Sarah Fuller set to make history by suiting up for Vanderbilt men's football team
Soccer goalkeeper would be 1st woman to appear in a Power 5 game on Saturday
Women's soccer player Sarah Fuller will don a football uniform Saturday for Vanderbilt and is poised to become the first woman to play in a Power 5 game when the Commodores visit Missouri.
"Let's make history," senior Sarah Fuller wrote Friday on Twitter with a photo of herself wearing a football jersey with a soccer ball between her feet while holding a football in her hands.
No woman has appeared in an Southeastern Conference football game or for any Power 5 gridiron team. Liz Heaston became the first woman to score with two extra points for Willamette in NAIA on Oct. 18, 1997.
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score at the Football Bowl Subdivision level with two extra points for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003. April Goss was the second with an extra point for Kent State in 2015. Tonya Butler was the first woman to kick a field goal in an NCAA game for Division II West Alabama on Sept. 13, 2003.
Vanderbilt soccer goalie Sarah Fuller is suiting up for her school’s football team as a place-kicker on Saturday against Missouri 🏈<br><br>If she kicks, Fuller will be the first woman to play in an SEC game and the first women to kick in a game between Power Five schools 👏 <a href="https://t.co/M9aLZgGec6">pic.twitter.com/M9aLZgGec6</a>
—@cbcsportsA senior from Wylie, Texas, Fuller made three saves last weekend as Vanderbilt upset top-seeded Arkansas 3-1 in women's soccer to capture the program's first Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 1994. Fuller played every minute of the tournament and said it's an honour Vanderbilt called on her to help out.
She'll be wearing "Play Like A Girl" on the back of her helmet.
"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 said. "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.
COVID-19 protocols and restrictions have left coach Derek Mason with a limited number of specialists available against Missouri. That's why he reached out to soccer coach Darren Ambrose for some help.
And if she is called upon to assist, Fuller will make history.
WATCH | Sarah Fuller discussed on CBC Sports' Bring It In podcast:
