Soccer goalkeeper Sarah Fuller could become first female to play Power 5 college football

With the college soccer season now over, Sarah Fuller has joined the Vanderbilt football team as a place kicker. If she enters the game, she would become the first female to play in a college football game for a Power 5 conference team.

Vanderbilt is slated to play Missouri on Saturday,

According to Vanderbilt’s official team site, Fuller will make the trip to Columbia for Saturday’s contest.

There have been two previous female Division I college football players, Katie Hnida for New Mexico and April Goss for Kent State.

Part of the reason Fuller is getting the opportunity is due to COVID-19 and that Vanderbilt has a limited number of specialists able to make the trip due to contact tracing.

“I think it’s amazing and incredible. But I’m also trying to separate that because I know this is a job I need to do and I want to help the team out and I want to do the best that I can,” Fuller told Vanderbilt’s website. “Placing that historical aspect aside just helps me focus in on what I need to do. I don’t want to let them down in anyway.”

Fuller is coming off the college soccer season, playing in nine games for Vanderbilt. On Sunday, Fuller helped Vandy’s women’s soccer team to an SEC title by defeating Arkansas 3-1. Fuller had three saves in the match.

As far as can Fuller make a field goal, she says she can. After Sunday’s game, she was approached by her soccer team’s coaching staff on whether she would be able to kick a football.

“I made the first one and I kept making them,” Fuller said. “It sounds really good to me. It’s different than a soccer ball, but it felt good.”

Fuller is also using the opportunity to raise funds for charity. She will be wearing a sticker on the back of her helmet “Play Like a Girl.” The charity provides STEM education opportunities for young girls.