started 18 games and posted 13 shutouts which helped the New Jersey native lead the nation in save percentage (89 percent) and shutout percentage (72 percent). In his senior campaign, Turner played all 18 games and came away with seven shutouts.

"Matt Turner is a credit to the Fairfield University men's soccer team," Head Coach Carl Rees said. "He embodies all that is important to our program and our University. He excelled every day mentally and athletically. Praise must go to Javier Decima who recognized Matt's potential and developed him into a first class pro."

The Fairfield University men's soccer team, under the guidance of Rees, captured the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season and tournament championship which earned a bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament.