*Trinity Rodman, the daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, made her professional soccer debut with the National Women’s Soccer League on Saturday with the Washington Spirit.Â
The 18-year-old daughter joined the team in January as the second overall draft pick in the league, PEOPLE reported. During the game over the weekend, Rodman, per CNN, came on in the 55th minute for Kumi Yokoyama and immediately scored a goal for her team — making history by becoming the youngest American goalscorer in league history.
Afterward, the league posted a celebratory message on Twitter: “Welcome to the big leagues, #2,” the NWSL wrote, referring to Rodman’s jersey number.
“This has been my dream forever, I’ve been playing soccer since I was 4 years old,” Trinity said in an interview shortly after being drafted earlier this year. She was joined by her mother, Michelle Moyer, CNN reported.
Trinity Rodman, daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, is off to a roaring start and scores in her NWSL debut ????
(via @NWSL)pic.twitter.com/iboPFPvPuN
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 10, 2021
Trinity also made clear at the time that she’s ready to step out of her father’s shadow.Â
“He was an amazing athlete, and I got those genes from him, but I’m excited to be known as Trinity Rodman and not just as Rodman’s daughter,” she said. “I’m excited to pave my own path and get better throughout this journey.”
Trinity has credited her teammates with helping her shine on her own. Â
“My team has helped me a lot, obviously, being a really young player and very new, it’s definitely a lot faster, girls are a lot stronger, a lot more intelligent, at this level,” Rodman told reporters, according to the AP. “I think just getting advice from my teammates in scrimmages and practices, I’ve been able to kind of think ahead. And I think that’s a huge part of what’s helped me in the game. “
“The kid is just brilliant. She’s a machine as an athlete, just unbelievable,” added Coach Richie Burke. “When you play against her, you train with her, you see how quickly she closes you down. She’s deceptively quick to close you down. But now she’s getting tactically better, too.”
Speaking to the media last week, Trinity said her mother is her role model.
“Having a dad like I do, no one asks about my mom because she’s obviously not an NBA star, but I just want people to know that my mom’s been my support system in everything in life and she’s my best friend and my rock,” Rodman said.
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